Expert: Carlo Filho - 3/7/2006

Question
Hey Carlo,

We are planning on doing a little landscaping in our flower beds.  

We will be using what we in South Georgia refer to as "river rock".  These are pebbles that come in various sizes and are somewhat round, oval shaped and are very smooth in texture.

We will most likely use the size that is about 1/2"-3/4" in size/diameter and will put it down in a 2 inch depth.

Is there any way to determine how much square feet a ton of this rock/pebbles will cover ?

All help is appreciated !   Thanks.

Answer
Hi David,

Different stones would have different weight.
If you're dealing with quartzite or granite, you would always have some difference in weight there, and consequently, in volume.
So, the best approach is to calculate  by volume.

If you have one cubic yard of material, and you want a two inch layer of stones, the area to be covered by one cubic yard would be approximately 4.24 square yards.

All you have to do now is multiply or divide the measurements I gave you

Good luck with your project!
send me pictures if you can.

Thank you

Carlo