Technical Calculator

Top Soil Calculator

Enter the length, width, and area measurements to estimate the topsoil needed to cover it by using this calculator.

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Make free use of this online topsoil calculator to determine how much is top soil that you need for your yard area. Not only this, you can also get to know about the price of bags that you require to fill up a certain land area of a garden or your home lawn with the assistance of this topsoil cost calculator.

Okay, let’s discuss what is the reliable soil you require for various projects.

Keep reading!

What Is Topsoil?

Are you looking to reshape your garden to look like a catchy piece of land? Then you may across the term topsoil.

“A particular mixture of many liquids, gases, minerals, living organisms, and organic matter is termed topsoil”

topsoil

This is the top layer of the soil that contains a lot of minerals in it. Its depth is almost 4 to 13 inches deep. In case your topsoil contains loamy soil components in it, then it will surely add to the nourishment of plants. Basically, the soil is created by the interactions of all these components and involvement of some third parties. These may include climatic changes, temperature, and time. Our best topsoil calculator estimates what soil type would be the best choice for your lawn bed or garden bed that is not so affected by any change.

Types of Soil:

Below we are going to enlist various soil types that contribute a lot when you think of paving a soil bed.

Sandy Soil:

Sandy soil is a very dry kind of soil that contains minimal amounts of water. Most of the water dries out and takes away all the minerals from it. This is why if you want to use it for plant growth, you must add some amount of mulch so that the lack of minerals for optimum growth may be fulfilled.

Clay Soil:

This soil type has a sufficient amount of minerals for the proper growth of plants. It feels sticky and does not have much capacity to absorb more water due to insufficient air spaces among the particles.

Silty Soil:

This soil type is indeed good. The reason is that it has enough characteristics to hold water molecules and is very rich in various minerals that are essential for plant growth.

Peaty Soil:

No matter peaty soil can hold a lot of water sufficient quantity, but it has a strong lack of minerals that is not suitable for the growth of any plant. One factor that you must take into account while using this soil is its pH level.

Chalky Soil:

This soil type has marbles in it and is alkaline in nature. Having a high value of pH, it is not suitable for plants. To keep alkalinity in equilibrium, you must think of adding a suitable and sufficient amount of acidic matter in the soil.

Loamy Soil:

If you are a gardener or thinking of making your garden a catchy part of your house, then this soil is the best choice to make. The reason is best drainage capacity, composition, and availability of necessary minerals in it. You must use this soil for your garden floor. But never forget to use a topsoil calculator to estimate the amount and cost of this soil as it is pretty costly.

Basics of Topsoil:

Topsoil is considered to have the highest concentration of the organic matter and microorganisms. Due to this reason, this layer of soil is best considered ecosystems for almost all plants that live on the Earth. Most of the bio activities of the greenery around the world depends upon the nutrients present in the topsoil.

Characteristic of Topsoil:

Every soil has its own strength of holding up great structures upon it. But when we talk about the topsoil, the organic matter present in it makes it weak enough to hold a giant structure over it. On the other hand, lack of water also weakens this soil type which also affects the lives of the plants. That is why a sufficient amount of topsoil can give your trees a healthy life. That is why the use of the free online topsoil calculator is very beneficial for you in selecting the amount that is best for your garden.

Composition of Topsoil:

Below we have a table that shows how much of metal is present in the topsoil that is sufficient for optimum plant growth:

Metals

Approximate percentage
Aluminum

6 - 10%

Calcium

1 - 7%
Iron

2 - 10%

Magnesium

0.1 - 3%
Oxygen

44 - 49%

Potassium

1.5 - 3%
Silicon

22 - 36%

Sodium

2.4 - 2.5%

 

How Much Topsoil Do I Need?

If you are going to fill up your garden with topsoil, then you need to consider the following steps in your mind:

  • Determine the cubic feet of the area that you wish to cover with topsoil. Let us provide you another assistance here. You can also make use of our free  cubic feet calculator to determine the total volume of the topsoil you need. But you can also do by following the equation below:

Topsoil volume = Length * Width * Depth

  • Well, after that you need to keep in mind that all the calculations must be carried out in the same units.
  • In case you have some complicated areas, just divide them into smaller areas of reasonable dimension. Now calculate the volume for every area section and sum them up to get the resultant volume value.

You can also speed up your calculations with the assistance of a free online topsoil calculator.

How Much Is A Yard of Topsoil?

One yard of topsoil is the space that contains one yard width*one yard length*one yard deepness dimensions. Let us have a look of the table below that shows how much is a yard of topsoil in various units of measurements:

1 cu yd 

1 yd x 1 yd x 1 yd
1 cu yd 

3 ft x 3 ft x 3 ft

1 cu yd 

36 in x 36 in x 36 in
1 cu yd 

0.9144 m x 0.9144 m x 0.9144 m

1 cu yd 

91.44 cm x 91.44 cm x 91.44 cm

  The dirt calculator yards also display instant volumes of dirt that are required to fill up a certain area of land.

How Much Does A Yard of Topsoil Weigh?

According to a rough estimate, one single yardage of topsoil weighs about 1.0 to 1.3 tons. This is only true if the soil is dry. But in case you are using wet soil, then one yardage of it will weigh about 1.5 to 1.7 tons.

Topsoil Weight Calculations:

If you are willing to calculate the weight of the topsoil, you can do this by subjecting to our free topsoil calculator yards or by following equation below:

Weight (tons) = Volume (yds) × Density (tons/yd)

How To Estimate Topsoil Volume?

Let us resolve a couple of examples so that you may not face difficulty while estimating the soil volume required to raise a bed. Let’s move on!

Example # 01:

How much fill dirt do i need for an area having the following dimensions:

Length = 33 ft

Width = 66 ft

Depth = 2 ft

Solution:

Here we have:

Topsoil volume = Length * Width * Depth

Topsoil volume = 33ft * 66ft * 2ft

Topsoil volume = 4356 cu ft

Converting to yardage:

Topsoil volume (yd) = 4356 cu ft/27

Topsoil volume = 161.33 cu yd

In case you still feel difficult to perform conversions among units, let the free topsoil estimator do that for you.

Example # 02:

The volume of soil to be used in a garden is about 567 cu ft and density of soil is about 13 kg/m3. What would be the weight of the topsoil?

Solution:

Weight (tons) = Volume (yds) × Density (tons/yd)

Weight (tons) = 567yds × 13 tons/yds

Weight (tons) = 7,371 kg

Which is the required weight.

How Topsoil Calculator Works?

This soil needed calculator swiftly estimates how much top soil would be sufficient if you are going to raise a soil bed. Let’s have a look at its working!

Input:

  • From the first drop-down list, select whether you want to calculate on the basis of the “Length, Width, and Depth” or simply “Area and Depth”
  • After you make a selection, go for entering the parameters in their designated fields.
  • Also select the units in which you wish to do calculations
  • Enter the price per bag, and number of bags required for the project
  • At last, tap the calculate button

Output:

The free online topsoil coverage calculator determines:

  • Topsoil required in cubic feet and cubic yards
  • Material weight as dry and wet
  • Number of soil bags require for the project
  • Total cost of the soil to raise the proper bed

FAQ’s:

How do you determine the unit weight of topsoil?

You can find the unit weight of topsoil by keeping in view the following key points:

  • Go for finding the total weight of the soil
  • After that, divide the weight by the total volume of the soil measured

How much area does one ton of soil cover?

One ton of soil will cover approximately 24 cubic feet of area.

How many bags of topsoil in a yard are there?

Number of bags of topsoil varies along with their weight. If you are using 0.75 cu ft bags, then you will need 36 of them to cover one yardage. If you are using 1 cu ft bags, then you will need 27 bags. For more areas, you can instantly determine the bag number with the assistance of our free online top soil calculator.

What is the density of soil?

Generally, the density of the soil is about 100 lb/ft3 (1600 kg/m3).

Is compost better than topsoil?

No, topsoil has more capacity to hold minerals and other nutrients. Moreover the capacity to hold water is also more for topsoil rather than the compost.

Conclusion:

When it comes to top soil, it means that we are talking about the ground habitat that will nourish the plants and make them grow fast. So two crucial factors that we discussed in this read are soil choice and use of the free topsoil calculator. We hope you may use this free calculator to estimate how much soil would be the best quantity to raise a well-furnished bed for healthy plant growth.

References:

From the source of wikipedia: Topsoil, Importance, Carbon to nitrogen ratio, Commercial application, Erosion, Conservation

From the source of onlinesoil.co.uk: Topsoil, Nutrient Rich, Varies Across Regions, Acidic or Alkaline, Organic Topsoil

From the source of kellogggarden.com: Potting Soil, Garden Soil, Native Soil