Mulch, Topsoil, Lawn & Sod Calculators

About These Calculators

Organic yard materials behave nothing like stone: they are light, they settle, and their weight swings with the weather. Dry shredded hardwood mulch weighs only about 700 lbs per cubic yard, screened topsoil runs roughly 2,000 to 2,200 lbs per cubic yard depending on moisture, and fluffy raised-bed mixes land near 1,400 lbs per cubic yard. One cubic yard is always 27 cubic feet, which means 13.5 standard 2.0 cu ft store bags—a conversion most homeowners get wrong on the first store trip. Every calculator in this silo works in both systems at once, comparing bagged totals against bulk delivery with the delivery fee included, and applies a 10% settling buffer because fresh mulch and soil compact noticeably after the first few waterings. Whether you are mulching foundation beds, filling a 4x8 raised garden bed, or ordering sod by the pallet, start with the exact depth for your project and let the math size the order.