Topsoil calculator for Louisiana
Find yardage for beds, lawns, and finish grading, with depth guidance for your order.
Enter your project dimensions
Choose the topsoil use before calculating, since depth changes the order more than area. A 1,000-square-foot lawn at 4-inch depth takes 12 cubic yards, while a half-inch topdressing takes only 1.5 yards. Enter your area and depth to calculate cubic yards, the sales unit for topsoil, along with tons at about 2,200 lb per dry yard. Screened topsoil has rocks, roots, and clods removed, leaving less material to rake after spreading.
Start with depth, then calculate
- For lawn topdressing, use 1/4 to 1/2 inch and rake it in without covering the grass tips.
- For overseeding: 1/2 to 1 inch.
- Seeded or sodded lawn: 4 to 6 inches over a loosened subgrade.
- Flower beds: 6 inches, mixed into the native soil underneath.
- Raised vegetable beds: 12 inches. A garden-soil blend is usually the better bed material, as covered by the Soil Calculator.
- Find the area in feet, then select a depth from the options above.
- To find cubic yards, divide cubic feet by 27. Multiply yards by 1.1 for tons. The calculator runs both calculations and includes 5% when the allowance remains selected.
Tons = cubic yards × 1.1
Mulch coverage chart
| Depth | 1 cubic yard covers | 5 yards cover |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 inch topdress | 648 sq ft | 3,240 sq ft |
| 2 inches | 162 sq ft | 810 sq ft |
| 4 inches | 81 sq ft | 405 sq ft |
| 6 inches | 54 sq ft | 270 sq ft |
| Project | Typical size | Depth | Volume | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New lawn, seed or sod | 1,000 sq ft | 4" | 12.3 yd³ | 13.6 tons |
| Lawn topdressing | 2,000 sq ft | 0.5" | 3.1 yd³ | 3.4 tons |
| New flower bed | 15 x 4 ft | 6" | 1.1 yd³ | 1.2 tons |
| Patch repairs around the yard | ≈ 150 sq ft | 2" | 0.9 yd³ | 1 tons |
| Finish grade over fill | 600 sq ft | 4" | 7.4 yd³ | 8.1 tons |
Example calculation: 1,000 square feet of new lawn
For a 4-inch layer: 1,000 x 0.333 = 333 cubic feet = 12.3 cubic yards, or around 13.5 tons on the truck. Allow 12.5 to 13 yards for edges and low corners. Where the subgrade needs to be raised, use fill dirt first, then reserve topsoil for the upper 4 inches where roots grow.
Screened topsoil and load checks
Natural topsoil is the surface layer where organic matter is active. Screening runs soil through mesh to remove stones, roots, and clods. Screened material should be dark, crumble when handled, and smell earthy instead of swampy. Press a moist handful together. It should form a loose ball that breaks apart with a poke. A smooth ribbon indicates heavy clay, while soil that will not form a ball is mostly sand. Gray coloring or a sour odor can result from wet, airless storage, and visible rhizomes may introduce weeds. Photograph material that seems unusual before spreading and call us.
Spread it the right way
- Before spreading, loosen the soil underneath by an inch. Four inches of topsoil on tight clay can trap water like a tub with its drain closed.
- Set the grade to drain away from the house: 6 inches of fall across the first 10 feet.
- Firm the soil without stomping it. In settled topsoil, a footprint should go down about half an inch.
- Set delivery for the week of spreading. A pile exposed to rain can weigh a third more per shovel and smear rather than rake cleanly.
Planning a topsoil order
How much topsoil should I use for a new lawn?
What does a yard of topsoil weigh?
What is the price of a yard of topsoil?
How much area will a yard of topsoil cover?
What does topsoil mean?
Can topsoil go over existing grass?
Should beds use topsoil or garden soil?
Should I till before adding topsoil?
Other calculators
Finished the lawn calculation? We deliver the soil.
Screened topsoil sold by the cubic yard, with free delivery across Louisiana.
