How Many Yards in a Ton of Gravel?

How many yards in a ton of gravel

Gravel is a common landscaping and construction material. It is comprised of crushed stone or naturally formed rocks and is used as aggregate for making concrete. You can order it in bulk, either by the yard or by the ton. So, if you purchased a yard of gravel, how many tons would that be?

The weight of a cubic yard of gravel weighs between 2,200 and 2,900 pounds. So, a ton of gravel, which is 2,000 pounds, would equal between 0.69 and 0.91 cubic yards.

How much gravel would you need for an upcoming construction project? What type of gravel should you get? I’ll answer these questions down below.

What Are the Types of Gravel?

Gravel is split into two main categories—crushed, naturally formed, bank, and pay-dirt gravel.

Crushed gravel is created by taking large boulders and crushing them to at least 0.16-inch fragments.

Naturally formed gravel consists of tiny pebbles, cobbles, and gravel “boulders,” which have been broken down to size via natural processes—i.e., exposure to the elements.

How Many Yards in a Ton of Gravel?

How Many Yards in a Ton of Gravel Content

If you take a look at different suppliers, you’ll find that they provide different figures when estimating their volume of gravel by the ton. For instance, Earth Haulers claims that every cubic yard (simplified as yard) weighs up to 2,900 pounds, while the folks at Bray Topsoil & Gravel supply gravel at 2,200 pounds per yard.

So, using simple mathematics, we can estimate the rough volume of gravel per ton. Below, I’ll provide the calculations for the maximum (2,200/yard) and minimum (2,900/yard) volumes of gravel per ton.

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Maximum Gravel Volume per Ton

  • 1 yard of gravel = 2,200 pounds
  • 1 ton = 2,000 pounds
  • 1 ton of gravel = 2,000 pounds ÷ 2,200 pounds/yard of gravel = 0.91 tons/yard of gravel

Minimum Gravel Volume per Ton

  • 1 yard of gravel = 2,900 pounds
  • 1 ton = 2,000 pounds
  • 1 ton of gravel = 2,000 pounds ÷ 2,900 pounds/yard of gravel = 0.69 tons/yard of gravel

How Much Gravel Do I Need?

How Much Gravel Do I Need

When calculating the volume requirement of gravel for an upcoming construction project, you should first be aware of how much gravel you will need to mix concrete. The suggested aggregate content per total volume of concrete should be between 60 and 75%.

So, to demonstrate how much gravel you will need, let’s assume that you plan on redoing your 9 × 24-foot driveway at a 3-inch thickness.

1. Volume of concrete driveway

First, we have to convert all measurement units into inches.

  • Width = 9 feet = 108 inches
  • Length = 24 feet = 288 inches
  • Thickness = 3 inches
  • Volume = W × L × T = 108 × 288 × 3 inches = 93,312 cubic inches

2. Converting cubic inches to cubic feet

To convert cubic inches to cubic feet, we have to divide the cubic-inch total by 1,728 (12 × 12 × 12 inches).

  • Volume (cubic inches) = 93,312
  • Volume (cubic feet) = 93,312 ÷ 1,728 = 54

3a. Converting cubic feet to cubic inches

Next, we have to take the cubic-foot volume and convert it into cubic yards since most suppliers sell gravel by the yard. To do this, divide the volume of the gravel in cubic feet by 27 (3 × 3 × 3 feet).

  • Volume (cubic feet) = 54
  • Volume (cubic yard) = 54 ÷ 27 = 2
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Alternatively, you can divide the cubic-inch volume by 46,656 (36 × 36 × 36 inches)

  • Volume (cubic inches) = 93,312
  • Volume (cubic yard) = 93,312 ÷ 46,656 = 2

3b. Converting cubic feet to tons

Since gravel suppliers might sell the material by the ton, you should also calculate how many tons of gravel you would need based on its volume. Following the figures from an earlier section (between 2,200 and 2,900 pounds per yard of gravel), we can calculate how many tons of gravel we need.

Maximum Gravel Volume per Ton

  • Volume (cubic yard) = 2
  • Weight (ton) = 0.91 × 2 = 1.82

Minimum Gravel Volume per Ton

  • Volume (cubic yard) = 2
  • Weight (ton) = 0.69 × 2 = 1.38

4. Calculating Gravel Requirement

Steps 1 through 3b were used to calculate the total volume of gravel, assuming that it would cover the entire 9 × 24-foot driveway. However, since concrete is made of 60 to 75% gravel, we can estimate how much gravel we need in volume and weight by doing the following:

By Volume

  • Volume (cubic yard) = 2
  • Volume (cubic yard) = 2 × [60% to 75%] = 1.2 to 1.5

By Weight

  • Weight (ton, maximum) = 1.82 × [60% to 75%] = 1.09 to 1.37
  • Weight (ton, minimum) = 1.38 × [60% to 75%] = 0.83 to 1.04
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BaronCooke

Baron Cooke has been writing and editing for 7 years. He grew up with an aptitude for geometry, statistics, and dimensions. He has a BA in construction management and also has studied civil infrastructure, engineering, and measurements. He is the head writer of measuringknowhow.com

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