Material Estimating Guides
Plain-English explainers that back up every Yardly calculator.
How Much Mulch for Tree Rings and Beds?
Estimate mulch for a tree ring with the annulus formula (outer area minus trunk area), keep the 2–3 inch depth, and avoid the mulch volcano that kills trees.
Read guide →How Much Sand for a Sandbox?
Estimate play-sand volume by length × width × depth, see how many bags a sandbox needs, and learn the safe-depth and safety basics before you fill it.
Read guide →How Much Topsoil to Level a Yard?
Estimate topsoil for leveling low spots and topdressing a lawn with the square-feet × depth ÷ 324 formula, plus the depth limits that keep grass alive.
Read guide →Polymeric Sand for Paver Joints: How Much Do You Need?
Polymeric sand is swept into the joints between pavers, not under them. Estimate bags from joint width, joint depth, and paver size — with a coverage table and a worked 12x12 patio example.
Read guide →Bags to Cubic Yards: A Conversion Chart for Mulch, Soil, and Rock
There are 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard. A 2-cubic-foot bag is about 1/27 of a yard, so you need ~14 per yard. Use the chart to convert 1, 1.5, and 2-cu-ft bags for mulch, soil, and gravel — and see when bulk wins.
Read guide →Fence Post Depth and Spacing: How Deep and How Far Apart
Bury at least one-third of the post and stay 6 inches below the frost line. For a 6-ft fence that's a 9-ft post set 36 inches deep, spaced 6–8 ft apart. Here's the full formula and the concrete per hole.
Read guide →How Many Square Feet Are in a Pallet of Sod?
A standard pallet of sod covers about 450 square feet and weighs 1,500–3,000 lb. Learn the slab-vs-roll math, the waste factor, and how to convert your lawn's square footage into pallets.
Read guide →Cubic Yards Explained: The Volume Behind Every Yardly Calculator
A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet — the unit behind every bulk landscape material. Learn the two formulas that drive the concrete, gravel, soil, and mulch calculators, plus why the waste factor exists.
Read guide →Fill Dirt vs Gravel Base: Which to Put Under Your Project
Fill dirt cheaply raises grade; a compacted gravel base carries load and drains. Learn when each belongs — under patios, sheds, driveways, and retaining walls — and the volume math for both.
Read guide →Raised Bed Soil Mix: Ratios, Volume, and What to Order
A productive raised bed is a blended mix — about equal thirds topsoil, compost, and aeration — not bagged garden soil. Learn the ratios, how to split the volume, and what to order in bulk vs bags.
Read guide →Mulch or Rock for Beds? How to Choose and Estimate Both
Mulch feeds the soil but needs yearly topping; river rock lasts for years but bakes the ground and adds nothing. How to pick by bed type, and run the volume and weight math for each before you order.
Read guide →How to Measure an Irregular Yard for Material Estimates
Break any L-shape, pie-slice, or curved yard into rectangles, triangles, and circles, sum the areas, subtract obstacles, then turn square feet into the right order for concrete, mulch, gravel, or sod.
Read guide →Waste Factor: How Much Extra Material Should You Order?
The 10% rule is three different problems wearing one number. Here is how to separate cut waste, ground error, and compaction — and why the right overage depends on what happens when you run short, not on the material.
Read guide →Cubic Yards to Tons: Converting Gravel, Sand, and Soil
Your calculator says cubic yards, the quarry sells by the ton. Here is the density factor for each landscape material, the arithmetic behind it, and the moisture and compaction traps that skew the order.
Read guide →How Thick Should a Concrete Slab Be? Patios, Driveways, and Sheds
Four inches is the residential default for patios, walkways, and car-only driveways; 5 to 6 inches wherever a truck, RV, or trailer parks. Here is the thickness table by use, what each extra inch costs in cubic yards, and the joint spacing that goes with it.
Read guide →Fence Material Estimate: Posts, Rails, and Pickets per Foot
A 6 ft privacy fence takes about 2 pickets per linear foot, one post every 8 ft plus one, and 3 rails per section. Here are the four formulas, a per-100-ft table, and the nominal-size trap that wrecks picket counts.
Read guide →Concrete Bags Calculator: How Many Bags of Mix Do You Need?
A standard 80 lb bag of concrete mix yields 0.60 cubic feet — so one cubic yard takes 45 bags. Here's the bag-yield table, the formula, and the ready-mix crossover point that saves you a wasted trip.
Read guide →Gravel Driveway Calculator: Depth, Layers, and Tons Needed
Estimate gravel for a driveway in cubic yards and tons with one formula, plus the layered section, compaction margin, and drainage crown most first-timers get wrong.
Read guide →Sand Calculator: How Much Sand for Pavers, Sandboxes, and Leveling
How much sand you need depends on three numbers — square footage, depth, and the right sand type. Paver bedding is 1 inch, a sandbox is 6–12 inches, and a pool base is 2–3 inches. Here's the volume math for each.
Read guide →Sod Calculator: How Much Sod for Your Yard
Square feet is the only sod number that travels between farms — pallets run 400 to 600 sq ft and pieces from 3 to 10. Here's the math, plus why waste scales with your edges, not your area.
Read guide →Grass Seed Calculator: Seed per 1,000 sq ft
Seeding rates run from a quarter pound to nine pounds per 1,000 sq ft depending on species — here's why, plus the overseeding halving rule, seed-tag math, and worked examples.
Read guide →Fill Dirt vs Topsoil: When to Use Each
Fill dirt raises grade; topsoil grows things. Most yard projects need both, in that order. How to split the depth, run the volume math for each layer, and avoid the settling mistake.
Read guide →River Rock Calculator for Landscaping Beds
Square feet × depth ÷ 324 = cubic yards, then about 1.2–1.4 tons per yard. Depth by stone size, tons-per-ton coverage, and the research on where rock actually works as mulch.
Read guide →Mulch Calculator: Cubic Yards for Your Garden Beds
Measure every bed, pick the right depth for the mulch type, and total the order in cubic yards — a bed-by-bed worksheet method with a worked multi-bed example.
Read guide →Paver Base 101: Sand and Gravel You Actually Need
How much gravel and sand go under pavers — the 4-inch base and 1-inch bedding standard, the volume math for each layer, and what to order for a typical patio.
Read guide →Topsoil Calculator for Raised Beds and Lawns
One formula covers both jobs — square feet × depth ÷ 324 — but lawns and raised beds need very different depths. Worked examples, settling allowances, and bag-vs-bulk math.
Read guide →How to Estimate a Retaining Wall (Blocks, Gravel & Cost)
Estimate retaining wall blocks, base gravel, and backfill for a straight or curved wall using face area and course count — with a waste margin.
Read guide →Gravel Calculator: How Much Gravel for a Patio Base
Estimate patio base gravel in cubic yards and tons with one formula, plus the compaction margin most first-timers forget and the right stone to order.
Read guide →How Much Fence Post Concrete Do I Need?
Work out the concrete per fence post and for the whole run, plus how many 80-lb bags or how many yards of ready-mix to order.
Read guide →How to Estimate Pavers for a Patio (Step by Step)
Figure out how many pavers, how much sand, and how much gravel you need for a patio — with a simple square-foot method and a waste margin built in.
Read guide →The Complete Guide to Landscape Material Calculators
Estimate every landscape material — concrete, gravel, sand, mulch, soil, sod, and more — with links to Yardly's free calculators and project estimators.
Read guide →Sod vs Seed: Which Is Better for a New Lawn?
Compare sod and grass seed for a new lawn — cost, time, and how much material each option needs, so you can pick the right one.
Read guide →How Much Concrete Do I Need? A Simple Estimating Guide
Learn the cubic-yard formula for slabs, footings, and pads, plus when to order ready-mix vs bags and how to avoid short pours.
Read guide →How Much Mulch Do I Need? A Simple Bed-by-Bed Estimating Guide
Use length × width × depth to estimate mulch in cubic yards, learn the 108-sq-ft-per-yard rule, and avoid the most common mulching mistakes.
Read guide →Guide questions
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