DIY OR HIRE A PRO

Gravel projects

Price a gravel bed, path or other planned area by volume, then compare DIY with professional installation.

Example numbers—not local quotes. Replace them with your prices and hours.

A wheelbarrow and rake beside a gravel garden path

01Your project

Project area (sq ft)

Planned gravel depth (in)

Extra material (%)

Supplier order increment (cu yd)

Supplier minimum order (cu yd)

02DIY expenses

Gravel price per cubic yard ($)

Material sales tax (%)

Delivery / pickup, including tax ($)

Equipment purchase / rental, all-in ($)

Other prep, disposal & supplies, all-in ($)

This tool prices gravel by cubic yard, not by ton. If your supplier quotes tons, ask for its material-specific conversion before entering a price per cubic yard. Add excavation, base material, edging, compaction and disposal where needed.

03Your time

DIY total person-hours

Your time value ($/hour)

Your hours if you hire someone

Two people working three hours is six person-hours. Time value is not an extra bill.

04Professional price

All-in professional project price ($)

Depth and extra material are your planning inputs, not construction recommendations. Match base preparation, material type, access, drainage work and cleanup in the professional quote.

How this calculator works

Gravel volume in cubic yards = area × depth in inches ÷ 12 ÷ 27. Add the extra percentage, then round up to the supplier increment and minimum. This does not convert volume to weight. DIY cash = ordered material × unit price × (1 + material tax %) + delivery + equipment + other costs. Include any tax on delivery, equipment or other services in those entries. Professional cash is the full project price you enter. Cost including time adds total person-hours × your hourly time value. The professional break-even price subtracts your remaining time cost from the DIY total, and for recurring work divides by total visits. All figures are USD. Prices are illustrative, editable assumptions, not location-specific estimates.

How to calculate gravel quantities and cost

For an area measured in square feet and depth in inches, cubic yards = area × depth ÷ 12 ÷ 27. Add your extra-material allowance, then round to the supplier’s order increment and minimum. This calculator estimates the gravel layer you enter, not an engineered base or a complete drainage design.

Worked example: a 300-square-foot gravel area

Illustrative inputs: 300 sq ft at 3 inches deep with 10% extra requires about 3.06 cubic yards. Rounding to half-yard increments gives 3.5 yards. At $60 per yard, gravel costs $210. Add 6% material tax ($12.60), $100 delivery, $75 equipment and $150 other costs: DIY cash cost is $547.60. Eight person-hours at $30/hour brings it to $787.60. A $1,000 all-in professional quote plus one hour of your time totals $1,030. This depth is an example, not a construction specification.

Costs beyond the gravel itself

Include excavation, hauling away soil, edging, any required base material, delivery and equipment rental. Estimate the time to move material from the delivery point to the work area. Add applicable taxes on rentals or other services separately; the material tax input only taxes the gravel purchase.

DIY gravel work or a contractor?

DIY may fit a small decorative area with easy access and a defined scope. A contractor may be useful when excavation, slope, drainage or a load-bearing surface is involved. Agree on preparation and material specifications before comparing quotes so that a lower price does not simply omit part of the project.

What if gravel is sold by the ton?

Ask the supplier for the conversion for the exact material. Weight per cubic yard varies, so there is no single conversion suitable for every gravel type. Multiply the price per ton by the supplier’s tons per cubic yard to get the price per cubic yard for this calculator. Confirm how order minimums and delivery are charged.