Gravel Calculator for Indiana Farm Lanes, Pads and Paths
Enter your project dimensions
Flat Indiana till plain gives rain nowhere to go, so a gravel job here lives or dies on depth. Decide the depth first, then let the gravel calculator do the rest. The table below gives the starting depths; the tool turns them into cubic yards, tons and cubic feet.
How Deep to Go on Indiana Farm Ground
| The job | Starting depth | Material line to pick |
|---|---|---|
| Garden path or walkway | 2 to 3 in | Driveway / walkway gravel |
| Freshening an existing drive | about 2 in | Driveway / walkway gravel |
| New drive or farm lane, base course | 3 to 4 in, compacted | Crusher run / road base |
| New drive or farm lane, top course | 2 to 3 in | Driveway / walkway gravel or crushed stone |
| Loose gravel patio or sitting area | 2 to 3 in, inside edging | Driveway / walkway gravel or pea gravel |
| Small shed or outbuilding base | about 4 in | Crusher run / road base |
| French drain or soggy spot | 12 in or more | Crushed stone (#57, 3/4") |
How to use the table:
- Find your job in the left column.
- On wet, flat ground that ponds, go to the deeper end of the range.
- Build a new drive in two layers, not one. The base carries the load and the top sheds water.
- For drainage work, use the stone calculator, since clean stone with no fines is what you want.
In Indiana, #53 stone is the base: dense graded, with fines, so it packs hard. #73 stone is the finer dense graded size for topping and resurfacing. Both go on the road base line.
Entering a Pole-Barn Pad or Lane
- Choose rectangle, circle or multiple areas. Multiple areas takes up to 5 pieces and totals them.
- Type length and width in feet. For a circle, type the diameter in feet.
- Type the depth from the table, in inches. Anything from 0.25 to 24 works.
- Choose the material.
- Tick the box to add 5% extra for compaction and spillage if the stone gets packed or driven on.
- Press calculate. Read cubic yards, tons and cubic feet.
- Use Email my quote to get the figures in your inbox.
A Garden Path, a Hot Tub Pad and Lawn Prep
These are sample jobs with sample sizes, not customer projects.
Garden path
- Size: 3.5 ft wide x 60 ft long = 210 sq ft
- Depth: 2.5 in = 0.208 ft
- Volume: 210 x 2.5 ÷ 12 = 43.75 cu ft
- Yards: 43.75 ÷ 27 = 1.62 yd³
- Tons at 1.40: 1.62 x 1.4 = 2.3 tons of walkway gravel
Lay it over compacted ground or fabric so the stone doesn't work down into the clay.
Hot tub pad
- Size: 10 x 10 ft = 100 sq ft
- Depth: 6 in of #53 stone (the example's figure; the tub maker's pad instructions come first)
- Volume: 100 x 0.5 = 50 cu ft
- Yards: 50 ÷ 27 = 1.85 yd³
- Tons at 1.50: 1.85 x 1.5 = 2.8 tons
- With the 5% box: 1.94 yd³, 2.9 tons
A full tub is heavy and sits in one spot for years. Compact the #53 in thin lifts, and keep the pad a little above the surrounding yard so water runs off.
New lawn prep
- Size: 40 x 50 ft = 2,000 sq ft
- Depth: 4 in of soil
- Volume: 2,000 x 4 ÷ 12 = 666.7 cu ft
- Yards: 666.7 ÷ 27 = 24.7 yd³
Stop there. The volume formula works for any material, but the tonnage figures in this tool are for stone, not dirt. Take the 24.7 yards to the topsoil calculator for a soil-based weight. If a wet corner of the new lawn needs a gravel drain first, size that part here.
Pounds per Yard, From #53 to River Rock
The calculator changes cubic yards to tons with a fixed figure for each material:
| Material | Weight per yd³ | Tons per yd³ |
|---|---|---|
| Driveway / walkway gravel | ≈ 2,800 lb | 1.40 |
| Pea gravel | ≈ 2,800 lb | 1.40 |
| Crushed stone (#57, 3/4") | ≈ 2,800 lb | 1.40 |
| Crusher run / road base | ≈ 3,000 lb | 1.50 |
| River rock | ≈ 2,700 lb | 1.35 |
Points to keep:
- Stone with fines, like #53, is heavier per yard because the fines fill the gaps.
- A ton of the 1.40 materials is about 0.71 yd³.
- Driveway stone, pea gravel and #8 stone all sit on 1.40 lines.
Extra Stone for Settling on Packed Lanes
- Driven or packed stone: tick the 5% box. Stone settles when it's compacted.
- Loose paths and beds: the box is optional.
- Wet, soft subgrade: stone pushes down into soft clay, so round up rather than down.
- Timing: frozen ground won't compact, and saturated clay is no better. Base work goes well from late spring, once the ground dries, through fall.
- Frost: about 30 inches around central Indiana and up to 36 in the far north, shallower in the south, with the local building department setting the figure. Gravel doesn't go that deep. Drainage is what keeps a base from heaving.
Getting #53 to the Barn Site
Take the tonnage to the product page, enter your quantity and choose a delivery date. Delivery is arranged at checkout by ZIP code. The truck needs firm ground and room to dump, so pick the spot before it arrives. If you're unsure which stone fits a pole-barn pad or a long lane, Indiana Rock Supply can help through the contact page.
Common questions
Does it matter if I pick pea gravel or crushed gravel in the list?
Not for the weight. Both use 1.40 tons per yard. Pick pea gravel for walking areas and crushed stone where tires roll, because crushed pieces lock together.
How do I figure stone for potholes in the lane?
Measure each hole as a rectangle or circle and enter its depth. Example: three 3 x 2 ft holes plus one 2 ft round hole, all 4 inches deep, total about 7 cu ft, or 0.26 yd³ and about 0.4 tons of #73 stone. Multiple areas takes 5 holes at a time; run the rest separately and add them up.
The spot isn't square. What do I enter?
Break it into rectangles and circles and use multiple areas. For a curve, measure down the middle for length and use the average width.
How do I turn the answer into bucket or truck loads?
Use the cubic feet figure. Divide it by the rated capacity of your bucket or wheelbarrow, in cubic feet. For a truck, compare the tons against its rated payload.
Do I measure depth before or after packing?
Enter the finished depth you want after compaction, then tick the 5% box. The extra covers the stone lost as it settles.
Related calculators
That tonnage ships free.
Driveway gravel, #57, crusher run: priced by the ton, delivered across Indiana.
