Material calculators that give you a number, not a lecture
Enter your dimensions and get the volume in cubic yards, the weight in tons, the bag count and a cost estimate — including the depth and waste assumptions behind every result.
Concrete Calculator
Work out how many cubic yards of concrete a slab, footing or driveway needs. Enter your dimensions for yards, bags, weight and cost — includes waste allowance and short-load warnings.
4 size presets →Fill Dirt Calculator
Calculate how much fill dirt you need to raise or level ground. Get cubic yards, tons, truck loads and cost, plus how much topsoil to cap it with.
4 size presets →Gravel Calculator
Calculate how much gravel or crushed stone you need for a driveway, walkway or patio. Get cubic yards, tons, bag counts and cost, with a compaction allowance built in.
4 size presets →Material Calculator
Work out exactly how much concrete, gravel, mulch, topsoil, sand or sod you need. Enter your dimensions for cubic yards, tons, bag counts and cost.
0 size presets →Mulch Calculator
Calculate how much mulch you need for a garden bed or border. Get cubic yards, the number of 2 cubic foot bags, coverage at your depth, and a cost estimate.
4 size presets →Paver Base Calculator
Calculate the crushed stone base you need under pavers, including compaction allowance. Get cubic yards, tons, bag counts and cost for a patio, walkway or driveway.
4 size presets →River Rock Calculator
Calculate how much river rock or decorative stone you need for a bed, border or dry creek. Get cubic yards, tons, bag counts and cost, with void allowance included.
4 size presets →Sand Calculator
Calculate how much sand you need for paver bedding, a sandbox, backfill or a concrete mix. Returns cubic yards, tons, bag counts and cost.
4 size presets →Sod Calculator
Calculate how many square feet and pallets of sod you need for a new lawn. Includes waste allowance, pallet coverage at 450 and 500 sq ft, and a cost estimate.
2 size presets →Topsoil Calculator
Work out how much topsoil you need to build up a lawn, fill a raised bed or level low spots. Returns cubic yards, bags, weight and cost, with a settling allowance.
4 size presets →BuildCalc exists because ordering bulk material is the part of a landscaping or concrete job that people get wrong most often — and getting it wrong is expensive in both directions. Order too little and you are making a second trip mid-pour. Order too much and you have paid for three cubic yards of gravel you now have to find somewhere to put.
Every calculator on this site does the same three things:
- Turns your dimensions into the units suppliers actually sell in. Bulk material in the US is sold by the cubic yard, bagged material by the bag, sod by the square foot or the pallet. The calculators show all of the equivalents at once so you can compare a bulk quote against a bag price without doing the arithmetic yourself.
- Uses material-specific coefficients. Concrete, gravel, mulch and topsoil have different bulk densities, different waste factors and different recommended application depths. A single generic "volume calculator" quietly assumes they are all the same, which is how you end up 20% short on a driveway.
- States its assumptions on the page. Every result lists the density, waste allowance and depth it used, so you can check the number rather than trusting it.
What these calculators are not
They are planning tools. They use published industry averages for bulk density and national average prices, and they do not know anything about your specific site: the subgrade, the drainage, the frost depth, the supplier's minimum order, or your local building code.
The concrete calculator will tell you that a driveway slab needs 4.2 cubic yards. It will not tell you whether you need a permit, whether your subbase is adequate, or whether the mix should be air-entrained for your climate. Structural work needs an engineer or a licensed contractor, and quantity estimates for a permitted job should come from whoever is signing off on it.
How to get a good answer
- Measure the depth, do not assume it. Depth is entered in inches and it is the field people get wrong most often. Measure the actual form depth.
- Add waste deliberately. 5% for a flat pour on prepared ground, 10% for anything uneven or irregular, more for loose fill that will settle.
- Replace the price with your own. The default prices are national averages for planning. Your local quote is the only price that matters — every calculator has an editable price field for exactly this reason.
- Check the depth guidance for your application. Each material page lists typical depths for common jobs, and those change with load: a patio and a driveway of the same size are not the same pour.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know how much material to order?
Measure the area's length and width in feet and the depth in inches, then work out volume with length × width × (depth ÷ 12). Divide cubic feet by 27 to get cubic yards, which is how bulk materials are sold in the US. Add 5% for a flat pour and 10% for anything uneven.
Why do different materials give different answers for the same size area?
Because each material has its own bulk density, its own recommended application depth and its own waste factor. A 4-inch concrete slab and a 3-inch mulch bed over the same footprint are different volumes, and they weigh very different amounts.
Are the prices on these pages accurate?
They are national averages for planning, not quotes. Every calculator lets you type your own price, and you should — material prices vary by 50% or more between regions, and delivery, short-load fees and tax are not included.
How much extra should I order for waste?
5% for a flat slab on prepared ground, 10% for footings, driveways and anything with an irregular edge, and 20% extra for loose fill that will settle. Running short mid-project almost always costs more than the leftover material.