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How Much Crushed Stone Do I Need For My Driveway?

crushed-stone-nj-nyCrushed stone is an excellent material to use for driveway applications. Whether it is used as a base for concrete or asphalt or as the driveway material itself, this stone is versatile and durable. If your driveway is designed properly you can expect many years of trouble-free service from it.

How Much Crushed Stone Do I Need?

Crushed stone is generally sold by the cubic yard. In some cases it may be sold by the ton. There are several formulas you should be familiar with to figure out how much stone you will need.

A cubic yard is any volume of material that is 3 feet long by 3 feet wide by three feet deep, or 3′ X 3′ X 3′. To find how many cubic yards you will need multiply the length times the width times the depth and divide by 27. If the depth is less than one foot or has additional fractions of a foot added to it use the decimal to multiply by. For example, if this figure is 3″ multiply by .25 for this measurement in the formula, since three inches is a quarter of one foot.


An important consideration when figuring out much stone you will need will be to round up your calculations so that you won’t be short of material. You have to allow for compaction and you want to make sure you have enough material for the project. A good rule of thumb is to allow 5 percent for this.

Example for Cubic Yards

Let’s look at a specific scenario for cubic yards. Your project is going to be 10 feet wide by 50 feet long and 8″ of crushed stone is needed for the depth. Here is your workup.

10′ X 50′ X .66″ / 27 = 12.22 cubic yards
12.22 + 5 percent = 12.83 cubic yards

You would need to order 13 cubic yards of material for your project.

Example for Tons

Here is an example for how many tons of material you will need. We will assume the same figures for this example as the one for cubic yards: 10′ wide by 50′ long and 8″ crushed stone depth. Your workup is the same:

12.22 + 5 percent = 12.83 cubic yards (rounded up to 13 cubic yards)

And to figure the tons:

13 X 2700 = 35,100 pounds
35,100 / 2000 = 17.55 tons

You can figure ordering 18 tons of rock for your project.

Do Your Calculations, but Call the Experts

These figures are used to give you a rough idea of how much crushed stone you will need for your project. You will need to have your stone delivered, and your stone dealer will be able to give you a more exact figure for what you need.

Crushed stone is an excellent material to use for your driveway project. Plan your project, do your math, get your material delivered, construct the driveway and enjoy it for many years to come.