Bulk material consumption

Weight and volume of sand, gravel, soil and other bulk materials.

1 Material and volume
m
m
cm
t

Select the material and enter the volume – the weight and number of loads are calculated instantly.

Converting volume to tonnes

Bulk materials are often sold by the tonne, but on site you work with volume (m³). The conversion depends on the material's bulk density:

  • Sand~1.6 t/m³
  • Gravel / aggregate~1.5 t/m³
  • Soil~1.5 t/m³
  • Mulch / bark~0.4 t/m³

weight (t) = volume (m³) × bulk density (t/m³)

Example: a 5 × 3 m area filled 20 cm deep = 3 m³ of sand × 1.6 = 4.8 t. A truck with a 10 t capacity can handle it all in one load.

Note: bulk density is approximate and varies with moisture and particle size. The difference between undisturbed and loosened volume (for excavations) can be 20–30%.