How much gravel for a 10×12 shed base?
A 10 × 12 ft shed needs about 3.2 tons of #57 crushed stone for a 12 × 14 ft pad 4 inches deep. The pad holds 2.07 cubic yards once tamped; the order allows a little for settling and 5% for waste, so ask the yard for 3.5 tons.
How to work it out
- 14 ft × 12 ft = 168 sq ft
- 168 sq ft × 4 in ÷ 12 = 56 cu ft ÷ 27 = 2.07 cu yd
- 2.07 cu yd compacted × 1.05 = 2.18 cu yd loose × 1.4 tons/cu yd = 3.05 tons
- + 5% waste = 3.2 tons
- Effective rate: ≈ 1.54 tons per cu yd compacted
- Bulk: 3.2 tons rounded up to the next ½ ton = 3.5 tons
The number that matters is the pad, not the shed. A gravel pad normally runs about a foot past the shed walls on every side, so a 10 × 12 ft shed sits on a 12 × 14 ft pad: 168 sq ft instead of 120. That margin catches roof drip, gives you somewhere to stand when you paint or repair the siding, and keeps the edge of the stone from crumbling out from under the skids. Check your shed maker’s foundation sheet, since some ask for more.
Adjust for your project
More options: Compaction · Waste · Price …
- Loose volume (as delivered)
- 2.29 cu yd (61.7 cu ft)
- Bulk order (rounded up)
- 3.5 tons
- Quarries and landscape yards sell by the ton or half ton and deliver in full loads — ask about minimum orders and short-load fees.
Gravel for common shed pads, 12 ft wide, 4 in deep (pad length varies)
| Length | Gravel to order | Loose volume (as delivered) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 ft | 2.29 tons | 1.63 cu yd |
| 12 ft | 2.74 tons | 1.96 cu yd |
| 14 ft | 3.2 tons | 2.29 cu yd |
| 16 ft | 3.66 tons | 2.61 cu yd |
| 18 ft | 4.12 tons | 2.94 cu yd |
What to know about a 10×12 shed base
Order washed #57 stone — crushed stone around ¾ in with the dust screened out. It drains fast and levels easily with a rake, and at a little over three tons it is one small dump-truck delivery. Don’t substitute pea gravel to save a trip: the stones are round, so they roll under the weight of the floor and the shed slowly settles out of level. Crushed stone has sharp faces that lock together.
The common mistake at this size is digging only 10 × 12. Mark out 12 × 14 with stakes and string, strip the turf and dig about 4 in down, then build a frame of ground-contact 4×4 or 4×6 timbers around the edge to hold the stone in. Rake the stone in two layers and tamp each one; a hand tamper is enough for 168 sq ft. Clean stone barely shrinks when tamped, which is why the order is only about 5% more than the pad’s volume before waste.
Bags only make sense for the last top-up. The pad takes over a hundred 0.5 cu ft bags (see below), which is a lot of lifting for one shed. If the site slopes, the low side needs extra depth: every inch deeper across the whole pad adds roughly half a cubic yard.
Building bigger? A 12 × 16 shed needs a 14 × 18 pad and a compacted base — see how much gravel for a 12×16 shed base. For a patio-sized spot with no building on it, see how much gravel for a 10×10 area.
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) - Bow rake / landscape rakeBudget price
Steel tines for spreading gravel and soil and leveling it flat. The flat back of a bow rake doubles as a leveling tool.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - Wheelbarrow (6 cu ft class)Mid-range price
Most home wheelbarrows hold 4–6 cubic feet — so a cubic yard of mulch is five or six trips. Two wheels are steadier on soft ground.
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 10×12 shed base 6 inches deep?
About 4.8 tons of #57 stone for the 12 × 14 ft pad, including settling and 5% waste. Six inches is worth it on soft or poorly drained ground.
How much crusher run for a 10×12 shed pad?
About 4.08 tons for a 12 × 14 ft pad 4 inches deep. Crusher run packs down about a fifth when you compact it, so you order about 1.25 times the pad’s volume. It makes a harder surface than #57 but drains more slowly.
How many bags of gravel for a 10×12 shed base?
About 124 bags of 0.5 cu ft (roughly 50 lb each) to fill a 12 × 14 ft pad 4 inches deep. At that count, a bulk delivery of 3.5 tons is usually far less work.
Other common sizes
- How much gravel for a 12×16 shed base — 6.13 tons
- How much gravel for a 10×10 area — 1.91 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.