Tonnage Calculator
Weight of a measured volume of material — gravel, sand, crushed stone, topsoil or concrete rubble — in tons and tonnes, at each material's own density.
Volume is measured; weight is what the truck charges for
Bulk material is dug, spread and compacted by volume, but it is sold and hauled by weight — and the bridge between the two is density, which belongs to the material, not the project. This calculator takes a length × width × depth, and weighs it at the selected material's own density — the same figures the material calculators on this site use: gravel and crushed stone at 1.4 tons per cubic yard, sand at 1.35, dense graded base at 1.5.
Tons = cubic yards × density (tons per cu yd) · 1 US ton = 2,000 lb · 1 tonne = 1,000 kg = 1.102 US tons
Example: a 10 × 10 ft pad of gravel 4 in deep is 1.23 cu yd — at 1.4 tons per yard, 1.73 tons (1.57 tonnes). The same hole in sand weighs 1.67 tons; in crusher run, 1.85.
Density is a property, moisture is a mood
The densities here are the dry planning figures the trade quotes. Water moves them: wet sand can run 15–20% heavier than dry, and a yard of rain-soaked topsoil is nobody's 1.1 tons. That is why suppliers weigh the truck rather than trust the yardage — and why, when your supplier quotes their own density for their own pit, theirs outranks any table, this one included.
Note what this tool does not do: no waste allowance and no compaction factor. It weighs the volume you measured, exactly. The material calculators — gravel, sand, aggregate, topsoil — start from an area and a depth too, but they finish the job with the allowance and the bags and the delivery figures; use them when you are ordering, and this one when you are weighing: a trailer's payload, a demolition load, a delivery ticket that needs checking.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a cubic yard of gravel weigh?
About 1.4 tons — 2,800 lb — for crushed stone and gravel at the standard planning density. Clean rounded pea gravel runs a touch lighter; dense crusher run with fines runs heavier, about 1.5 tons. The scale ticket at the yard is the final word.
What is the difference between a ton and a tonne?
A US (short) ton is 2,000 lb. A metric tonne is 1,000 kg — 2,204.6 lb, about 10% more. On a big order the 10% is a whole extra truck movement, so check which one the quote is written in; the result states both.
How much does broken concrete rubble weigh?
About 1.2 tons per cubic yard loose — far less than solid concrete's 2.03 tons per yard, because rubble is mostly air gaps between chunks. Demolition loads are estimated loose; the landfill scale settles it exactly.
Why no waste allowance on this one?
Because weight follows the volume you actually measured — a scale does not round in your favor. Allowances belong to ordering (loose material compacts into less volume than it was delivered at), and the material calculators apply them openly on their own results.
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