How do I calculate how much topsoil I need for my lawn?

Question

We removed trees and stone from the periphery of the lawn, and now need to fill in the area that was covered with landscape stone. (in order to plant grass) Thanks!

Answer 1

You need to calculate in cubic feet to order soil. There is 27 cubic feet in one yard of soil.
Example
For a layer 3 inches deep
3 inches = 1/4 foot.
Length in feet x Width in feet x 1/4 foot = Cubic Feet needed

Cubic Feet needed x 1 yd/ 27cu ft. --> yards of soil to order

An area 4' x 10' x 1/4' needs 10 cubic feet or 1/3 yard of material

Either 4' x 20' x 1/3' or 3' x 18' x 1/2' needs 1 yd soil

If the area is circular just measure the radius in feet for A = pi (r x r). Then multiply by the depth.

The soil once in place may mound somewhat since it isn't compacted. A lawn roller to smooth and even the ground is used to give a neat surface.

Answer 2

Above poster is pretty close... the only mistake he has made is in telling you to calculate it into square feet. Bulk topsoil like concrete is sold by the cubic yard not by the cubic foot.

So if you have a yard that is 30 feet by 18 feet and you want 6 inches of soil the calculation would be:

30 * 18 * .5(half a foot) = 270 cubic feet

Divide the 270 by 27 to get 10 Cubic Yards

So you would need 10 cubic yards in this example.

Now it is also important that you get "good" topsoil. Check around with who has been dealing in dirt the longest, if not you could end up with dirt that needs a lot of work before it can support crab grass let alone the grass you actually want.

Answer 3

With X Length X Depth (Add .5 to 1 Ft. To Depth For Settling)

Answer 4

No matter how well you plan the sod will settle out. On the plus side of that the grass keeps growing and you can always add some loose soil over the top that settles down in the grass if you need to build it up a little in the future. But remember when you put down your top soil you will need to roll it out to compact it a little so you will need to take that into consideration.

Answer 5

you need about 3" inches ( grass roots are only 2-3") maybe ore if you need leveling
heres the formula:
3"= .25 x the square footage= ? / 27= cubic yards
i.e. .25 x 2500 sqft = 625 / 27 = 23 cubic yards of soil

to find the number for the depth take the inches and divide it by 12.......3/12= .25

Answer 6

find out how deep you want it then do:

length of your yard X Width of your yard X how many inches you want deep

make sure you do all measurements in inches

after you have that divide the nmber by 12 and thats now many square feet you need

Answer 7

9,300 square feet to be 1/2 inch deep