📚 What's in This Guide
A crusher run calculator turns the size of a driveway, path or base into the amount of crushed stone you need to order, in cubic yards, tons and truck loads. Crusher run, also sold as crush and run, is a blend of crushed stone and stone dust that packs tight when it is compacted, which is why it is a common base under driveways, sheds, patios and walkways. Suppliers sell it by the ton, but you measure the job in feet and inches, so a small error in depth or weight per yard can change the order by a whole truck load.
The calculator above converts your measurements, adds a compaction and a waste allowance that you control, and shows every step so you can check the result before you call the yard. It works for rectangles, circles, triangles and any area you already know, in US or metric units.
Crusher run needed = length x width x depth x weight per cubic yard, plus allowances. For a 40 x 10 ft driveway with a 4 inch base, that is about 4.94 cubic yards of finished layer, and about 8.65 tons to order with the default 15% compaction and 5% waste allowances.
1. How the Crusher Run Calculator Works
You describe the area, the finished depth and the stone. The calculator first finds the area from the shape you chose, then multiplies it by the finished depth to get the volume of compacted base you want to end up with. That volume is the part you can measure on site.
Next it converts volume to weight using a weight per cubic yard, which you can pick from three planning values or replace with your supplier's figure. Two allowances are then applied one after the other: compaction, because loose stone settles when it is rolled, and waste, for spillage and uneven ground. The result is the quantity to order, shown as tons (or tonnes), pounds (or kilograms), loose cubic yards and truck loads.
If you enter a price per ton and a delivery fee, the calculator also shows an estimated cost. It uses only the numbers you enter and does not guess local prices.
The depth you enter is the finished, compacted thickness, and the weight per cubic yard describes the loose, delivered stone. The calculator assumes a flat area with an even depth, and it does not size the base, specify gradation, or account for the subgrade. Those decisions belong to your plans or local requirements.
2. How to Use the Crusher Run Calculator
- Choose US units (feet, inches, tons) or metric units (metres, millimetres, tonnes).
- Pick the shape of the area and enter its dimensions, or choose Known area if you already have the total.
- Enter the finished, compacted depth, or tap one of the common depths.
- Choose Light, Typical or Heavy weight, or choose Custom and enter the weight your supplier quotes.
- Set the compaction allowance and the waste allowance.
- Enter your truck load size, and optionally a price per ton and a delivery fee.
- Read the tons to order, the volume, the truck loads and the step-by-step breakdown, then copy, share or download the result.
If a number falls outside the allowed range, the calculator tells you and uses the nearest allowed value instead of changing it silently. If a required box is empty, it asks you to fill it in rather than showing a result.
3. Crusher Run Calculator Formula
Volume = Area x Depth
Area is in square feet and depth in feet (inches divided by 12), or in square metres and metres (millimetres divided by 1,000). Divide cubic feet by 27 to get cubic yards.
Weight to order = Volume x Weight per cubic yard x (1 + Compaction %) x (1 + Waste %)
Compaction % is extra material added on top of the finished volume, not a shrinkage figure, so 15% means multiply by 1.15. Weight per cubic yard is in short tons (2,000 lb) in US mode. In metric mode the same formula uses kilograms per cubic metre, divided by 1,000 to give tonnes.
Truck loads = Weight to order / Truck load size, rounded up
Cost = Weight to order x Price per ton + Delivery fee
Area depends on the shape. A rectangle is length times width, a circle is pi times the radius squared, and a triangle is half the base times the height. The calculator rounds up only when it counts truck loads, never in the middle of the calculation.
4. Worked Example
These are the calculator's default values: a 40 ft by 10 ft driveway base, 4 inches deep after compaction, the Typical weight of 1.45 tons per cubic yard, a 15% compaction allowance, a 5% waste allowance and a 14 ton truck.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 40 x 10 | 400 sq ft |
| Finished volume | 400 x 4 / 12 | 133.33 cu ft = 4.94 cu yd |
| Weight of finished layer | 4.94 x 1.45 | 7.16 tons |
| With compaction | 7.16 x 1.15 | 8.23 tons |
| With waste | 8.23 x 1.05 | 8.65 tons |
| Truck loads | 8.65 / 14 | 0.62, so 1 load |
The order is about 8.65 tons, or 17,293 pounds, which is 5.96 cubic yards of loose stone. That fits in one 14 ton load with room to spare. If the supplier charges $40 per ton plus a $75 delivery fee, the estimate is 8.65 x 40 + 75 = $420.85. The intermediate figures here are rounded for display, so a hand calculation may differ by a cent or a hundredth of a ton.
5. Understanding Your Result
The tons-to-order number is the figure to give your supplier. It is an estimate built from your measurements and your assumptions about weight, compaction and waste, so it is only as good as those inputs. The volume to order is the same stone expressed in loose cubic yards, which helps when a supplier quotes by the yard instead of by the ton.
It is sensible to round up to the next quarter or half ton, or to the next full load when you are close, because running short on a compacted base is more expensive than ordering a little extra. Whether to order a second small load or one large load depends on your supplier's minimums and delivery charges.
The truck-load figure only divides your total by the load size you entered. Real loads depend on the truck, the legal weight limit and how the supplier loads it, so confirm the load size when you order.
6. Crusher Run Weight per Cubic Yard
Weight per cubic yard is the number that moves the result the most. Crusher run varies with the rock type, the gradation, the moisture and how tightly the pile is packed, so there is no single correct figure. Online calculators, including some supplier sites, use values from roughly 1.2 to 1.85 tons per cubic yard, which is a spread of about 50%, and none of them replaces the figure on your own delivery ticket. The calculator offers three planning values and a custom box.
| Setting | Tons per cu yd | lb per cu yd | lb per cu ft | kg per cubic m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light | 1.25 | 2,500 | 92.6 | 1,483 |
| Typical | 1.45 | 2,900 | 107.4 | 1,721 |
| Heavy | 1.65 | 3,300 | 122.2 | 1,958 |
These are planning values, not laboratory results. Bulk density, sometimes called unit weight, is the mass of stone per volume including the air spaces between the pieces. The standard test method for it, ASTM C29/C29M, measures it on a dry sample, and it notes that stone in a truck or stockpile usually carries absorbed and surface moisture and that the compaction in a truck is not the same as in the test. In practice that means the weight on your delivery ticket can differ from any chart, so use your supplier's figure whenever you have it.
7. How Deep Should Crusher Run Be?
The calculator needs a finished depth, and it does not choose one for you. The right thickness comes from your plans, your local requirements, the soil underneath and the traffic above. As a general planning guide, these ranges are commonly used for the compacted layer:
| Use | Commonly cited compacted depth |
|---|---|
| Walkway or patio base under pavers | about 4 in (100 mm) |
| Base under a small shed or slab | about 4 to 6 in (100 to 150 mm) |
| Driveway for cars and light trucks | about 4 to 6 in (100 to 150 mm) |
| Heavier or frequent truck traffic | 6 to 8 in (150 to 200 mm) or more, as specified |
Crusher run is normally spread and compacted in layers instead of all at once, and a thick base is often built from more than one layer. Treat the table as a starting point for the depth box, and follow your plans or a local professional for anything that carries heavy loads.
8. Coverage per Ton and Driveway Quick Reference
If you want to know how much area one ton of crusher run covers, it depends mostly on depth. With the Typical weight and a 15% compaction allowance, and before any waste allowance, one ton covers roughly this much:
| Compacted depth | Area per ton | Area per ton (metric) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 in | 97 sq ft | 9.0 sq m |
| 3 in | 65 sq ft | 6.0 sq m |
| 4 in | 49 sq ft | 4.5 sq m |
| 6 in | 32 sq ft | 3.0 sq m |
| 8 in | 24 sq ft | 2.3 sq m |
For common driveway sizes, the table below shows tons to order with the default settings (Typical weight, 15% compaction, 5% waste). Use the calculator for your own measurements, since a different weight changes every figure.
| Driveway | Area | Tons at 4 in | Tons at 6 in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 x 20 ft | 200 sq ft | 4.3 | 6.5 |
| 10 x 40 ft | 400 sq ft | 8.6 | 13.0 |
| 12 x 50 ft | 600 sq ft | 13.0 | 19.5 |
| 12 x 100 ft | 1,200 sq ft | 25.9 | 38.9 |
9. Units and Conversions
- Cubic yard: 27 cubic feet, or about 0.7646 cubic metres.
- Short ton (US ton): 2,000 pounds, or about 907.2 kilograms.
- Tonne (metric ton): 1,000 kilograms, or about 1.102 short tons.
- Inch to millimetre: 1 inch is exactly 25.4 millimetres, and 1 foot is exactly 0.3048 metres.
- Weight per yard to kg per cubic metre: multiply tons per cubic yard by about 1,186.6, so 1.45 tons per cubic yard is about 1,720 kg per cubic metre.
Check whether your supplier prices in short tons or tonnes, since the two differ by about 10%. The US and metric toggle in the calculator converts the numbers you have already typed.
10. Practical Tips
- Measure the length and width of the finished surface, not the cleared ground, and break an odd shape into rectangles or use the circle and triangle options.
- Ask your supplier for the weight per cubic yard of the exact product, and enter it as a custom weight. It is the single most useful number you can replace.
- Enter the compacted depth you want, not the depth of the pile you expect to spread. The compaction allowance handles the difference.
- Set compaction to 0% if the supplier's rule of thumb already includes it, and avoid adding waste twice.
- Ask about minimum loads, delivery fees and the real truck capacity before you decide between one big load and two smaller ones.
- For a large or critical job, get the quantity confirmed against your plans or by the supplier, and order a little extra rather than stopping halfway.
11. Common Mistakes
- Mixing units: entering feet where inches are expected throws the answer off by a factor of 12.
- Using one weight for every product: crusher run, clean crushed stone and pea gravel do not weigh the same per yard.
- Confusing short tons and tonnes: an order quoted in tonnes is about 10% heavier than the same number of short tons.
- Forgetting compaction: loose stone settles, so ordering only the finished volume leaves the base thin.
- Counting compaction twice: adding a rule-of-thumb extra on top of a supplier quantity that already includes it overorders.
- Treating the depth as a design: the calculator does not decide how thick the base must be.
- Rounding too early: keep the full numbers until the end and round the final tons or loads up.
12. Related Calculations and Use Cases
Crusher run goes by several names, including crush and run, crush n run and graded aggregate base, so a crush and run calculator and a crusher run calculator answer the same question. It is most often used as a driveway base, a path or patio base, the bed under a shed or slab, and a farm or access lane surface.
If the base will be topped with loose stone, our Gravel Calculator can estimate the surface layer. When your area is irregular, work out each rectangle, circle or triangle separately, or add up the pieces yourself and enter the total with the Known area option.
13. Frequently Asked Questions
Multiply the driveway length by its width and by the depth of the base to get the volume, then multiply by the weight of the stone per cubic yard and add an allowance for compaction and waste. For a 40 by 10 foot driveway with a 4 inch base, the volume is about 4.94 cubic yards, and the calculator's default settings give about 8.65 tons to order. Your supplier's weight per yard and the depth in your plans can change that number, so enter your own figures in the calculator.
It depends on the product, its moisture, and how tightly it is packed. This calculator uses 1.45 tons per cubic yard, about 2,900 pounds, as a typical planning value, and online calculators publish figures from roughly 1.2 to 1.85 tons. Ask your supplier for the weight per yard of the exact crusher run they deliver and enter it as a custom weight in the calculator.
At a 4 inch compacted depth, one ton covers about 49 square feet with the typical weight and a 15 percent compaction allowance, and about 32 square feet at 6 inches. These figures are before any waste allowance. Coverage is inversely proportional to depth, so halving the depth doubles the area that one ton covers.
A compaction allowance of 10 to 20 percent is a common planning range, because loose crusher run settles when it is rolled or tamped. This calculator uses 15 percent by default. The right figure depends on the material, its moisture, and the equipment, so set it to 0 percent if your supplier's rule of thumb already includes compaction.
Usually yes. Crush and run, crush n run, crusher run, dense graded aggregate, and graded aggregate base are common names for similar blends of crushed stone and fines that compact into a firm base. The exact gradation and maximum stone size differ by region and supplier, so check the product name and size on your supplier's price list and use its weight per yard when it differs from the default.
Conclusion
A crusher run calculator takes the guesswork out of ordering base stone. It multiplies your area by the finished depth, converts the volume to weight with a figure you can adjust, and adds clear compaction and waste allowances before rounding up to truck loads. Because the answer depends on accurate measurements and on the weight per cubic yard, check both before you order, and use your supplier's figure when you have it. Use the calculator above for your own project, then confirm the quantity with your supplier.
This calculator is for planning purposes only. Base depth, gradation and compaction must follow your plans and local requirements. Confirm quantities, weight per yard and delivery terms with your supplier.