About YardCalc
Alex Wright
Full-stack engineer and avid gardener. After years of estimating materials for landscape projects — gravel driveways, raised beds, retaining walls — I kept hunting for a clean calculator that didn't take three minutes to load or bury the answer in ads. So I built one.
YardCalc is a free collection of material calculators for homeowners, contractors, and landscapers who need quick, accurate estimates without digging through ad-heavy websites.
Whether you're planning a gravel driveway, pouring a concrete slab, building a retaining wall, or laying sod, YardCalc gives you cubic yards, tons, material counts, and cost estimates in seconds. Just enter your dimensions — no account required.
Why I Built This
I got tired of clunky material calculators that load slowly, show popup ads, and make you guess at formulas. YardCalc is what I wished existed: fast, clean, mobile-friendly, and genuinely useful at the supply yard or on the job site.
Instant Calculations
Results update as you type. No submit buttons or page reloads.
20+ Calculators
Gravel, mulch, concrete, topsoil, sand, pavers, sod, retaining walls, fences, French drains, drip irrigation, and more.
Minimal & Non-Intrusive
No popups, no login walls, no selling your data. Just calculators with minimal, respectful ads to keep the lights on.
How Accurate Are the Estimates?
Our calculators use industry-standard formulas and real-world material densities. They're designed to give you a solid planning estimate — typically within 5–10% of actual requirements.
That said, every project is different. Site conditions, material grades, moisture content, and installation methods all affect actual quantities. We always recommend ordering 5–10% extra and verifying with your supplier.
How I Research and Write the Guides
Every guide on YardCalc is grounded in three sources: published industry standards (ASTM specs, contractor trade references), pricing data collected from regional landscape yards and hardware retailers, and hands-on experience with the materials and methods described.
My process for every guide:
- Verify the formula. Every calculation is cross-checked against at least two independent sources — contractor handbooks, university extension publications, or supplier spec sheets.
- Source real pricing. Cost ranges are pulled from current supplier quotes, big-box retailer listings, and regional landscape supply yards across the US. I update pricing when I find it has drifted significantly.
- Write for the actual job. I focus on what matters at the supply yard or on the job site — not textbook definitions.
- Flag the limits. I always note where estimates may vary — compaction factors, regional pricing, moisture content — so you know what to verify with your supplier.
If you spot an error in a formula or an outdated price, use the contact form below. I take accuracy seriously and update guides when I find mistakes.
Built by Meadowlark Labs
YardCalc is a product of Meadowlark Labs LLC, my software company focused on building practical, no-nonsense tools for people who work with their hands. I'm based in the United States.
I built YardCalc because I kept running into the same problem: material calculators online were either buried in ads, required sign-ups, or produced results I couldn't verify. I wanted a tool I'd trust to hand to a supplier. So I built one.
Get in Touch
Have a question, bug report, or feature idea? Send us a message and we'll get back to you.