Step one: measure the area honestly
Length times width, in feet. Measure the driveway to where the gravel actually needs to stop, including the flare at the road and the parking spur you always forget. For a curved driveway, measure the centre line for length and the average for width. For an odd shape, break it into rectangles. Write the number down; most short orders start with an optimistic estimate off the porch.
Step two: pick a depth that will last
This is where the money goes right or wrong. Depth is decided by the job and the ground, not the budget, and the depths below are the ones we would use on our own places.
| Job | Depth | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Driveway top course | 4 in D-1, 6 in on a slope | Less than 4 does not lock; on a grade the wheels dig |
| Driveway base, new | 6 to 12 in pit run | Gets the surface above the wet; more on silt |
| Parking pad for trucks or RV | 6 in D-1 over 8 in base | Point loads from tyres are much higher than a car |
| Walkway, patio base | 3 to 4 in D-1 or 3/4 minus | Foot traffic only, but it must drain |
| French drain | 12 to 18 in washed rock around the pipe | The rock is the reservoir; too little and it overflows |
| Shop or garage pad | 12 in base, 6 in D-1 | The slab is only as good as what is under it |
Step three: the arithmetic
Cubic yards equals length times width times depth, all in feet, divided by 27. Four inches is 0.33 feet; six inches is 0.5. Then add ten percent, because crushed material compacts and the loader never fills the box the way the formula assumes. So a 60 by 12 foot driveway at 4 inches: 60 x 12 x 0.33 = 238 cubic feet, divided by 27 is 8.8 yards, plus ten percent is 9.7. Call it 10 yards. In D-1 that is about 14 tons, one full 12-ton load and a small second one. The calculator does this and rounds to trucks.
Step four: yards to tons, tons to trucks
Pits sell crushed rock by the ton, so you will see tons on the ticket even if you ordered yards. D-1 runs about 1.4 tons a loose yard; pit run and 3-inch minus about 1.3; topsoil about 1. Our trucks are dual axle with 12-yard beds rated for 12 tons, so a load is whichever limit comes first: 12 yards of topsoil, or about 8.5 yards of D-1. Other haulers run bigger trucks, up to 30-yard super-size boxes, so when you compare quotes, compare yards and tons rather than loads.
Mistakes that leave you short
- Measuring at two inches to make the number small. Two inches of anything is a dust cap; see the D-1 page for why.
- Forgetting compaction. D-1 loses a tenth of its volume under a roller; the formula does not know that.
- Forgetting the base. A new driveway is two orders, base and top, not one.
- Ignoring the ground. On silt, the first six inches of pit run disappear into the mud. Dig a test hole.
- Ordering by the truck without asking the truck size. "A load" from a landscaper's pickup is a yard; from us it is twelve.
Topsoil for a new lawn
Lawns take more than people expect because the area is large. Four to six inches over 5,000 square feet is 60 to 90 loose yards, five to eight truckloads. Topsoil is light, about a ton a yard, so the limit is volume, and each of our loads is a full 12 yards. Order the fill first, grade it, then the topsoil; the topsoil page explains the order.
Questions we get about this
Does one yard cover 100 square feet?
At about three inches deep, yes, close: a yard is 27 cubic feet, so at 3 inches it covers 108 square feet before compaction. At 4 inches, 81. At 6 inches, 54.
How many yards fit in a pickup?
A half-ton pickup is good for about half a yard of gravel by weight, regardless of what fits in the bed. Gravel is heavy. That is what the dump truck is for.
Should I order extra?
Round up to the truck and you already have the extra. Beyond that, no; a leftover pile is a leftover pile.
Can you help me measure?
Send a photo and the dimensions and we will sanity-check the order before we quote it. We would rather send the right load than come back.