Limestone Calculator
Find how many tons of crushed limestone, screenings or base you need. Lime for soil is further down.
Measure your project
Your answer
That is 2.72 cubic yards. We added 10% extra.
For a driveway or a base that holds weight, check your local building rules or ask a builder or engineer.
What it costs
Clean limestone: $44 a ton, the middle of only 4 US sellers (Oct 2026), so treat it as rough.
Quick answers
- Tons in a yard
- We use 1.35 for clean crushed limestone. Limestone-only figures are lower, 1.15–1.25.
- Screenings
- About 1.5 tons a yard loose, and 1.8 once packed.
- Price
- About $44 a ton for ¾ in clean limestone. Only 4 sellers, so treat it as rough.
- Lime for a lawn
- Get a soil test first. Penn State caps a lawn dose at 100 lb per 1,000 sq ft. UConn says 50–75 lb on the surface.
How to work it out
- Get the square feet: multiply the length by the width, both in feet.
- For cubic yards, multiply square feet by inches of depth and divide by 324.
- Times 1.35 gives tons of clean limestone. Screenings use 1.5.
10 × 20 × 4 ÷ 324 = 2.47 cubic yards
2.47 × 1.35 = 3.33 tons, before extra
Add 10%: 3.67 tons
Why limestone weights differ
Figures made only for limestone are light: 1.15–1.25 tons a cubic yard. For clean limestone we use 1.35, the figure for #57 stone in general.
We pick the higher number on purpose, so you are less likely to order too little.
| Source | Tons |
|---|---|
| #57 limestone, loose in the truck (Ohio DOT) | 1.2 |
| Limestone, crushed (Tapco) | 1.15–1.22 |
| Limestone crusher run, loose in the truck (Ohio DOT) | 1.25 |
| Screenings, loose (Front Range) | 1.5 |
| Screenings, packed (Front Range) | 1.8 |
| Limestone base (Vulcan) | 1.86 |
| Our number for clean limestone | 1.35 |
| Our number for limestone base, loose | 1.4 |
Ohio DOT weighs stone loose in the truck. Vulcan's figure was read from its calculator.
Vulcan's base figure is far above our loose base weight. It is close to packed crusher run, which works out to 1.86 tons.
Screenings
Screenings is the yard name for crusher fines. Front Range Material's chart puts a loose yard at 1.5 tons. Once packed, a yard weighs 1.8 tons.
So type the packed depth, and we add 20% loose screenings.
How much lime to add to soil
Ground limestone, or lime, raises the pH of soil. Penn State says to spread it only if a soil test shows a need.
You need two things: your soil's pH from a soil test, and its texture, such as loam or clay loam.
| Starting pH | Loamy sand | Sandy loam | Loam | Silt loam | Clay loam |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.1–4.4 | 103 | 124 | 225 | 266 | 535 |
| 4.5–4.8 | 83 | 103 | 186 | 225 | 432 |
| 4.9–5.2 | 62 | 83 | 145 | 186 | 349 |
| 5.3–5.6 | 41 | 62 | 103 | 145 | 287 |
| 5.7–6.0 | 21 | 41 | 83 | 103 | 186 |
| 6.1–6.4 | 11 | 21 | 41 | 83 | 124 |
Worked out from the University of Maryland's per acre table: pounds per acre ÷ 43.56. Above pH 6.5, add none.
CCE means calcium carbonate equivalent. It tells you how strong the lime is.
To use the table, divide by your product's % CCE, then multiply by 100.
The table is for farm fields, mixed 8 in deep. We changed it from acres to 1,000 sq ft ourselves. No extension page gives this table for lawns or gardens.
Spread lime in small doses
Many amounts in the table are more than these dose limits. So split them up.
- Penn State, lawns: no more than 100 lb per 1,000 sq ft at one time.
- UConn: no more than 50–75 lb per 1,000 sq ft on top of the soil at once. This limit is for lime you don't mix in.
- Virginia Tech, gardens: under 5 lb per 100 sq ft can go around plants. Under 10 lb per 100 sq ft can go on before planting.
Example
Say your lawn is loam at pH 5.3–5.6. The table gives about 103 lb per 1,000 sq ft.
Your lime is 90% CCE. So you need 103 ÷ 90 × 100, or about 114 lb.
That is over Penn State's lawn limit, so spread it in 2 doses. At UConn's 50–75 lb, it takes 2–3 doses.
Buying crushed limestone
¾ in clean limestone costs about $44 a ton. That is the middle of only 4 sellers, from $36 to $62, so treat it as rough.
Yards use their own names. One Pennsylvania yard sells "2B/#57 limestone".
Screenings had no US price in our research. For limestone base, we use the crusher run price: about $50 a ton. That is from only 3 sellers, so it is rough too.
The 10% extra in the calculator is one supplier's rule, not an official figure.
Questions people ask
How much limestone to add to soil?
Test your soil first. The amount depends on your pH and soil texture. For loam at pH 5.3–5.6, our table gives about 103 lb of pure lime (CCE) per 1,000 sq ft. We converted it from a Maryland table for farm fields.
How much limestone do I need for my lawn?
Only what a soil test calls for. Then split a big amount into small doses, using the limits in the dose section below.
How much crushed limestone do I need?
Multiply square feet by depth in inches, divide by 324, then multiply by 1.35. For a 10 × 20 ft area at 4 in, that is about 3.3 tons.
How much limestone screening do I need?
Pick screenings above and type the depth after packing. We add 20% loose, since a yard goes from 1.5 to 1.8 tons when packed.
How much limestone do I need for my driveway?
Pick limestone base, which we count as crusher run. FHWA's rural road guide puts 4.5–6.5 in on a gravel road, by ground. Driveways carry weight, so check your local building rules or ask a builder or engineer.
How many yards of limestone are in a ton?
Divide 1 by our 1.35 tons and you get about 0.74 cubic yards. Limestone-only figures give up to 0.87 cubic yards.
How much does a ton of limestone cover?
At 4 in deep, a ton of clean limestone covers about 60 sq ft. Screenings cover about 54 sq ft at the same loose depth.
Where our numbers come from
- Material weights: Caterpillar earthwork tables
- Gravel and millings weight: Ohio DOT specifications (2023)
- Weights of sand, gravel, soil and stone: Tapco weight chart for bulk materials
- Coverage and weights: Front Range Material conversion sheet
- Stone weights: Vulcan Materials product calculator (read from its code)
- Crusher run weight: the middle of 9 suppliers and road agencies
- Packing down: Penn State road-stone guide (8 in loose packs to 6 in)
- Packing down: US Army earthmoving manual (FM 5-434)
- Clean limestone price: 4 US sellers (Oct 2026; few prices)
- Crusher run price: the middle price of 3 suppliers in SC, GA and MD (Oct 2026)
- #57 stone price: the middle of 5 US sellers (Oct 2026)
- Lime for soil: University of Maryland Extension, Table B-2
- Lime on lawns: Penn State Extension, Liming Turfgrass Areas
- Lime doses: UConn Soil Nutrient Analysis Lab
- Lime in gardens: Virginia Cooperative Extension Soil Test Note 19
- Gravel road layers: FHWA Gravel Roads Construction & Maintenance Guide
- Base under pavers: CMHA paving guide (4 in for a patio, 6 in for a driveway)
- #57 stone extra: Palmetto Sand & Gravel (add 10%)
Made by BuildersCount. Last checked 3 Oct 2026.
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