Two green metal chairs and a small table with a potted herb on a pea gravel patio beside a hedge. Photo via Unsplash.
How much gravel do you need for a small patio? Multiply length x width x depth in feet to get cubic feet, divide by 27 for cubic yards, then multiply by about 1.35 for tons of pea gravel. An 8 by 10 foot patio at 3 inches deep is 20 cubic feet: 0.74 cubic yards, about 1 ton, or 40 bags of 0.5 cu ft.
Skip the arithmetic with the gravel calculator. Enter feet and inches or meters and centimeters, pick the stone, and it gives cubic yards, tons, and bag counts. The rest of this guide shows the math for small patios, balconies, and paths so you can sanity-check the number before you load the car.
No sponsored links. The bag size and densities come from the sources listed at the end.
Key takeaways
Cubic feet = length x width x depth in feet. Divide by 27 for cubic yards.
Pea gravel weighs about 1.35 tons per cubic yard; #57 crushed stone about 1.4.
A 50 lb bag of all-purpose gravel is about 0.5 cu ft, so 54 bags make a yard and about 40 bags make a ton.
Patio or path: 2 to 3 inches of pea gravel, ideally over about 2 inches of compacted crushed stone.
Planter top dressing: 1 inch is plenty, and one bag covers about 6 sq ft.
Past roughly half a yard, compare a bulk delivery price with the bag total.
How Do You Calculate Gravel for a Patio?
A small pea gravel seating area. Two chairs and a side table need about 8 x 10 feet. Photo via Unsplash.
Four steps:
Measure length and width in feet. For an odd shape, split it into rectangles and add them up.
Turn the depth into feet. Divide inches by 12. 2 inches is 0.167 ft, 3 inches is 0.25 ft.
Multiply length x width x depth. That is cubic feet.
Divide by 27 for cubic yards (3 x 3 x 3 = 27 cubic feet in a yard). Multiply yards by the stone's density for tons.
The densities I use are typical loose, as-delivered figures: about 1.35 US tons per cubic yard for pea gravel and river rock, and about 1.4 for #57 crushed stone. If your supplier quotes its own weight per yard, use theirs. Wet stone weighs more.
How Deep Should Gravel Be?
Depth changes the total more than anything else, so decide it first.
Job
Gravel depth
Notes
Top dressing in planters or pots
About 1 inch
Decorative, keeps soil from splashing
Decorative bed
1.5 to 2 inches
Small pea gravel can be thinner than river rock
Patio or seating area
2 to 3 inches pea gravel
Over about 2 inches of compacted crushed stone on soft soil
Garden path
2 to 3 inches
Edging keeps it from spreading into the lawn
Lowe's patio guide uses about 2 inches of tamped crushed rock, landscape fabric, then 2 to 3 inches of pea gravel, and warns that more than 3 inches makes walking difficult. Deep pea gravel behaves like loose sand: chair legs sink and every step slides. Keep it to 3 inches where people sit.
How Much Gravel for a Small Patio? (Worked Example)
Patio, 8 x 10 ft, 3 inches of pea gravel:
8 x 10 x 0.25 = 20 cubic feet
20 / 27 = 0.74 cubic yards
0.74 x 1.35 = about 1 ton
20 / 0.5 = 40 bags of 0.5 cu ft
Add a 2 inch crushed stone base under it: 8 x 10 x 0.167 = 13.3 cubic feet, or 0.49 cubic yards. At 1.4 tons per yard that is 0.69 tons. Compacted base shrinks, so add about 10%: 14.7 cubic feet, or 30 bags.
So the whole patio is about 70 bags, or about 1.75 tons of stone. That is the point where I would get a bulk quote.
Same patio in metric, 2.5 x 2 m at 7.5 cm: 2.5 x 2 x 0.075 = 0.375 cubic meters. That is 13.2 cubic feet, 0.49 cubic yards, 27 bags, or about 0.66 US tons of pea gravel.
How Much Gravel for a Balcony?
Usually a bag or two. Most balcony gravel goes on top of planters, not on the floor.
Three rail planters, each 30 x 8 inches, 1 inch of top dressing:
Each planter: 2.5 ft x 0.667 ft = 1.67 sq ft. Three planters = 5 sq ft.
5 x (1 / 12) = 0.42 cubic feet
That is 1 bag of 0.5 cu ft, with a little left for a pot or two.
One bag weighs about 50 lb, so carry it up yourself or split it into smaller containers at the car. Before putting loose stone on the balcony floor, read your lease. Gravel blocks drains, gets tracked inside, and adds weight your building may not allow.
If the balcony connects to your living room, the small living room ideas post covers how to make the two read as one space.
How Much Gravel for a Garden Path?
Path, 20 ft long x 3 ft wide, 3 inches deep:
20 x 3 x 0.25 = 15 cubic feet
15 / 27 = 0.56 cubic yards
0.56 x 1.35 = 0.75 tons of pea gravel
30 bags of 0.5 cu ft
A path this size is right on the line. Thirty bags weigh about 1,500 lb, so plan on more than one car trip. If you also need base stone, it tips over to bulk.
Should You Buy Gravel in Tons or Bags?
A standard bag of all-purpose gravel, such as QUIKRETE No. 1151, is 50 lb and yields about 0.5 cubic feet. That gives you three handy conversions:
54 bags = 1 cubic yard (27 / 0.5)
About 40 bags = 1 ton (2,000 lb / 50 lb)
1 ton of pea gravel = about 20 cubic feet, which covers about 80 sq ft at 3 inches or 120 sq ft at 2 inches
Buy bags when the job is under about half a yard (27 bags), you are carrying it up stairs or in a lift, or there is nowhere to dump a pile. Get a bulk quote when you are past half a yard, especially with a base layer. Ask about the delivery fee and minimum load, because on a small order that fee can be most of the bill.
Forgetting to convert inches. 3 inches is 0.25 ft, not 3. Multiplying by 3 gives an answer 12 times too big.
Mixing up tons and tonnes. A US ton is 2,000 lb. A metric tonne is 1,000 kg, about 2,205 lb.
Skipping the base. Pea gravel straight on soft soil sinks and needs topping up.
Using cubic yards for bags. Bags are sold by cubic feet or weight. Divide cubic feet by 0.5 for the bag count.
Planning a planter or raised bed next to the patio? Soil is sold by volume, not weight. The cubic yards for raised beds guide walks through soil bag counts. For cheap ways to dress up the rest of an outdoor corner, see budget apartment decor.
Densities are typical figures. Moisture and stone source change them, so the supplier's scale weight wins.
Frequently asked questions
How much gravel do I need for a 10 x 10 patio?
At 3 inches deep, 10 x 10 x 0.25 = 25 cubic feet, which is 0.93 cubic yards. That is about 1.25 tons of pea gravel or 50 bags of 0.5 cu ft. Add about 10% if you are laying a compacted base.
How many bags of gravel are in a ton?
About 40 bags of 50 lb, since a US ton is 2,000 lb. By volume that is about 20 cubic feet, or 0.74 cubic yards of pea gravel.
How deep should gravel be on a patio?
Two to three inches of pea gravel on top. Lowe's notes that less than 2 inches can expose the landscape fabric and more than 3 inches makes walking difficult. On soft soil, put about 2 inches of compacted crushed stone underneath.
How much area does one bag of gravel cover?
A 0.5 cu ft bag covers about 6 sq ft at 1 inch, 3 sq ft at 2 inches, and 2 sq ft at 3 inches.
Is it cheaper to buy gravel in bags or in bulk?
Bags are simpler for small jobs and anything you carry up stairs or in a lift. A cubic yard is 54 bags, so once you need more than about half a yard, get a bulk quote with delivery and compare it with the bag total.
Can I put gravel on an apartment balcony?
Check your lease and building rules first. Many buildings limit loose material and weight on balconies, and every 0.5 cu ft bag of pea gravel weighs about 50 lb. A thin top layer in planters is the lowest-risk use.
Get the small apartment checklist
One short email a week with a small-space fix that actually works in a rental. You also get our printable room-by-room checklist. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
