This river stone calculator helps determine the amount of river rock needed for your project, calculate coverage area, and estimate total cost. It features several stone types and also lets you enter custom material density.
Results
How Much River Stone Do You Need?
All you need to know are the exact dimensions of your area (length and width) and your desired depth of coverage. Area dimensions can alternatively be entered as radius (for circular areas) or as volume (if you’ve already calculated this value).
Calculation Formula:
- Measure the length and width of the area in feet
- Determine your desired depth in inches (typically 2 to 4 inches)
- Convert the depth to feet (divide by 12)
- Multiply these three values to get the volume in cubic feet
- Divide by 27 to convert to cubic yards
- Multiply by the material density (river stone typically ranges from 1.3 to 1.5 tons per cubic yard)
Calculation Example:
Consider a garden path that is 15 feet long and 3 feet wide. We plan to cover it with river stone to a depth of 3 inches:
- Calculate the volume:
- 15′ × 3′ × 0.25′ (3 inches = 0.25 feet) = 11.25 cubic feet
- 11.25 ÷ 27 = 0.42 cubic yards
- Calculate the weight:
- Minimum: 0.42 × 1.3 = 0.55 tons
- Maximum: 0.42 × 1.5 = 0.63 tons
- Approximate cost (assuming river stone costs $40 per ton):
- $40 × 0.55 = $22.00
- $40 × 0.63 = $25.20
So, this project will need approximately 0.6 tons of river stone. This will cost you $22-25 for materials, not including delivery. However, it’s always recommended to order 5-10% more to compensate for surface irregularities and natural settling.
Below, you’ll find a table with the weight of common materials per cubic yard. We’ve included minimum and maximum weights as these values may vary by supplier.
| Material | Tons per Cubic Yard | Metric Tons per Cubic Meter |
|---|---|---|
| Crushed Stone (¼” – 2″) | 1.4 – 1.7 | 1.8 – 2.2 |
| Gravel (¾” – 2″) | 1.2 – 1.6 | 1.4 – 1.9 |
| Pea Gravel (⅛” – ⅜”) | 1.2 – 1.6 | 1.4 – 2.1 |
| River Rock (¾” – 2½”) | 1.3 – 1.5 | 1.7 – 1.9 |
| Base Rock (¾” – 1″) | 1.3 – 1.6 | 1.7 – 2.0 |
| Drainage Rock (¾” – 1½”) | 1.4 – 1.6 | 1.8 – 2.1 |
| Sand (dry) | 1.2 – 1.4 | 1.5 – 1.8 |
| Sand (wet) | 1.6 – 1.8 | 2.1 – 2.3 |
Additionally, there’s a table further down with more specific stone types if you couldn’t find the data for the material you need in the table above. Please note that these are standard values, and it’s better to check with your supplier for the most accurate information.
| Material | Tons per Cubic Yard | Metric Tons per Cubic Meter |
|---|---|---|
| Bank gravel | 1.2 – 1.4 | 1.4 – 1.6 |
| Cheshire pink gravel | 1.3 – 1.5 | 1.5 – 1.7 |
| Congo river rock | 1.0 – 1.2 | 1.2 – 1.4 |
| Cotswold buff | 1.3 – 1.5 | 1.6 – 1.8 |
| Cotswold gold gravel | 1.7 – 1.9 | 2.0 – 2.2 |
| Crushed asphalt | 0.5 – 0.7 | 0.6 – 0.8 |
| Crushed granite | 1.0 – 1.2 | 1.2 – 1.4 |
| Crystal river rock | 1.2 – 1.4 | 1.4 – 1.6 |
| Dolomite gravel | 1.5 – 1.7 | 1.8 – 2.0 |
| Granite | 2.1 – 2.3 | 2.6 – 2.8 |
| Ivory coast gravel | 1.2 – 1.4 | 1.4 – 1.6 |
| Quartzite | 2.2 – 2.4 | 2.6 – 2.8 |
| Sunset gold gravel | 1.2 – 1.4 | 1.4 – 1.6 |
| White marble chips | 1.1 – 1.3 | 1.3 – 1.5 |
Cite this page as:
Takahashi, H. “River Stone Calculator”. Available at https://constructioncalculators.com/river-stone-calculator/