How to Figure How Much Crushed Gravel for a Walkway

An often-used component when installing a walkway is crushed gravel. The gravel acts as a base between the soil and concrete or paving stones and provides a way for water to drain away. When purchasing the gravel for the walkway, you need to know the proper amount required for your project. If you order too much, you're wasting money; if you order too little, you won't be able to construct the walkway properly. You can use an online calculator to determine how much gravel you need, but you can also figure it out yourself, using fairly simple math.

Instructions

- 1
  Measure the length and width of the walkway and the required depth of the gravel layer. In our example, the length is 10 feet, the width is 2 feet and we need a layer of gravel 4 inches deep.
- 2
  Convert the depth to feet -- 4 inches equals 0.33 feet.
- 3
  Multiply the length, width and depth together to determine the number of cubic feet -- multiplying 10 by 2 by 0.33 equals 6.6 cubic feet.
- 4
  Divide the answer by 27, the number of cubic feet in a square yard, which is the unit of measure used when purchasing gravel -- 6.6 divided by 27 equals 0.244 cubic yards.
- 5
  Add 10 percent to the total to allow for gravel that might be spilled, or mistakes in the math. Convert 10 percent to a decimal, 0.10. Multiplying 0.244 by 0.10 equals 0.0244.
- 6
  Add the spillage amount to the total -- 0.0244 plus 0.244 equals 0.2684 cubic yards of gravel needed for this walkway.

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