Crusher Run Calculator

How to calculate how much crusher run you need

Crusher run is ordered by the ton, and you get tons from three measurements. Measure length and width in feet and the finished depth in inches, then:

Cubic yards = length (ft) × width (ft) × depth (in) ÷ 324
Tons = cubic yards × 1.6 (typical planning value)
Order = tons × 1.15 for a compacted base

The 324 is 12 inches per foot × 27 cubic feet per cubic yard. The calculator above does the same math and also gives cubic feet, cubic meters and metric tonnes. Its extra-for-compaction setting defaults to 10% and offers none, 5%, 10% or 20%. For a base you will compact with a plate or roller, this page suggests about 15%: set the extra to none and multiply the tons by 1.15, or pick 20% for more margin. The section on compaction below explains why.

1. Measure the area. Split odd shapes into rectangles and add them.
2. Use the finished, compacted depth from your plan, such as 4 in for a pad.
3. Run the calculator with the crusher run preset, or replace 1.6 with your supplier’s weight per yard.
4. Allow about 15% extra for a compacted base (tons × 1.15), and order in tons.

How much crusher run for common sizes?

People usually search with their own dimensions. The table uses 1.6 tons per yd³ and shows the order with 15% extra. Every figure comes from the site’s calculation library.

Each inch of depth adds 4.94 tons of crusher run per 1,000 ft² at the 1.6 planning value. So 5 in on 1,000 ft² is 24.69 tons before the allowance, and 8 in is 39.51 tons.

What is crusher run, and is it the same as road base?

Crusher run is crushed stone that is not washed or screened down to one size, so it keeps the small pieces and stone dust the crusher makes. Engineers call this a dense-graded aggregate: the sizes range from coarse to fine, the fines fill the gaps between larger stones, and the mix compacts into a hard, stable layer.

The same kind of material is sold under many names: crusher run, crush and run, road base, graded aggregate base (GAB), dense-graded aggregate (DGA) and aggregate base course. State DOTs publish their own grades with exact sieve limits. For example, a road-agency aggregate base specification hosted by the Minnesota DOT’s research program calls for dense-graded aggregate grades 21AA, 21A or 22A, and Wisconsin DOT grades include dense graded base in 3/4 in, 1 1/4 in and 3 in sizes. A local quarry’s “crusher run” may or may not match a DOT grade; ask which product it is if your plans name one.

Clean crushed stone such as #57 is the opposite. An FHWA study classes #57 as open-graded: under the AASHTO M43 (ASTM D448) gradation it cites, only 0–5% of #57 passes the No. 8 sieve, so it has voids that drain. Crusher run fills those voids. That single difference decides most material choices:

• Firm surface or base that must not shift: crusher run.
• Drainage and French drains: clean stone, sized on the crushed stone calculator.
• Both: clean stone below, crusher run on top, as many gravel driveways are built.

How many tons of crusher run in a yard?

This calculator uses 1.6 tons per cubic yard, which is 3,200 lb per yard or about 118.5 lb per cubic foot, as a planning value. Use your supplier’s figure when they give one.

How much does a ton of crusher run cover?

Compare these with #57 stone at the same depth: using typical planning weights of 1.35 and 1.6 tons per yd³, a ton of #57 covers 60 ft² at 4 in against about 51 ft² (50.6) for crusher run. Check both weights with your supplier.

Why crusher run needs more extra: compaction

Crusher run gets heavier per cubic yard as you compact it, so a planning weight per yard can under-order a compacted base unless you add more allowance than usual. This is the main difference between this page and a plain gravel estimate.

A Wisconsin DOT research report measured real dense graded base samples from projects around the state. Compacted, they weighed 1.78 to 1.98 tons per cubic yard across the 3/4 in, 1 1/4 in and 3 in sizes, and WisDOT’s own statewide conversion factors for compacted dense graded base run from 1.75 to 2.2. The report also measured how much the material bulks up from compacted to loose: 34% to 52% for 1 1/4 in dense graded base (34–47% and 34–45% for the 3/4 in and 3 in sizes).

Set against this calculator’s 1.6 tons per yard planning value, the measured compacted weights are about 11% to 24% higher, which is why this page suggests about 15% extra. That is a comparison with a planning figure, not a measured loose weight: the same report’s 34–52% expansion implies truly loose dense graded base weighs less than 1.6, so always ask your supplier how their tons-per-yard figure was measured. Here is how the same jobs look on each basis:

The 1.6 planning value plus 15% lands close to the middle of the measured range. If you are compacting to a high density on a large job, or your supplier tells you their product’s compacted weight, use that figure in the calculator directly and keep a smaller allowance for waste.

Compact in layers

The aggregate base specification hosted by MnDOT requires compacting aggregate in layers no greater than 6 inches. A home project is not bound by a highway spec, but the reason holds: a plate compactor cannot densify a thick layer all the way down. For a 6 in base, spread and compact two lifts of about 3 in. For 8 in, two lifts of 4 in. The total tonnage does not change; on a 12 × 60 ft drive, 8 in of crusher run is 28.44 tons at 1.6, or about 32.7 tons with 15% extra.

Crusher run per square metre

Outside the US, similar material is usually sold as sub-base or road base by the tonne. At 1.6 US tons per yd³ that is about 1.9 tonnes per m³: about 190 kg per m² at 100 mm and 285 kg per m² at 150 mm. A 5 × 4 m pad at 100 mm is 2 m³, about 3.8 tonnes, or about 4.37 tonnes with 15%.

How deep should crusher run be?

There is no single depth: it depends on the load, the soil underneath and what goes on top. A design from your contractor, engineer or local road department overrides any rule of thumb. What the calculator can show is what each choice costs in tons.

• Shed pads, patio bases and walkways: commonly 4 in compacted. A 12 × 12 ft pad is 2.84 tons at 4 in (at 1.6).
• Driveway and parking pad bases: usually thicker, built in two or more compacted lifts. Every inch on a 12 × 60 ft drive is about 3.56 tons at 1.6.
• Top dressing on an existing gravel drive: often 1–2 in. One ton covers about 101 ft² at 2 in.
• Under asphalt or concrete: the base thickness comes from the paving or slab design. Size the slab on the concrete slab calculator or the paving on the asphalt calculator.

Soft or wet subgrade usually needs more base, not less, and sometimes a geotextile underneath. If the ground ruts when you walk or drive on it, ask a local contractor before deciding the depth.

Crusher run for gravel roads and long drives

Long runs are where small errors turn into truckloads. A farm road 10 ft wide and 500 ft long at 6 in deep is 5,000 ft², 92.59 yd³, about 148 tons of crusher run at 1.6, or about 170 tons with 15% extra. A 12 ft wide lane 1,000 ft long at 4 in is 148.15 yd³, about 237 tons at 1.6, or about 273 tons with 15%.

On jobs this size, ask the quarry three things before you trust the total: the weight per yard of its product, whether it can quote by the compacted cubic yard, and what its trucks carry. Then divide the tons by the load size and round up. Measure the road along its centerline, including curves, and add any pull-offs and turnarounds as separate rectangles.

Common mistakes when ordering crusher run

Most crusher run orders go wrong on compaction and naming. These are the errors that cost the most.

• Using the planning weight with only 10% extra for a compacted base. On a 12 × 60 ft drive at 6 in, 10% gives 23.47 tons, while the compacted range Wisconsin DOT measured (1.78–1.98 tons per yd³) implies about 23.7 to 26.4 tons. Allow about 15%, and confirm with your supplier.
• Spreading one thick layer. A 6 in or 8 in base compacted in one pass stays soft underneath. Compact in lifts.
• Using crusher run where water must drain. Its fines fill the voids. Put clean #57 below it where drainage matters.
• Assuming every “road base” is the same. Gradations differ by quarry and DOT grade. Ask which product it is and what it weighs per yard.
• Ordering yards when the quarry sells tons. Ordering “8.89 tons” for an 8.89 yd³ base brings about 5.56 yd³, 37.5% short at 1.6 tons per yd³.
• Entering depth in feet. A 10 × 10 ft pad at 4 in is 1.23 yd³; typed as 4 ft it is 14.81 yd³.

Crusher run calculator vs crushed stone, driveway gravel and asphalt calculators: which one to use

This calculator is for dense-graded base with fines: crusher run, road base, DGA. Use a related tool when the material or the job is different:

• Road base calculator: a DOT-grade aggregate base sized by compacted depth, with a compacted density (1.9 t/yd³) from Ohio DOT.
• Crushed stone calculator: clean, open-graded stone such as #57 for drainage and middle layers.
• Driveway gravel calculator: a full gravel driveway, layer by layer.
• Asphalt calculator: tons of hot mix to pave over a crusher run base.
• Gravel calculator: general gravel, pea gravel and landscape rock with bag counts.
• Concrete slab calculator: the concrete for a slab that sits on a compacted stone base.