How much gravel for a 10×10 area?
A 10 × 10 ft area 4 inches deep needs about 1.91 tons of #57 stone, allowing for settling and 5% waste. That is 1.23 cubic yards in place, or 74 bags of 0.5 cu ft if you buy it bagged.
How to work it out
- 10 ft × 10 ft = 100 sq ft
- 100 sq ft × 4 in ÷ 12 = 33.3 cu ft ÷ 27 = 1.23 cu yd
- 1.23 cu yd compacted × 1.05 = 1.3 cu yd loose × 1.4 tons/cu yd = 1.81 tons
- + 5% waste = 1.91 tons
- Effective rate: ≈ 1.54 tons per cu yd compacted
- Bulk: 1.91 tons rounded up to the next ½ ton = 2 tons
- Bags: 36.8 cu ft loose ÷ 0.5 cu ft = 74 bags
A hundred square feet is the size of a small gravel patio, a hot-tub pad or a spot for trash and recycling bins. At just under two tons it sits right on the line between bags and bulk: seventy-four 50 lb bags is a lot of lifting, while many landscape yards will load a ton or two into a pickup or trailer, if your vehicle is rated for it.
Adjust for your project
More options: Compaction · Waste · Price …
- Loose volume (as delivered)
- 1.36 cu yd (36.8 cu ft)
- Or in 0.5 cu ft bags (about 50 lb)
- 74 bags
- Bulk order (rounded up)
- 2 tons
- 74 bags ≈ 3,800 lb — several car trips.
Gravel for a 10×10 area, 4 in deep, by stone type
| Material | Gravel to order | Loose volume (as delivered) |
|---|---|---|
| s57 | 1.91 tons | 1.36 cu yd |
| pea | 1.87 tons | 1.34 cu yd |
| crusher | 2.43 tons | 1.62 cu yd |
| s411 | 2.33 tons | 1.56 cu yd |
| s3 | 1.96 tons | 1.4 cu yd |
| river | 1.75 tons | 1.3 cu yd |
What to know about a 10×10 gravel area
Check your truck’s payload before you drive to the yard. Nearly two tons is more than many half-ton pickups are rated to carry, so it may take two trips or a trailer. Bags avoid that problem but add up to a pallet and a half of 50 lb lifts, which is several car trips.
Four inches suits a hot tub or anything with weight on it; for a seating area or bin store, 3 in over a compacted base is usually enough (see the variants below). Under a hot tub, follow the tub maker’s pad instructions — many want a level, compacted base with a set thickness, and some want concrete.
The most common mistake on a small square like this is skipping the edging. Without a timber, steel or paver border, the outer foot of stone migrates into the lawn within a season and the mower throws it.
Using pea gravel for a patio instead? The rounded stone needs different edging and depth — see how much pea gravel for a 10×10 patio. A long, narrow strip instead of a square? How much pea gravel for a 3×30 ft garden path. Putting a shed on it? Size the pad a foot bigger than the shed: how much gravel for a 10×12 shed base. Metric: how much gravel for 20 m² at 10 cm.
Different size? Use the full Gravel Calculator.
What you’ll need
- Hand tamper (8 × 8 in or 10 × 10 in)Budget price
Compacts gravel in small areas and along edges where a rented plate compactor won’t reach. For a whole patio base, rent the plate compactor.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - Steel or aluminum landscape edgingMid-range price
Rigid edging that holds gravel and pea gravel in place and keeps a clean line against lawn.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - Square-point transfer shovelBudget price
Flat blade for scooping gravel, soil and sand off a driveway pile — a round shovel leaves too much behind.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links to products are affiliate links — they cost you nothing extra and help keep these calculators free.
Frequently asked questions
How much gravel for a 10×10 area 3 inches deep?
About 1.43 tons of #57 stone with settling and 5% waste, or 56 bags of 0.5 cu ft. Three inches is plenty for a seating area on firm ground.
How much crusher run for a 10×10 pad?
About 2.43 tons at 4 inches once compacted, with 5% waste. Crusher run packs down about a fifth, so it takes more tonnage than #57 for the same pad — but it packs hard, which suits a hot-tub pad or a base under pavers.
Other common sizes
- How much gravel for a 10×12 shed base — 3.2 tons
- How much gravel for a 12×16 shed base — 6.13 tons
- How much pea gravel for a 3×30 ft garden path — 1.26 tons
- How much gravel for 20 m² at 10 cm — 3.66 tonnes
Sources
- FHWA — Gravel Roads Construction and Maintenance Guide (2015) (opens in a new tab) — Why crushed, fractured stone holds under load better than rounded stone
- Wisconsin DOT research report 0092-22-05 — Weight-Volume Relationships and Conversion Factors for Soils and Aggregates (2024) (opens in a new tab) — WisDOT conversion factors for compacted dense-graded base: 1.75–2.1 tons per cubic yard (Table 1.2); measured 1.78–1.98 (Table E2)
- FHWA-HRT-15-034 — Strength Characterization of Open-Graded Aggregates for Structural Backfills (opens in a new tab) — No. 57 stone: minimum (loosest) 95.4 pcf, maximum (vibrated) 108.7 pcf dry unit weight (Table 7)
- Gravel Monkey — How many tons of gravel in a dump truck? (opens in a new tab) — Typical payloads: single-axle about 6–10 tons, tandem 12–16, tri-axle 18–25; gravel hits the weight limit before the bed is full.