Bed size
Typical depth
Waste
Waste covers irregular edges, settling, and the extra you dump into a hole. 10% is a common pad. A tight rectangular fill can run 5%. Use 0% for a textbook volume.
Order
- Cubic yards bulk
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- 40 lb bags 0.75 cu ft
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Enter length, width, and depth.
This is an estimate, not a weigh-ticket, and not landscaping advice. It does not choose fill dirt vs topsoil vs garden mix, or how deep a bed should be. Bags compact; bulk loads settle. Confirm volume with your landscape yard. Not gravel tons. Not mulch bags. Nothing on this page leaves the browser.
How the volume is counted
This is cubic yards for beds and leveling — fill dirt vs topsoil as a product choice, not gravel tons and not mulch bags. Bed volume is length × width × depth. Depth in inches is divided by 12 to get feet. Divide cubic feet by 27 for cubic yards. Waste is extra material for edges and settling.
Garden-center soil bags are usually 40 lb and about 0.75 cubic feet — fill dirt, topsoil, or a garden mix. Bag counts round up; you cannot buy a fraction of a bag.
volume_ft3 = length_ft × width_ft × (depth_in / 12) yards = volume_ft3 / 27 × (1 + waste) bags_40lb = ceil(volume_ft3 × (1 + waste) / 0.75)
Example: 10 ft × 10 ft × 4 in with 0% waste is 33.33 ft³ → 1.235 yd³, 45 of the 40 lb bags. The same fill at 10% waste is 1.358 yd³ / 49 bags. At 2 inches it is about 0.617 yd³ / 23 bags.
FAQ
Fill dirt vs topsoil — same cubic yards?
Yes for volume. Fill dirt raises a grade or fills a hole. Topsoil and garden mix go in planting beds. This page counts cubic yards for both from the same rectangle. A 40 lb bag is typically 0.75 cubic feet either way. It does not pick a product.
Why cubic yards for beds and for leveling?
A new bed and a low-spot fill are the same length × width × depth. Depth chips: 2 inch topdress / lawn, 4 inch new bed / fill. Type a deeper hole if you are leveling more than four inches. Landscape yards sell dirt by the cubic yard. Not gravel tons. Not mulch bags.
Why 40 lb bags, not 2 cu ft mulch bags?
Garden-center soil is a 40 lb bag (about 0.75 cu ft). Mulch is a 2 cubic foot landscape bag on the mulch calculator. Do not order bark from these counts. A 10×10 fill at 4 inches with 0% waste is 33.33 ft³ → 45 of the 40 lb bags (1.235 yd³). At default 10% waste: 49 bags / 1.358 yd³.
How much fill dirt for a 10×10 bed?
At 4 inches with 0% waste: 1.235 cubic yards, 45 of the 40 lb bags. At the default 10% waste: 1.358 yd³ / 49 bags. The same 10×10 at 2 inches (lawn topdress) is about 0.617 yd³ / 23 bags before waste. Depth is yours.
2 inch topdress vs 4 inch new bed — same calculator?
Same rectangle. 2 inches is a lawn topdress. 4 inches is a common new-bed or fill layer. Double the depth and you double the yards. This tool does not tell you how thick a bed or a grade should be. Not a compaction spec.
Is this a weigh-ticket or gravel tons?
No. Quantity math only: cubic yards for beds and leveling, plus 40 lb bag counts. Not a weigh-ticket. Not gravel tons (that is the gravel calculator). Not mulch bags. Confirm with the yard.