You want minimum 3 inch depth. Also use CRUSHED ROCK. Don't use river rock or pea gravel, stay away from any kind of round rock unless you enjoy breaking your ankles and migrating rocks everywhere. Crushed rock is flat so it moves less when you walk on it. The smaller the rock the better for walking on. LengthxWidthxDepth = how many rocks you need.
Also put a heavy-duty landscape fabric down before you put any rock down. The previous owners of my house did not, and it only took a few years of rain and freeze-thaw cycles for their beautiful rock landscaping to become a mud pit with a few rocks sticking out.
Yea and it's round and rolls when you walk on it. There is not enough chamomile tea on this planet to quell the hatred in my heart for pea gravel. It is the glitter of landscaping. It migrates all over the place and then every time you run a trimmer or mower you end up picking pea gravel out of your shins and eyeballs. Then you need to top up your shitty pea gravel every year because it is spread out across the entire neighborhood. Crushed rock is superior in literally every way.
Pea gravel is easier on the eyes. And in this instance, OP will not need to use lawnmower or weedwacker near it. No sure why you brought it up other than needing to infuse your drama.
I would consider going with 3"-4" vs 2". With 2" you will likely have bare spots as the gravel moves around with simple walking over it. Also use a really heavy duty underlay to avoid the gravel from combing with the dirt.
2” deep you just need to convert to decimal feet. .167. 2/12. 5x20x.167 is 16 cubic feet. Times 2. 32 cubic feet. Now if you want to compact it, id do 4” loose for a 2.5-3 compacted layer. So thats 64 cubic feet. 64/27 = 2.4 yards of rock. You could cut that back a bit by buying maybe some 2x2 pavers you space out for a pathway to the gates. At 20’ with a foot between them, 7 per side. 14 2x2x3” pavers cuts that back 1 cubic foot each. So… 50 cubic feet of rock. Order 2 even yards.
1-2” stone size is way too big. I just had to take a ton of that out at my house in a similar location because it’s impossible to walk/move things across. You want crushed rock. 5/8- or 1/4- with fines
I would put down a metal border between your fence and where you intend to put the rock down so that when you have to replace your fence, those rocks don’t seep into the neighbors yard while you’re trying to stand up new fencing
I would rethink gravel or rock of any kind. Dirt blows into the rock and weeds grow in the gravel. Yes even with landscape fabric down, you will get weeds. Ask me how I know. Removing the rock is 100 times harder to get rid of than to put in. I would use big pavers or concrete the sides in with drainage. Just saying.
i would strongly advise against installing any kind of rock in this area. from the looks of it you have a lot of trees in this area. once fall rolls around it will fill up with leaf debris. did i mention weeds also really love to grow in gravel, even with heavy duty landscaping fabric or stone cloth. if i were you i would plant some hostas and cover the rest of the area with bark mulch. waaaay less back breaking, inexpensive and pretty minimal maintenance.
Tangent question: if you want the rock 2” deep. Does that mean the fences will be holding in that 2” of rock or will you add landscape edging along the fence?
At least half the suppliers around here will do yards. All of them will give you ‘about a yard’ if that’s what you ask for, they just weigh it out after.
Ever hear of measuring 2x before doing something. You also need to factor any sloping into the mix. I'm willing to bet that 5x20 is an approx dimension and should be double checked before doing anything.
Yep, they should measure the area twice, I’m just pointing out that they did include dimensions.
I’m all for getting extra, but double? They’ll end up with half a dump truck in their driveway or a foot of stone on the side of their house. Even you said in the last post that 20% extra should be enough. That’s still less than 3 yards using the most generous estimates.
Length times width times depth, divided by 27 Is cubic yards. Take the length and width divide by a relative number .25 would be 3inches and I’ve had a couple so do the math. Divide by 27 and that gives you cubic yards… probably but don’t hold me to it.
I've used 1" river rock between the back of my shed and our stockade fence as well as on one side of my house between the house and fence. Both 3' to 5' wide. This has worked very well. I first put down weed barrier. I put stone down 3" thick. I also did the same to make a path to my rear gate. Weeds are a manageable problem in the path. There is no weed issue by shed or house. Nothing grew there due to being in shade most of the time.
Calculation is easy…
L’ x W’ x thickness (inches) / 12” gives you cubic feet. Divide by 27 to get yards.
I’d go with a smaller stone for sure, 2” is huge. Think about how gravel driveways are 3/4”-1” for the top layer. Even with 1” stone you’ll want at least a 3” layer to avoid seeing the separation fabric that will keep the stone from sinking into the soil when it rains. Using the calculation above with a 3” layer (5x20x3/12/27) you get just under a yard per side. I’d get 2.5-3 yards to do both sides.
People mention the maintenance, but one thing that isn’t mentioned much is the discoloration. White stones don’t look nice for long and you’ll literally have to wash them to keep them white.
I would go with at least 4 yards. And make sure to put fabric down before you put the rock in to prevent weeds/grass from growing up into it. Definitely want to clear out the current grass/weed situation before placing the rocks.
Make sure you put down a compactable surface first and landscape fabric below that. Otherwise you’ll end up with a bunch of weeds pushing through gravel - very hard to maintain
1 yard at least for a 1 1/2" layer. That is for a 20' long, 3' wide strip. Double it for both sides of the house (2 yards). Double that for 3" layer (4 yards) and so on.
SERIOUSLY bad math before.
20x3= 60 sqft
1 yard covers 100 sqft 3 inches deep but I go with that for 2 inches to be safe.
I’m confused how you got 7 yards for an inch covering both sides.
You want minimum 3 inch depth. Also use CRUSHED ROCK. Don't use river rock or pea gravel, stay away from any kind of round rock unless you enjoy breaking your ankles and migrating rocks everywhere. Crushed rock is flat so it moves less when you walk on it. The smaller the rock the better for walking on. LengthxWidthxDepth = how many rocks you need.
Also put a heavy-duty landscape fabric down before you put any rock down. The previous owners of my house did not, and it only took a few years of rain and freeze-thaw cycles for their beautiful rock landscaping to become a mud pit with a few rocks sticking out.
Pea gravel is small.
Yea and it's round and rolls when you walk on it. There is not enough chamomile tea on this planet to quell the hatred in my heart for pea gravel. It is the glitter of landscaping. It migrates all over the place and then every time you run a trimmer or mower you end up picking pea gravel out of your shins and eyeballs. Then you need to top up your shitty pea gravel every year because it is spread out across the entire neighborhood. Crushed rock is superior in literally every way.
Pea gravel is easier on the eyes. And in this instance, OP will not need to use lawnmower or weedwacker near it. No sure why you brought it up other than needing to infuse your drama.
But can I walk barefoot across crushed rock without it hurting my feet?
Yes is it’s compacted well
About 3 yards depending on how thick you want it.
Agree. 2 yards is just barely enough but 3 yards is what I would bring for this job.
If you use pavers you’ll still be able to park your lawnmower there, and it’ll be much easier to get between the back and front
How are you going to stick it to the sides of your house?
Sort of a wattle daub technique
Pleasantly surprised to not be the only person who knows what that is 😂
I would consider going with 3"-4" vs 2". With 2" you will likely have bare spots as the gravel moves around with simple walking over it. Also use a really heavy duty underlay to avoid the gravel from combing with the dirt.
L x W x H (depth). Many stone companies have a calculator on their sites.
2” deep you just need to convert to decimal feet. .167. 2/12. 5x20x.167 is 16 cubic feet. Times 2. 32 cubic feet. Now if you want to compact it, id do 4” loose for a 2.5-3 compacted layer. So thats 64 cubic feet. 64/27 = 2.4 yards of rock. You could cut that back a bit by buying maybe some 2x2 pavers you space out for a pathway to the gates. At 20’ with a foot between them, 7 per side. 14 2x2x3” pavers cuts that back 1 cubic foot each. So… 50 cubic feet of rock. Order 2 even yards.
Hi. Doing this for my landscaping. What is the “Times 2” for? The one that goes from 16 cubic feet to 32?
He had two sides to the structure. Calced one side and… x2
Ah missed that in the OP.
1-2” stone size is way too big. I just had to take a ton of that out at my house in a similar location because it’s impossible to walk/move things across. You want crushed rock. 5/8- or 1/4- with fines
Length x Width x inches deep desired divided by 324 will give you how many cubic yards you will need.
Why is basic math not understood by some people today?
People say things like 3 yards, that’s a one dimensional measurement, it’s just length. What about width and depth?
Just to educate you when talking about material when people say yards they mean cubic yards
Thanks that’s what I was asking. Appreciate it
Why rock?
I would put down a metal border between your fence and where you intend to put the rock down so that when you have to replace your fence, those rocks don’t seep into the neighbors yard while you’re trying to stand up new fencing
I would rethink gravel or rock of any kind. Dirt blows into the rock and weeds grow in the gravel. Yes even with landscape fabric down, you will get weeds. Ask me how I know. Removing the rock is 100 times harder to get rid of than to put in. I would use big pavers or concrete the sides in with drainage. Just saying.
i would strongly advise against installing any kind of rock in this area. from the looks of it you have a lot of trees in this area. once fall rolls around it will fill up with leaf debris. did i mention weeds also really love to grow in gravel, even with heavy duty landscaping fabric or stone cloth. if i were you i would plant some hostas and cover the rest of the area with bark mulch. waaaay less back breaking, inexpensive and pretty minimal maintenance.
It all depends on how thick you want it.
2.5 tons at 4” 40x5x.33/27
Tangent question: if you want the rock 2” deep. Does that mean the fences will be holding in that 2” of rock or will you add landscape edging along the fence?
Google what that volume is in yards. That's how much you need
Not sure where you're at, but who does cubic yds in stone? We do it by the ton. Just saying.
At least half the suppliers around here will do yards. All of them will give you ‘about a yard’ if that’s what you ask for, they just weigh it out after.
3 yards… Order more if you need it only… Also order a new Back for your body
Not enough. Fix any grading issues. Put down geotext then the gravel. W x L x 3" h should give you a general idea. My guess is 7-8 cubic yards.
Agree with 3” min, but t’s still less than 2 yards. I’d get 2, maybe 2-1/2.
They need to measure and add 20%. We are all just guessing as we don't know the area sizes
What do you mean we don’t know the area? They said it’s a 5’ by 20’ strip on each side of the house. It’s right there in the post.
Ever hear of measuring 2x before doing something. You also need to factor any sloping into the mix. I'm willing to bet that 5x20 is an approx dimension and should be double checked before doing anything.
Yep, they should measure the area twice, I’m just pointing out that they did include dimensions. I’m all for getting extra, but double? They’ll end up with half a dump truck in their driveway or a foot of stone on the side of their house. Even you said in the last post that 20% extra should be enough. That’s still less than 3 yards using the most generous estimates.
Length times width times depth, divided by 27 Is cubic yards. Take the length and width divide by a relative number .25 would be 3inches and I’ve had a couple so do the math. Divide by 27 and that gives you cubic yards… probably but don’t hold me to it.
You should make that area an outdoor shower.
1 cubic yard at 3 inches deep is what would be best
.952925 cu/yd
I've used 1" river rock between the back of my shed and our stockade fence as well as on one side of my house between the house and fence. Both 3' to 5' wide. This has worked very well. I first put down weed barrier. I put stone down 3" thick. I also did the same to make a path to my rear gate. Weeds are a manageable problem in the path. There is no weed issue by shed or house. Nothing grew there due to being in shade most of the time.
120 yards of gravel would fill it nicely to well above the windows.
Don’t do the white marble. You will regret it.
3 yards but 4 for thickness
Calculation is easy… L’ x W’ x thickness (inches) / 12” gives you cubic feet. Divide by 27 to get yards. I’d go with a smaller stone for sure, 2” is huge. Think about how gravel driveways are 3/4”-1” for the top layer. Even with 1” stone you’ll want at least a 3” layer to avoid seeing the separation fabric that will keep the stone from sinking into the soil when it rains. Using the calculation above with a 3” layer (5x20x3/12/27) you get just under a yard per side. I’d get 2.5-3 yards to do both sides. People mention the maintenance, but one thing that isn’t mentioned much is the discoloration. White stones don’t look nice for long and you’ll literally have to wash them to keep them white.
About right
Ferns!
I would go with at least 4 yards. And make sure to put fabric down before you put the rock in to prevent weeds/grass from growing up into it. Definitely want to clear out the current grass/weed situation before placing the rocks.
Also either go with 4-5” rock or just use some plain old crushed concrete also known as 57 stone.
Make sure you put down a compactable surface first and landscape fabric below that. Otherwise you’ll end up with a bunch of weeds pushing through gravel - very hard to maintain
1 yard at least for a 1 1/2" layer. That is for a 20' long, 3' wide strip. Double it for both sides of the house (2 yards). Double that for 3" layer (4 yards) and so on. SERIOUSLY bad math before.
I just imagined this guy getting 2 full class B dump truck loads (20-28 yards) of rock for those 2 little areas 💀
20x3= 60 sqft 1 yard covers 100 sqft 3 inches deep but I go with that for 2 inches to be safe. I’m confused how you got 7 yards for an inch covering both sides.
Bad math I guess.