Fieldsheet

Job sheets for the materials you actually buy.

Gravel, in yards and in tons

Crushed stone, pea gravel, and sand do not share one weight. Fieldsheet keeps the density next to its source, separates a gravel-road compaction loss from ordinary waste, and gives you both the cubic yards and the tons.

Spillage and uneven ground, on top of compaction. Starts at 0% so a path is not quietly priced like a road.

Job sheet

Fieldsheet gravel job sheet

240 sq ft at 4 in. Crushed stone, average.

  • Finished volume80 cu ft · 2.96 cu ydArea × depth, before compaction or waste
  • Loose volume to order80 cu ft · 2.96 cu ydNo compaction loss. Waste 0%.
  • Weight to order4 tons8,000 lb at 2,700 lb/cu yd (Crushed stone, average)
  • Density sourceCrushed stone, averageTRORC material-weight chart (weights gathered from EPA and NTEA)
Fieldsheet gravel job sheet
240 sq ft at 4 in. Crushed stone, average.

Finished volume: 80 cu ft · 2.96 cu yd (Area × depth, before compaction or waste)
Loose volume to order: 80 cu ft · 2.96 cu yd (No compaction loss. Waste 0%.)
Weight to order: 4 tons (8,000 lb at 2,700 lb/cu yd (Crushed stone, average))
Density source: Crushed stone, average (TRORC material-weight chart (weights gathered from EPA and NTEA))

Volume, then weight, in that order

Cubic feet are area × depth in feet. A 12 × 20 foot pad at 4 inches is 240 × 4/12 = 80 cubic feet, or 2.96 cubic yards. Tons are that loose volume, in yards, times the pounds per yard, divided by 2,000. At the TRORC crushed-stone figure of 2,700 lb/yd³, 80 cubic feet is exactly 4 tons.

If the 4 inches is what you want after the stone locks up, the FHWA gravel-roads manual is the reason to order more. A 30% reduction means the loose pile has to be 80 / 0.70 = 114.3 cubic feet. Using Engineering ToolBox’s dry gravel at 105 lb/cu ft, that loose order weighs about 6 tons. The button labeled “Gravel road, 30%” does that division and says so. Leave it at zero for pea gravel you are raking, not driving on.

Two sources, not one blended number

Engineering ToolBox (2010) and the TRORC chart do not agree, and they should not be averaged into a fake “standard ton.” Dry gravel at 105 lb/cu ft is 2,835 lb/yd³. TRORC’s 3/4 inch dry gravel is 2,565 lb/yd³. Moisture moves the needle as much as the rock type: the same ToolBox page jumps from 105 to 125 lb/cu ft when the gravel is wet. If the quarry prints a scale weight, type it in. Their ticket is the density that matters.

Worked check you can do on a phone

The form opens on the 12 × 20 × 4 inch pad, crushed stone, no compaction, no waste: 2.96 cubic yards and 4 tons. Change only the compaction to 30 and the yards rise by the ratio 1 / 0.70, about 43% more loose stone, not 30% more. People add 30% and think they have matched the manual. The manual is a reduction in the pile, so the order is finished ÷ (1 − 0.30).

Mistakes

FAQ

How many tons are in a yard of gravel?

It depends which published density you use. The TRORC chart lists average crushed stone at 2,700 pounds per cubic yard, which is 1.35 tons. Engineering ToolBox lists dry gravel at 105 pounds per cubic foot, which is 2,835 pounds or about 1.42 tons per yard. Wet gravel on that same page is 125 pounds per cubic foot. The sheet uses the row you pick, and it leaves a box for the quarry’s number.

Do I need extra stone because it compacts?

Only if the depth you measured is the finished depth after compaction. The FHWA gravel-roads manual says ordinary compaction from placement, rain, and traffic can cut volume 30% or more. Loose decorative stone is not that job. The road button sets a 30% loss, which means you order the finished volume divided by 0.70.

Why not use 160 pounds per cubic foot for limestone?

Engineering ToolBox lists limestone at 160 pounds per cubic foot on the same page as the loose soils. That figure behaves like solid rock, not a loose pile of crushed limestone. The TRORC chart’s crushed limestone is 2,565 pounds per cubic yard, about 95 pounds per cubic foot. Using 160 will make you buy a truck that is far too heavy.

Is a ton the same as a cubic yard?

No. A yard is volume. A ton is weight. Quarries sell both, and a wet load weighs more than a dry one of the same size. Order the unit your ticket uses, and keep the other number so you can check the scale.

Sources

  1. Engineering ToolBox, Dirt and Mud - Densities (2010) — Gravel dry 105 lb/cu ft, gravel wet 125, sand dry 97, sand wet 119. Limestone at 160 lb/cu ft is not used as a loose aggregate.
  2. TRORC material weight chart — Crushed stone and 3/8 pea pebbles 2,700 lb/yd³; 3/4 in dry gravel and crushed limestone 2,565 lb/yd³. The chart says the weights were gathered from the EPA and NTEA.
  3. Gravel Roads: Maintenance and Design Manual, Section III — Ordinary compaction “will result in 30% or greater reduction in volume” in many parts of the country. Written for gravel roads, not a pea-gravel path.
  4. NIST SP 811, Guide for the Use of the International System of Units — A short ton in this sheet is 2,000 pounds. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet.