How Much Mulch for 450 Square Feet?
Material needed
4.17 cubic yards
450 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 area450 sq ft
- Depth3 in
- MaterialMulch
Material needed4.17 cubic yards
| Volume | 112.5 cu ft |
|---|---|
| Cubic yards | 4.17most yards sell in half yard steps |
| Order in half yards | 4.5 cu yd |
| 2 cu ft bags, if bagging it | 57 |
| Approximate weight | 3,333 lb (1.67 tons) |
The material list this produces
| Material, cubic yards | 4.5 |
|---|---|
| Landscape fabric, sq ft | 450 |
| Edging, linear ft | 85 |
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 | 2.78 cubic yards | 3 cu yd |
| 3 in | 4.17 cubic yards | 4.5 cu yd |
| 4 in | 5.56 cubic yards | 6 cu yd |
| 6 in | 8.33 cubic yards | 8.5 cu yd |
What else matters here
Four and a half yards weighs about 3,300 pounds and is past what any half ton pickup should carry. This goes on a dump trailer, in a landscape yard's dump truck, or in two trips.
Two trips is worse than it sounds. Most yards charge by the load rather than by the yard once a truck leaves the site, so the second trip often costs as much in delivery as the mulch on it is worth.
Where the pile lands decides how long the job takes. A pile on grass kills the grass under it within a couple of days in summer, and a pile on a light colored driveway will stain it, so lay a tarp first whichever surface it goes on.
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 much mulch for 450 square feet?
About 4.17 cubic yards at 3 inches deep, or 57 bags at 2 cubic feet each.
Can I haul 4 yards of mulch in a pickup?
Not in one load. At around 3,300 pounds it is over a half ton truck's payload, and bark that has been rained on is heavier still.
Will a mulch pile stain my driveway?
Dyed mulch will, and wet bark leaves a tannin mark on concrete. Put a tarp down before the truck tips, which also makes the last of the pile much easier to sweep up.
The mulch and gravel calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.