A Gravel Driveway Calculator is a free tool generated by the CalCon calculator team to help estimate the amount of gravel needed to fill the driveway surface. However, this is not the only calculator that can help you with everyday home calculations.
Therefore, if you plan on redecorating your household or making some financial cuts, feel free to check out other calculators that our site offers, like Cord of Wood Calculator, Weighted Blanket Calculator, Electricity Cost Calculator, House Cleaning Cost Calculator, etc.
Suppose you wonder why this article is worthy of reading. In that case, we can assure you that by diving into these paragraphs, you will certainly learn a lot about the gravel and its volume and why it is important to use the right amount of gravel, its cost, and how to calculate it.
Take a look other related calculators, such as:
What is Gravel – definition?
Since the technical definition varies on the area of usage, we will provide you with the most common definition. Amateur speaking, the gravel is a mixture of stone pieces, sand, and occasionally some clay, larger than sand but smaller than a cobble.
This mixture provides a stable surface because it compacts better than plain rocks. Also important, gravel is considered a natural material, while the crushed stone is produced mechanically. But, what is the origin of gravel?
The gravel comprises multiple mineral grains, with quartz being the most common mineral. Since the quartz lacks cleavage planes, the rock splits along them. Still, the disintegration of bedrock as it weathers is the primary way of gravel formation.
Gravel Driveway
If you doubt whether you should use the gravel driveway, the dilemmas will fade away after reading this paragraph since we prepared a list of pros and cons when it comes to a gravel driveway. Now, it is up to you to see if it satisfies your demands.
| GRAVEL FOR DRIVEWAY? | |
| Pros | Cons |
| Gravel is far less expensive than concrete or asphalt. | But it requires much more maintenance than concrete or asphalt. |
| It offers a clean look, and it is flexible if you have tree roots or large objects in your yard. | It is convenient for weed growth, which requires frequent plucking. |
| If there are potholes in the gravel driveway, it is easy and cheap to fix them just by adding some extra gravel to the pothole. | Even though it is easy to fix them, it is still a bad thing if it happens frequently, and mostly it does, since the gravel driveway is prone to potholes. |
| The good thing is that the gravel driveway can last up to one hundred years if properly maintained. | Definitely, not a good thing is that gravel can be washed away and is difficult to snowplow. |
How much gravel do I need for my driveway?
To do this calculation, you will have some fieldwork-based only on measuring the length and width of the area you want to cover with gravel. A tip if you have an odd-shaped area, break it into common shapes such as rectangular or square, then find the sum of the areas of each shape.
After finding the surface area number, multiply it by the required gravel depth measure. Whenever you do the calculations, be careful that the numbers are in the same units.
Now, let’s go through a step by step tutorial on how to calculate gravel volume:
- Once you measure the length and width of the area (in feet), multiply the figures.
- Now, multiply your area figure by the required depth of gravel (in feet).
- After doing the math (length x width x depth) from the previous step, you get a volume figure in cubic feet that you will have to convert to cubic yards by dividing it by 27.
- To find the weight in tons, multiply the volume (cubic yards) and the density (tons per cubic yards) of the gravel in \frac{tons}{yd^3} .
- Let’s say that the gravel has a density of 1.5 \frac{tons}{yd^3} ; then we multiply our yd^3 volume by 1.5 to get a weight figure in US tons.
How to calculate gravel volume?
To calculate the gravel volume in cubic yards, use the following formula:
Gravel \; Volume_{yd^3} = \frac{Area_{ft^3} \times Depth_{inches/12}}{27}It would help to calculate the square footage area first to use the formula above. This section will also show you how to get weight in tons. Additionally, you will have to know one extra piece of data, and it is the density of gravel, which ranges between 1.4 and 1.7 \frac{tons}{yd^3} .
The formula to calculate the weight of gravel:
G (UStons) = V_{yd^3} \times D _{tons/yd^3}Where G is the amount of gravel in US tons, V is the volume in cubic yards, and D is the density of gravel in tons per cubic yard.
What if my measurements are in different units?
If you are not the best person for handling units, don’t worry. We adapted our calculator to fit each user. This means that the calculator will do the conversion instead of you. Therefore, your only job is to input the measurement in the correct field and choose its unit.
Afterward, the calculator will automatically convert the value to fit the chosen unit as you switch to another unit. Available units are meters, centimeters, kilometers, inches, feet, yards, miles, and nautical miles. At the same time, the result is available in cubic centimeters, cubic decimeters, cubic meters, cubic inches, cubic feet, and cubic yards.
And suppose your wish is to learn more about unit conversion. In that case, we suggest you check out these calculators: CGS System of Units Converter, Cubic Feet Calculator, Cubic Yard Calculator, Volume Conversion, and a whole section on our site based on conversions.
Why is it important to use the right amount of gravel?
This headline covers two aspects; one is the durability of the driveway or any other surface covered with gravel, and the other is the visual impact.
What will happen if we use too little gravel? The answer to this question is quite simple. Imagine having a driveway used every day by vehicles and pedestrians, and if there is not enough gravel on it, their movements will create ruts.
Besides creating an impassable road, this also leads to a bad visual effect. And it leaves you with a bad investment and a striped driveway. All in all, this can be avoided just by the right calculation of the amount of crushed stone needed, using our calculator.
Still, too much gravel can cause problems too. Such as feeling uncomfortable while walking on it, gravel spilling around the barrier, and leaving a dirty look. After all, one of the most important side effects is the project’s cost, which is unnecessarily way higher in this case. This can be prevented by calculating the optimal depth of the gravel driveway, which averages between 4 and 6 inches.
Gravel Driveway cost – factors
As often mentioned, I believe we will have to bore you some more and state that this is the most affordable way of creating a nice and long-lasting driveway. Gravel (crushed stone) around your home has one more advantage besides those listed above. In comparison to asphalt, it doesn’t need a separated drainage system, which can efficiently lower the home budget for driveway installation.
Now, you are certainly eager to find out the price for the gravel driveway, and it averages between $1 – $3 per square foot. Now, let’s list the main factors that determine the price of the gravel driveway to discuss them: material and labor costs, equipment and delivery costs, the size of the driveway, and the thickness of the gravel layer.
When it comes to material costs, they vary depending on the type of gravel and, of course, the amount. But, the average cost is from $30 to $50 per cubic yard. Naturally, you will need someone to deliver this material to your address, creating new expenses. Once you have the material at your address, you will need to pay someone to conduct your project.
And this is where the labor costs step in, and they are charged $40 to $55 per hour for a driveway installation. Since this is a heavy job and unimaginable to do with bare hands, this leaves us with equipment costs.
How does our Gravel Driveway Calculator work?
The Gravel Driveway Calculator is a free and easy-to-use tool. It provides you with a result within seconds. Here is a quick guide on how to use it:
- Insert the dimensions of a driveway in proper units (length x width x depth), and the calculator will show you how much-crushed stone you need for your driveway.
- Click on the units to open a drop-down menu that allows you to change the unit, and it automatically converts your values.
How much gravel for a driveway? – an example of calculations
If you have a gravel driveway that is 29 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 2.5 inches deep, calculate how much gravel you need for a driveway?
29 \cdot 8 \cdot 0.208 = 48 cubic feet of gravel is the amount you need to cover the driveway properly.
As mentioned before, your only job is to measure the length and width of the area you want to cover with gravel and choose the depth required. A Gravel Driveway Calculator is an excellent tool that can save you the trouble of calculating and converting the units.
