One important question you must ask when planning a landscaping project is how much material is needed. Accurately calculating how much landscape rock you’ll need will ultimately save you both money and headaches. Let’s take a look at the factors you must consider when calculating the right amount of rock for your upcoming project.
Calculating Landscape Rock Factors
These two factors must be accounted for when calculating the amount of rock needed for your landscape:
- The size of the space you need covered.
- How deep you need the coverage.
In order to calculate size, you must measure the length and width of the project area. Multiply these two numbers to come up with the square footage of your area of coverage. For example, if your project is 18 feet long and 20 feet wide, the coverage area is 360 square feet.
The next step is to decide how deep the coverage needs to be. For most projects, 2 inches of rock should be adequate. If you are using materials that are more than 2 inches, you’ll most likely want a layer of 3-8 inch rocks.
Overall, the amount of landscaping rock needed will depend partly on what size of rock/gravel you wish to add to your area.
How To Calculate Landscape Rock Needs
Use this chart for general estimates of how large an area 1 ton of a few different types of materials will ultimately cover:
| Material Type | Size Of Material | Suggested Depth | Coverage Area (Per 1 Ton) |
| Rock | 1″-3″ | 1″-3″ | 80 Square Feet |
| Rock | 3″-8″ | 3″-8″ | 60 Square Feet |
| Screened Gravel | 3/4″-1″ | 2″ | 100 Square Feet |
| Screened Gravel | 5/8″-1/2″ | 2″ | 120 Square Feet |
| Screened Gravel | 1/4″-3/8″ | 2″ | 140 Square Feet |
This chart is helpful for homeowners to come up with the amount of material needed. You can take the square footage you came up with earlier in the process when you measured the project area. Next, divide it by the coverage area number in the chart above.
Use this calculation: L x W = square footage of the coverage area.
Square footage of coverage area + coverage area per 1 ton = tons of rock needed.
Outdoor Lifestyles By Par – Landscaping In Scottsdale AZ
Outdoor Lifestyles by Par has been designing, installing, and maintaining landscapes for over 40 years. We offer a highly qualified, professional staff dedicated to bringing you the highest aesthetic standard in design and quality construction. Customized landscape plans, responsive action, attention to detail and excellent customer service have created a long list of satisfied customers. Contact our team today!
