ContractorHandbook

How Much Mulch for 800 Square Feet?

Material needed

7.41 cubic yards

800 square feet at 3 inches deep, bark mulch at roughly 800 lb per cubic yard.

It does not stop at a number.

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bed length, ftdepth, inbed width, ftarea x (depth in inches / 12) / 27 = cubic yards
Three inches is the working depth for mulch, and depth is the input people guess at. Bulk comes by the yard and bags hold two cubic feet, so the same volume answers both questions.

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 area800 sq ft
  • Depth3 in
  • MaterialMulch

Material needed7.41 cubic yards

Volume200 cu ft
Cubic yards7.41most yards sell in half yard steps
Order in half yards7.5 cu yd
2 cu ft bags, if bagging it100
Approximate weight5,926 lb (2.96 tons)

The material list this produces

Material, cubic yards7.5
Landscape fabric, sq ft800
Edging, linear ft114

Depth compared

Depth is the whole calculation. Two inches will not hold weeds down, and four starts to smother shallow roots.

DepthMaterial neededOrder in half yards
2 in4.94 cubic yards5 cu yd
3 in7.41 cubic yards7.5 cu yd
4 in9.88 cubic yards10 cu yd
6 in14.81 cubic yards15 cu yd

What else matters here

A hundred bags. The same material is seven and a half yards in bulk.

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 bags of mulch for 800 square feet?

Exactly 100 bags at 2 cubic feet each for a 3 inch depth, or 7.41 cubic yards in bulk.

How many yards of mulch for 800 square feet?

About 7.41 cubic yards at 3 inches, which rounds up to 7.5 in half yard steps.

Different numbers?

The mulch and gravel calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.

Other common sizes

7 more sizes are answered on the mulch and gravel calculator page