Playground Mulch Calculator

The CPSC Public Playground Safety Handbook recommends a minimum of 9 inches of loose-fill wood chips or mulch, and notes that loose fill compresses at least 25 percent over time. Its own example: if you need 9 inches, install about 12. Shredded rubber is listed at 6 inches.

Cover the whole use zone, not just the ground under the equipment. CPSC describes it as extending at least 6 feet past the equipment in every direction, and further in front of and behind swings. That area surprises most people, which is why playground jobs often take 10 or more yards.

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.

For a swing set, measure the equipment footprint and add at least 6 feet on each side; add more in front of and behind the swings.

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

At the 12 in initial fill, one cubic yard covers only 27 sq ft, which surprises most people.

A cubic yard of playground chips weighs 400 to 700 lb (about 0.28 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 13.5 bags of 2 cu ft to make one cubic yard, and each bag weighs about 40 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 $8 a bag, $45 a yard in bulk, and $75 delivery, bulk starts winning at about 1.2 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 14 bags, about 550 lb in total, twice: into the cart and out of the car.

One cubic yard of playground chips weighs about 550 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 bed space runs out first. A 6.5 ft bed holds about 2.1 cubic yards level full, which weighs about 1,160 lb, within most half-ton payloads. Heaping it higher is how loads end up on the highway, so tarp it.

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

• CPSC recommends a minimum of 9 inches of wood chips or mulch and warns that loose fill compresses about 25 percent, so start near 12. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)
• The use zone extends at least 6 feet past the equipment in every direction. Measure that whole area, not just under the swing set. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)
• Never use mulch made from CCA pressure-treated wood on a playground. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)

• Spreading 9 inches at install. It compresses below the minimum within months.
• Measuring only the footprint of the equipment.
• Using wood mulch made from CCA pressure-treated lumber.
• Letting the surface wear thin under swings and slide exits without topping up.