What is a cubic yard?
Almost all of our bulk products are sold by the cubic yard. A ‘yard’ is defined as a 3ft x 3ft x 3ft cube which will cover an area approximately 10ft x 10ft, 3 inches thick. To give you a better estimate:
1 yard = 9-14 wheelbarrows, depending on size.
1 yard = 35 five-gallon buckets, or 175 gallons.
How many yards do I need?
Formula for area cover in yards: Take the area of the location to be covered (length x width, or πr² for circles) in feet, multiplied by the number of inches deep, then multiply that number by .0031.
Example: I want to go around my house with rock or mulch. My house is 50 feet long and 30 feet wide, and I want it to go 3 feet out all the way around. I take the length of all four sides of the house, but I don’t want mulch in front of my garage door, so I’ll subtract the 10 foot length there. (front, back, left, and right) 40+50+30+30 = 150. Now that I know the total length is 150 feet, I multiply it by my width of 3 feet. 150 x 3 = 450 square feet, which is the area. I want an even depth of 4 inches all the way around, so I multiply the square footage (450 sq. feet) by the depth (4 inches). That number (1,800 in this case) then gets multiplied by 0.0031. In this example, the number comes out to 5.58 yards – rounding to the nearest quarter of a cubic yard, I would need about 5.5 yards of rock or mulch to finish this project, but to be safe I would probably get 5.75 yards.
How much can my truck or trailer hold?
These numbers are estimates to give you an idea of how much your truck can haul, but carry capacity has a wide range. They are here to help you know roughly how much product you can haul in your vehicle, but make sure to check your vehicle’s owner’s manual for the exact weight limits.
When you arrive to purchase your materials, we will also help you to safely judge how large of a load is possible in your truck or trailer. Don’t have a way to haul it yourself? Call 715-235-5988, or stop in to arrange a delivery.
Trailer weight capacity is usually found on a sticker either near the front of the trailer or on the tongue.
In addition to your trailer’s capacity, vehicles have a maximum pull weight; make sure to check in your manual to see how much your vehicle can safely pull.
- Dirt weighs ~2,000 lbs. (1 ton) per cubic yard.
- Compost weighs ~1,400 lbs. (0.7 ton) per cubic yard.
- Sand weighs ~3,000 lbs. (1.5 tons) per cubic yard.
- Rock weighs ~2,700 lbs. (1.4 tons) per cubic yard.
- Mulch weighs ~600 lbs. (0.3 tons) per cubic yard.
Please note that when products are wet, the weights increase by about 50%. It is usually not possible to load or sell topsoil immediately after a heavy rain.
- Rock – .75 yard
- Mulch – 2 yards
- Dirt – 1 yard
- Compost – 1.5 yards
- Sand – .5 yard
- Rock – 1.25 yards
- Mulch – 2 yards
- Dirt – 1.5 yards
- Compost – 2 yards
- Sand – 1 yard
- Rock – 1.75
- Mulch – 2
- Dirt – 2
- Compost – 2
- Sand – 1.5
Why call Diggers Hotline?
- If you plan on doing any excavating work, Digger’s Hotline needs to be called to check for any underground pipes or wires.
- It’s The Law. Wisconsin statute 182.0175 requires all excavators, including homeowners and construction contractors, to call Diggers Hotline at least three work days prior to starting work.
- Protect Yourself. If you do not call before you dig, you are putting yourself and your neighbors in danger. A shovel could easily cut through a buried underground electric line, and a damaged gas pipeline would put your entire neighborhood in jeopardy.
- Dig Now, Pay Later. If you dig without calling Diggers Hotline and you damage underground facilities, not only will you be financially responsible for the damage, but you could also be subject to a fine of up to $2,000.
- For more information head to their website, or call 1-800-242-8511