How to Calculate Gravel

Gravel may be used in many areas of home landscaping, including on driveways and pathways, under decks, for fill around drainage pipes or as a substrate for concrete and other paving materials. It is sold by the cubic yard, often referred to simply as a yard. One cubic yard is 3 feet long, 3 feet wide and 3 feet high. Finding that you have purchased an insufficient amount of gravel in the middle of a weekend project can be a problem, and if you have purchased too much, you are probably stuck with the excess, since it cannot be easily returned.

Tape measure
Graph paper and pencil
Calculator

Instructions

- 1
  Make a scale drawing of complex areas on graph paper. Measure the area using the tape measure. A combination of squares, rectangles, triangles and sometimes circles or half circles will describe most areas. A curved pathway could be described and drawn with rectangles for the straight portion and right triangles for the curved portion. Make all measurements in feet or inches.
- 2
  Calculate the area of each section drawn on paper. The area of rectangle or square is length times width. The area of a right triangle is 1/2 height times width. The area of a circle is 3.14 times radius time radius (or radius squared). Total the areas calculated, and multiply by the depth using the same units, such as feet or inches. The result is the volume of gravel required in the units used for measuring, feet or inches.
- 3
  Convert to cubic yards. Divide cubic inches by 1,728 to convert to cubic feet. Divide cubic inches by 46,656 to convert to cubic yards. Divide cubic feet by 27 to convert to cubic yards.
- 4
  Convert yards to tons if necessary for ordering. One cubic yard of gravel weighs 2,700 pounds per cubic yard. One ton equals 2,000 pounds. Multiply cubic yards required by 2,700 and divide the result by 2,000 for the tons of dry gravel.

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