Index
Pea gravel guides and calculators
Five calculators and the guides behind them. Start with the question you are trying to answer.
Tools
Calculators
Each one runs in your browser, states the density behind the numbers and needs no account.
Pea gravel calculator
Cubic yards, tons, bags and cost for any rectangle, circle, L-shape, area or known volume, in US or metric units.
Cost calculator
Bulk delivered against bagged, cost per square foot, and what a project costs once delivery and the base are counted.
Weight converter
Cubic yards to tons and back, pounds per cubic foot, wet against dry, and what a pickup can carry.
Driveway calculator
Quantities at 4 to 6 inches with a compaction allowance, plus the base, edging, cost and the ways driveways fail.
Patio calculator
Quantities at 3 inches, the thinner base a patio needs, and how to stop furniture sinking into loose stone.
Reading
Guides
Longer answers to the questions a calculator cannot work out for you.
Reference
Reference sections
Charts and explanations that live on the main calculator page.
Coverage chart
Square feet covered per cubic yard and per ton at every common depth.
Depth by project
2 inches for cover, 3 for paths and patios, 4 to 6 for driveways, 9 to 12 for playground fall zones.
Waste and compaction
Why 10 percent is the normal allowance and 25 percent is right for a driveway.
What goes under pea gravel
The base, fabric and edging that decide whether the surface holds up.
When not to use pea gravel
Slopes, wheelchair and stroller access, and the places rounded stone is the wrong answer.
Material guide
What pea gravel, crushed stone, river rock, decomposed granite, marble chips and lava rock look like and weigh.
Sources and methodology
The density constants behind every figure on the site and where they come from.
Just need a number?
The main calculator turns an area and a depth into cubic yards, tons, bags and cost.