Pea Gravel Calculator

Pea gravel is small, rounded stone, usually about 3/8 inch. It feels good underfoot, drains fast, and looks finished in a patio or garden path. Because the stones are round, they never lock together, so it stays loose. That is great for a play area or a dog run, and a problem on a driveway or a slope.

Keep it to 2 to 3 inches on paths and patios (deeper feels like walking on a beach) and contain it with edging so it stays where you put it.

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 deep and weighs about 1.4 tons.

A cubic yard of pea gravel weighs 2,600 to 2,900 lb (about 1.4 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 50 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, $55 a yard in bulk, and $100 delivery, bulk starts winning at about 0.5 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 2,800 lb in total, twice: into the cart and out of the car.

One cubic yard of pea gravel weighs about 2,800 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 0.54 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.

• Pea gravel rolls underfoot and under tires. It is a poor choice for driveways or anywhere a wheelchair or stroller goes. (Penn State Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies)
• A single cubic yard weighs well over a ton, more than many half-ton pickups can legally carry. (The Engineering ToolBox)
• CPSC lists pea gravel at 9 inches for playground surfacing, but it is hard to walk on and gets thrown. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)

• Spreading it too deep on a path. Past 3 inches it shifts with every step.
• Leaving out edging. Pea gravel migrates into lawns and beds.
• Using it on a driveway or slope, where it ruts and rolls downhill.