How Much Mulch for 1,000 Square Feet?
Material needed
9.26 cubic yards
1,000 square feet at 3 inches deep, bark mulch at roughly 800 lb per cubic yard.
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How that number is worked out
These are the figures this page was built with and every line the calculator produces from them. Change anything above and all of it moves.
- Bed area1000 sq ft
- Depth3 in
- MaterialMulch
Material needed9.26 cubic yards
| Volume | 250 cu ft |
|---|---|
| Cubic yards | 9.26most yards sell in half yard steps |
| Order in half yards | 9.5 cu yd |
| 2 cu ft bags, if bagging it | 125 |
| Approximate weight | 7,407 lb (3.7 tons) |
The material list this produces
| Material, cubic yards | 9.5 |
|---|---|
| Landscape fabric, sq ft | 1,000 |
| Edging, linear ft | 127 |
Depth compared
Depth is the whole calculation. Two inches will not suppress weeds, six inches will suffocate roots.
| Depth | Material needed | Order in half yards |
|---|---|---|
| 2 in | 6.17 cubic yards | 6.5 cu yd |
| 3 in | 9.26 cubic yards | 9.5 cu yd |
| 4 in | 12.35 cubic yards | 12.5 cu yd |
| 6 in | 18.52 cubic yards | 19 cu yd |
What else matters here
Nine and a half yards is close to four tons and normally arrives as two loads or one large tandem. Ask what the truck weighs loaded before it goes on a residential driveway, because a full tandem dump on a thin slab can crack it.
Spreading four tons is a real labor line. On a job you are pricing for a customer, this is where a wheelbarrow estimate quietly becomes a skid steer with a bucket, and the pricing has to reflect whichever one you are actually sending.
Keep mulch off trunks and stems. A mulch volcano piled against a tree trunk holds moisture against bark that is not built to stay wet, and it is the most common way a well intentioned mulching job kills the tree it was meant to help.
What this calculator assumes
- Three inches is the usual mulch depth. Two is thin and will not hold weeds down, four starts to smother shallow roots and holds water against trunks.
- Weights are approximate and vary with moisture: mulch about 800 lb per cubic yard, topsoil 2200, gravel 2800, sand 2700.
- Bagged material is sold in 2 cubic foot bags, and there are 13.5 of those in a cubic yard.
Questions people ask
How many yards of mulch for 1,000 square feet?
About 9.26 cubic yards at 3 inches deep, which is roughly 3.7 tons of bark mulch.
Can a dump truck drive on my driveway?
Ask the supplier for the loaded weight and check it against your driveway. A loaded tandem can crack a thin residential slab, and most suppliers will tip at the street instead if asked.
Why should mulch not touch tree trunks?
Bark is not built to stay wet. Mulch piled against a trunk holds moisture there, invites rot and pests, and can kill a tree that would otherwise have been fine.
The mulch and gravel calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.