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Mulch, Topsoil & Gravel Calculator

Figure out how many cubic yards of bulk material you need, how much it weighs, and whether bags or bulk delivery is cheaper.

Screen the volume of mulch, topsoil, compost, sand, gravel, or decorative stone for common bed shapes and depths. The app uses local fixture rows for density, bag size, settling or compaction adders, price, and delivery placeholders, then keeps supplier, moisture, compaction, hauling, site, product-label, and qualified-review gaps visible.

Pro Tip: Treat the adjusted cubic yards as a planning screen, not an order instruction. Verify supplier sale unit, delivered loose volume or tonnage ticket, moisture, bag label, compaction, delivery fee, payload, dump access, plant clearance, drainage, and site conditions before buying.

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Mulch, Topsoil & Gravel Calculator
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How It Works

  1. Define the Area

    Enter rectangular dimensions, circle diameter, or direct square feet. For irregular beds, split the area into measured pieces and keep waste and edge conditions visible.

  2. Set Planning Depth

    Enter the intended depth in inches and compare it against the local depth screen. Product label, plant clearance, drainage, subgrade, and project specification still control.

  3. Select Material Type

    Pick from local mulch, topsoil, compost, gravel, sand, pea gravel, or decorative stone rows. Treat density, bag size, price, and settling rows as source-gap placeholders.

  4. Review Local Adders

    The app applies local compaction or settling adders to the raw volume. Supplier data, moisture, gradation, placement method, and field compaction testing can change the order quantity.

  5. Compare Bulk vs Bags

    Use the bulk-vs-bag output as a pricing prompt only. Current supplier quote, delivery fee, minimum order, taxes, stock, labor, and handling access still decide the purchase.

  6. Review Weight and Hauling

    Use the weight and truck-load outputs as review flags. Vehicle payload, axle ratings, trailer/hitch limits, road rules, tarp requirements, and supplier delivery access still control hauling.

Built For

  • Homeowners preparing source-aware questions before refreshing landscape beds or ordering bagged mulch
  • Landscape crews screening takeoff quantities before supplier quotes and site measurements are reconciled
  • DIYers planning gravel paths or drainage areas before checking base section, fabric, edging, and delivery access
  • Property managers estimating topsoil or compost quantities before soil tests, grading, and supplier data are available
  • Garden centers helping customers understand bag-count, sale-unit, payload, and source-warning limits

Assumptions

  • Volume uses measured square feet times depth in inches divided by 324.
  • Compaction and settling adders are local planning placeholders.
  • Bag sizes, bag prices, bulk prices, and delivery fees are local placeholders until supplier data is entered.

Limitations

  • Does not certify supplier density, bag coverage, delivered volume, tonnage, or price.
  • Does not design driveway, path, patio, drainage, playground, septic, retaining, erosion-control, or structural-fill sections.
  • Does not approve vehicle payload, trailer, axle, road, or legal hauling limits.

References

  • USDA Forest Service and USDA Wood Handbook source pointers for wood-density and moisture context.
  • CMHA hardscape source pointers for base/bedding context where applicable.
  • ASTM C33 and ASTM D698 source pointers for aggregate and compaction review boundaries.
  • NIST SP 811 unit-conversion source pointer.

Frequently Asked Questions

The raw geometry at 3 inches is about 4.63 cubic yards: 500 x 3 / 12 / 27. Any extra for settling, waste, sale-unit rounding, or top-off depth should be checked against the supplier product, existing bed, and installation plan.
The app uses a local gravel row near 2,800 lb per cubic yard for screening. Actual weight depends on gradation, moisture, voids, stone type, compaction, and supplier scale ticket, so use the supplier ticket for hauling and payment.
The app shows local depth screens only. Plant species, existing mulch, root flare and stem clearance, climate, irrigation, product label, weed pressure, and maintenance practice control the final depth.
The breakeven is a local placeholder based on bag size, bag price, bulk price, and a delivery-fee assumption. Current quotes, minimums, taxes, access, labor, and stock can move the decision.
Break the area into measured shapes, calculate square footage for each, add them, multiply by depth in feet, and divide by 27. Curves, edging, excavation, waste, and field measurement error still need a contingency.
The topsoil row is a local planning adder only. Texture, moisture, organic matter, compaction, watering, grading, and supplier data control actual settlement.
Use the app only as a payload warning screen. Verify GVWR, axle ratings, tire ratings, trailer and hitch ratings, legal road limits, tarp rules, braking, and supplier loading policy before hauling.
Disclaimer: This is a source-aware planning screen. Supplier product data, bag labels, sale units, moisture, compaction, site conditions, hauling limits, and qualified review control purchasing and installation decisions.

Learn More

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