Stone Calculator
Estimates only. Confirm quantities with your supplier before ordering.
Most landscape stone weighs between 1.35 and 1.6 tons per cubic yard — denser than gravel for many types. A typical 10 × 12 ft flagstone patio base at 4 inches deep needs about 2.7 tons of crushed stone, or roughly 3 tons with a 10% waste allowance. Enter your area, depth, and stone type below for exact tons, cubic yards, bag count, truckloads, and cost.
Stone density and coverage by type
| Stone type | Density (tons/yd³) | Density (lb/ft³) | Coverage at 2" (sq ft/ton) | Coverage at 4" (sq ft/ton) | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flagstone | 1.50 | 111 | 108 | 54 | Patios, walkways |
| Fieldstone | 1.45 | 107 | 112 | 56 | Walls, borders, gardens |
| Limestone (crushed) | 1.55 | 115 | 105 | 52 | Driveways, paths, base |
| Bluestone | 1.55 | 115 | 105 | 52 | Patios, stepping stones |
| Granite (crushed) | 1.48 | 110 | 110 | 55 | Driveways, decorative |
| Sandstone | 1.35 | 100 | 120 | 60 | Patios, dry-stack walls |
| Slate chips | 1.52 | 112 | 107 | 53 | Decorative mulch, paths |
| Basalt | 1.60 | 118 | 101 | 51 | Driveways, retaining walls |
How to estimate landscape stone
Stone is estimated by volume, then converted to weight for ordering. Multiply your area in square feet by the depth in feet and divide by 27 to get cubic yards: length × width × (depth ÷ 12) ÷ 27. Multiply cubic yards by the stone's density — about 1.5 tons per cubic yard for flagstone, or 1.55 for limestone — to get tons. Suppliers sell by the ton or the cubic yard, so having both figures lets you match whichever unit they quote.
Choosing the right depth
Depth is the input that most affects your order size. The same ton of stone that covers about 108 square feet at 2 inches covers only about 54 square feet at 4 inches — half the coverage for double the depth. Use 2–3 inches for decorative ground cover in beds and borders; 4–6 inches for a compacted base under patios, walkways, or pavers (for porcelain or ceramic patio tile instead, use the tile calculator); and 4–8 inches for driveway base courses — use the gravel calculator when the base course is crushed aggregate rather than landscape stone. For drainage projects, plan on 3–6 inches of clean stone around the pipe.
Estimating stone for a wall or raised bed
A stone wall is a volume, not a surface, so treat it the same way you'd treat a slab tipped on its side: run the calculator with the wall's face length as length, its height as width, and its thickness as depth. A 20 ft long, 2 ft high, 1.5 ft thick dry-stack wall is 20 × 2 × 1.5 = 60 cubic feet, or about 2.2 cubic yards before waste. Hand-fitted walls waste far more stone than a poured area — voids between irregular stones and rejected pieces add up — so bump the overage to 15–25% for fieldstone or flagstone walls rather than the 10% default. Measure to the finished wall, not the trench, and note that a battered (tapered) wall uses slightly less than the full rectangular volume.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the waste allowance. Stone settles after placement, and irregular areas consume more material than calculated. Order 10% extra for straightforward projects and 15–20% for walls or irregularly shaped areas.
- Using a generic density for all stone types. Sandstone (1.35 t/yd³) and basalt (1.60 t/yd³) differ by nearly 20% — enough to throw off a multi-ton order. Select the actual type you're buying for an accurate tonnage.
- Irregular areas. This calculator handles rectangles and circles. For an L-shape or curve, split it into simple sections, run each, and add the cubic yards together.
Crushed stone grades and sizes
Alongside stone named for its rock type, suppliers sell crushed stone by a number or letter that describes its size and gradation rather than its geology. These grades follow the ASTM D448 and AASHTO M43 sieve classes, and each drops into the calculator the same way — pick the closest density (crushed limestone and granite, 1.48–1.55 t/yd³, cover nearly all of them) and enter your area and depth. What changes between grades is the right depth and the waste factor, not the math.
- #57 stone (3/4"). A clean, washed stone roughly 3/4"–1" with the fines removed. The most common driveway base and concrete-slab base stone in North America, and a standard French-drain fill because the open voids drain freely. Doesn't compact tight, so it stays loose underfoot.
- #2B stone. A clean, open-graded stone about 3/4"–1" (PennDOT's near-equivalent to #57). Fines washed out, so it's used for drainage, wall backfill, and sub-base under pavers and sheds.
- #2A stone (crusher run / crush-and-run). A dense-graded mix of stone up to about 1" plus the stone-dust fines. The fines fill the voids so it compacts into a firm, load-bearing layer — the go-to for driveway and road base on dry ground. Order it by the ton and plan to compact in lifts.
- ABC stone (aggregate base course). The same dense-graded, fines-included family as crusher run, under a regional name (NCDOT's spec; also called DGA, GAB, or quarry process). A crushed-stone-and-dust blend engineered to compact and lock up beneath driveways, parking pads, and slabs.
- Stone dust / #10 screenings. The fine material passing about a 1/4" screen, from coarse sand down to rock powder. Used as a leveling bed under pavers and flagstone and to sweep into joints — a bedding and jointing material, not a structural base on its own.
Clean grades (#57, #2B) are sold and priced the same way as decorative stone here — enter depth and area for tons and cubic yards. For dense-graded base (#2A, ABC), remember the calculator estimates loose delivered volume; a compacted base tightens by roughly 10–15%, so the finished layer is thinner than the loose depth you enter. When your base course is rounded gravel or pea stone rather than crushed rock, the gravel calculator carries those specific densities.
Frequently asked questions
How much stone do I need for my patio?
Measure the length and width of the patio in feet, multiply them to get the area in square feet, then multiply by the depth in feet. If you want a 4-inch stone base under pavers on a 10 × 12 ft patio, that's 120 sq ft × 0.333 ft = 40 cubic feet, which is about 1.5 cubic yards. Multiply by the density of your stone type (typically 1.3–1.6 tons per cubic yard for most natural stone) to get the weight in tons for ordering. Add 10% for waste and settling.
How many tons of stone are in a cubic yard?
It depends on the stone type. A cubic yard of crushed limestone weighs about 1.55 tons, crushed granite about 1.48 tons, sandstone about 1.35 tons, and dense basalt about 1.6 tons. Lighter decorative stone like fieldstone or flagstone that's been loosely stacked with more air gaps can run closer to 1.45–1.5 tons. Always ask your supplier for the specific weight-per-yard of the product you're ordering, since moisture and particle size can shift the number by 10% or more.
Should I order extra stone to account for waste?
Yes — add 10% to your calculated volume for most projects. Stone settles after placement, some material is lost to spillage during delivery and spreading, and uneven subgrades consume more material than flat ones. For irregularly shaped areas or hand-placed stone walls, consider adding 15–20% because the fitting process generates more waste. It's far cheaper to return or store a small surplus than to pay for a second delivery.
What is the difference between crushed stone and gravel?
Crushed stone is mechanically broken from quarried rock, producing angular edges that interlock and compact tightly — making it the preferred material for structural base courses under driveways and patios. Gravel, by contrast, is naturally rounded by water erosion and does not lock together as firmly. The distinction matters for load-bearing applications: crushed stone forms a more stable base, while rounded gravel is better suited for decorative fill, drainage, and walkways.
How deep should landscape stone be?
Depth depends on the purpose. For decorative ground cover in garden beds and borders, 2–3 inches is sufficient to block weeds and create a finished look. For a patio or walkway base under pavers or flagstone, plan on 4–6 inches of compacted crushed stone. For driveways, 4–8 inches is standard — clay soils and heavy vehicle traffic push you toward the deeper end. Drainage projects typically use 3–6 inches of clean stone around the pipe.
How do I calculate stone for irregularly shaped areas?
Break the area into simple shapes — rectangles, triangles, and circles — that approximate the outline. Calculate the area of each section separately, add them together, and multiply by your desired depth. For very irregular shapes, you can also lay out a grid of 1-foot squares over the area, count the squares that are mostly inside the boundary, and use that as your area in square feet. Either way, add an extra 15–20% for waste on irregular areas because there's more cutting and fitting.
How many square feet does a ton of stone cover?
At 2 inches deep, one ton of typical landscape stone covers about 100–120 square feet; at 4 inches deep, that halves to roughly 50–60 square feet, since doubling the depth doubles the volume per square foot. The exact figure moves with density — a ton of lighter sandstone (1.35 t/yd³) covers about 120 sq ft at 2 inches, while denser basalt (1.60 t/yd³) covers closer to 101. The calculator reports coverage per ton for the type and depth you enter, so you can convert between square feet, cubic yards, and tons without doing the arithmetic by hand.
Which crushed stone grade should I use — #57, #2A, or ABC?
For a driveway or slab base that needs to compact and bear load, use a dense-graded stone with fines: #2A (crusher run) or ABC / aggregate base course, which lock up into a firm layer. For drainage, French drains, or a clean sub-base where you want water to pass through, use a clean, washed grade like #57 or #2B (roughly 3/4-inch stone with the fines removed). Stone dust or #10 screenings is a bedding and jointing material for pavers, not a structural base. All of these estimate the same way in this calculator — enter your area and depth and pick the closest crushed density (about 1.5 tons per cubic yard).
Related calculators
Sources
- Stone Calculator — Weight and CoverageInch CalculatorPer-type stone weight reference (lb/ft³ and tons/yd³) for crushed stone and gravel; accounts for stacking void space in loose delivery.
- How to Choose and Use Landscaping RocksThis Old HouseDepth recommendations by project type (2–3″ decorative, 4–6″ patio base, 6″+ driveway base), common stone types and their landscape applications.
- Crushed Stone and Sand & Gravel — Mineral Commodity SummariesU.S. Geological Survey (USGS)Aggregate density ranges and production data for crushed limestone, granite, basalt, and sandstone; used to cross-check per-type density figures.
- ASTM D448 — Standard Classification for Sizes of Aggregate for Road and Bridge ConstructionASTM InternationalDefines the numbered aggregate size classes (e.g. #57, #67, #8, #10) by sieve gradation; basis for the crushed-stone grade sizes described on this page, alongside AASHTO M43 and state DOT specs (PennDOT 2A/2B, NCDOT ABC).