Crusher Run Calculator

Crusher run (also called crush and run, CR6, 21A, DGA, or quarry process) is crushed stone mixed with stone dust. When you compact it, the dust fills the gaps and the layer gets denser and thinner. Measure the finished depth you want, and this calculator orders about 20 percent more to make up for it.

It is also one of the heaviest landscape materials. One yard can be more than a half-ton pickup should carry, so the Haul Check matters here.

Measure the length and width in feet, multiply for square feet, then decide the depth in inches. For odd shapes, split the area into rectangles, circles, and triangles and add them up; the calculator lets you add as many areas as you need and subtract cut-outs like a tree ring or an air-conditioner pad.

No tape measure? Open the Draw on satellite map tab, find your address, and trace the outline. Or use Pace it off: count steps along each side. Measure depth in a few spots, because ground is rarely flat.

Want the area on its own first? The lawn size calculator measures any part of your yard and carries it into the other calculators.

One cubic yard covers about 108 sq ft at 3 in compacted, before the compaction allowance.

Crusher run has stone dust mixed in, so it packs down hard when compacted. Ordering about 20 percent more gets you the finished depth you measured. The calculator adds this for you; the table does not.

A cubic yard of crusher run weighs 2,800 to 3,400 lb (about 1.55 tons typical). Moisture is the big swing: the same pile weighs more after rain.

See every material side by side on the material weights chart.

It takes 54 bags of 0.5 cu ft to make one cubic yard, and each bag weighs about 60 lb. Bags cost more per yard but skip the delivery fee and the minimum order. Bulk is cheaper per yard once the delivery fee is spread over enough material.

With example prices of $6 a bag, $45 a yard in bulk, and $100 delivery, bulk starts winning at about 0.4 cubic yards. These are examples, not your local prices: type your own into the Order Ticket above and it recalculates the break-even.

Do not forget the labor. One cubic yard in bags means lifting 54 bags, about 3,100 lb in total, twice: into the cart and out of the car.

One cubic yard of crusher run weighs about 3,100 lb. A full-size half-ton pickup typically carries 1,500 to 2,300 lb, and a midsize pickup 1,100 to 1,700 lb. Your exact number is on the Tire and Loading Information sticker on the driver's door jamb.

That means weight runs out first. At the low end of a half-ton's payload, you can carry only about 0.48 cubic yards per trip, even though a 6.5 ft bed holds about 2.1 level full. A bed that looks half empty can already be over the limit.

The Haul Check in the calculator does this math for your truck and your load, and tells you how many trips it takes.

• Crusher run compacts, so order about 20 percent more than the finished depth. This calculator adds it for you. (Caterpillar)
• It is among the heaviest landscape materials, often over 1.5 tons per yard. One yard can overload a half-ton pickup by itself. (The Engineering ToolBox)
• Names change by region: crush and run, CR6, 21A, DGA, quarry process. Ask your yard what they call it. (Penn State Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies)

• Ordering the finished depth without the compaction allowance.
• Compacting a thick layer in one pass. Work in 2 to 3 inch lifts.
• Using it where you need drainage. The fines slow water down.