Gravel, Sand & Soil Calculator
How much gravel, sand or soil to order — by volume, weight, brass or truckload.
Area and depth
Material
Delivery and price
Each area
| # | Shape | Area (m²) | Volume (m³) |
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About the Gravel, Sand & Soil Calculator
Work out how much gravel, crushed stone, sand, topsoil or other fill to order for a driveway, path, sub-base or garden bed. Measure the area as rectangles, circles or triangles — or type the area — enter the finished depth, and the calculator gives the volume in m³, cubic feet (cft), cubic yards and brass, and the weight in tonnes and US tons from the material's bulk density.
Densities come from IS 875 (Part 1) Table 1 and can be changed to your supplier's figure; add a compaction allowance if the layer will be rolled or rammed. Enter your truck size to see how many loads it takes, and a price per tonne, m³, brass or yard for the cost.
How to use it
- Choose Metric or US units and describe the area: a rectangle, circle, triangle or a known area. Use Add another area to build up L-shaped or irregular plots.
- Enter the finished depth (100 mm, 4 in …) and a compaction allowance if the material will be compacted.
- Pick the material — its IS 875 bulk density fills in — or enter your supplier's density.
- Add your truck capacity and price to get the loads and the cost, then copy or download the result.
Examples
1.5 m³ = 52.97 cft = 0.53 brass → 2.4 tonnes at 1,600 kg/m³ · 1 tonne covers 6.25 m²
1.65 m³ to order → 2.64 tonnes
66.7 ft³ = 2.47 yd³ → 3.33 US tons at 1,600 kg/m³ (99.9 lb/ft³)
7.07 m² → 0.53 m³ = 18.7 cft → 0.64 tonnes at 1,200 kg/m³
How it is calculated
Volume = area × depth × (1 + compaction allowance), and weight = volume × bulk density. Areas are length × width for a rectangle, π ÷ 4 × diameter² for a circle and ½ × base × height for a triangle; split an irregular plot into these shapes and the calculator adds them up.
Conversions use the exact definitions from NIST SP 811 (1 ft = 0.3048 m, 1 lb = 0.45359237 kg): 1 m³ = 35.315 cft = 1.308 yd³, 1 yd³ = 27 ft³, 1 US ton = 2,000 lb = 907.18 kg and 1 brass = 100 cft = 2.832 m³.
Bulk densities (IS 875 Part 1, Table 1)
- Gravel: loose 1,600 kg/m³; moderately rammed, dry 1,920 kg/m³
- Stone: stone aggregate 1,600–1,920 kg/m³; broken stone ballast, dry and well-shaken 1,600–1,870 kg/m³
- Sand: dry and clean 1,540–1,600 kg/m³; river 1,840 kg/m³; wet 1,760–2,000 kg/m³
- Soil: earth, dry 1,410–1,840 kg/m³; earth, moist 1,600–2,000 kg/m³; loam, dry and loose 1,200 kg/m³; clay fill, dry and compact 1,440 kg/m³
Where the standard gives a range the calculator starts at the low end — your supplier's figure is better. 1,600 kg/m³ is 99.9 lb/ft³, or about 1.35 US tons per cubic yard. IS 875 has no figure for paving asphalt, so enter your supplier's density for it.
Compaction and settlement
Loose material packs down when it is rolled or rammed. IS 875 gives gravel as 1,600 kg/m³ loose and 1,920 kg/m³ moderately rammed, so a rammed layer holds about 20% more gravel than the same volume of loose gravel. If the depth you entered is the compacted depth, add an allowance; the right figure depends on the material, its moisture and the compaction, so ask your supplier.
Sources
- IS 875 (Part 1):1987, Code of Practice for Design Loads — Dead Loads: Unit Weights of Building Materials, Table 1 (items 2, 3, 45 and 47) — archive.org
- NIST, SP 811 Appendix B.8 — conversion factors
- 1 brass = 100 cubic feet: customary trade unit, used for example for Maharashtra's seigniorage charges on earth and sand (quoted in Andhra Pradesh High Court, W.P. 2195/2009)
Limitations
- Bulk density changes with moisture, grading and how the material is loaded, so the weight is an estimate — your supplier's weighbridge figure is what you pay for.
- Areas are treated as flat: slopes, an uneven sub-grade or soft spots need more material.
- Trucks are limited by both volume and legal weight; check both with your supplier.
- For a material that is not listed, choose Other material and enter its bulk density.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
How do I work out how much gravel I need?
Multiply the area by the depth to get the volume, then by the bulk density for the weight. A 5 m × 3 m driveway 100 mm deep needs 5 × 3 × 0.1 = 1.5 m³; at 1,600 kg/m³ that is 2.4 tonnes. In feet, 20 ft × 10 ft × 4 in is 66.7 ft³, or 2.47 yd³ — about 3.3 US tons.
How many tonnes of gravel are in a cubic metre?
About 1.6 tonnes of loose gravel (IS 875 Part 1: 1,600 kg/m³), rising to about 1.9 tonnes when it is rammed (1,920 kg/m³). Stone aggregate is 1.6–1.9 t/m³ and dry sand 1.54–1.6 t/m³.
What is a brass of sand or aggregate?
A brass is 100 cubic feet, or 2.832 m³ — a trade unit in parts of India, notably Maharashtra. At 1,600 kg/m³ one brass of dry sand weighs about 4.5 tonnes.
How much area does a tonne of gravel cover?
At 1,600 kg/m³ a tonne is 0.625 m³, so it covers 6.25 m² at 100 mm, 8.3 m² at 75 mm and 12.5 m² at 50 mm. The calculator shows this for your depth and material.
How many cubic yards are in a ton of gravel?
At 1,600 kg/m³ (99.9 lb/ft³) one US ton of 2,000 lb takes up 20 ft³, or 0.74 yd³. A denser material gives fewer cubic yards per ton.