Sand Calculator
Find how many tons and cubic yards of sand you need. Wet sand weighs more, so pick how wet it is.
Measure your project
Your answer
That is 0.68 cubic yards. We added 10% extra.
If you buy bags
What it costs
Mason sand: $69.99 a cubic yard, the middle of 7 US sellers (Oct 2026), before delivery.
Quick answers
- Tons in a yard of sand
- Dry sand: about 1.2 tons. Damp: 1.43. Wet: 1.55.
- Yards in a ton of sand
- About 0.83 cubic yards of dry sand, or 0.65 of wet sand.
- Pounds in a yard
- About 2,400 lb dry, and 3,100 lb wet.
- Price
- Mason sand: about $69.99 a cubic yard, from 7 sellers. Concrete sand: about $65, from 8.
How to work it out
- Measure the length and width in feet. Multiply them for square feet.
- Multiply by the depth in inches. Divide by 324 for cubic yards.
- Add 10% for waste, as one sand yard does: multiply by 1.1.
- Multiply by the weight of one yard: 1.2 tons dry, 1.43 damp or 1.55 wet.
10 × 10 × 2 ÷ 324 = 0.62 cubic yards
0.62 × 1.1 = 0.68 with 10% extra
0.68 × 1.2 = 0.81 tons if dry
0.68 × 1.55 = 1.05 tons if wet
Dry, damp or wet: what a yard weighs
Water adds weight. Caterpillar's earthwork tables give three weights for the same loose sand.
| Sand | Tons | Pounds | Cubic yards in 1 ton |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry sand | 1.2 | 2,400 | 0.83 |
| Damp sand | 1.43 | 2,860 | 0.7 |
| Wet sand | 1.55 | 3,100 | 0.65 |
Loose sand, from Caterpillar's tables.
Other sources
Tapco's table gives 1.22–1.49 tons for dry sand, and 1.49–1.76 for damp sand.
The US Army's earthmoving manual gives 1.3–1.45 tons for a yard of dry, loose sand.
CMHA, a block trade group, uses about 80 lb a cubic foot for damp, loose sand. Over a whole yard, that comes to about 1.08 tons. Sand loose off a shovel weighs less than sand in a pile.
We use Caterpillar's numbers because they are a published table that splits dry, damp and wet. Pick the one that matches your pile.
What one ton of sand covers
Wet sand covers less ground per ton, because each yard weighs more.
| Depth | Dry sand | Wet sand |
|---|---|---|
| 1 in | 270 sq ft | 209 sq ft |
| 2 in | 135 sq ft | 105 sq ft |
| 4 in | 68 sq ft | 52 sq ft |
Loose sand, with no packing and no extra.
To turn tons into cubic yards, divide by the weight of one yard. 10 tons of dry sand is 10 ÷ 1.2 = 8.33 cubic yards.
Why some yards quote more tons
A South Carolina yard, Palmetto Sand & Gravel, works out its mason sand at 1.5 tons a yard. Play sand bags work out to about 1.35. Both are well above Caterpillar's 1.2 for dry sand.
Ask the yard which weight it works from. If it sells by the ton, that weight decides how many yards you get.
Packing sand down
Will you pack the sand down? Pick "Yes" in the calculator, then type the depth you want after packing. We then order 17% more loose sand. That figure is from the US Army manual.
Sand under pavers is a little different. The CMHA paving guide says to level the bedding layer loose, about 1 in deep. Our paver sand calculator covers that job.
Sand under pavers or a slab helps carry weight. So check your local building rules or ask a builder or engineer.
Buying sand
US price lists name many kinds: mason sand, concrete sand (C-33), washed sand, coarse sand, play sand and paver sand. We found no grading rules for them, so ask the yard which suits your job.
By the cubic yard, mason sand is about $69.99, the middle of 7 sellers. It ran $55–$95. Concrete or coarse sand is about $65, from 8 sellers.
By the ton we found only 3 sellers for each, so treat these as rough. Mason sand was about $46 a ton. Concrete sand was $14.99, but those prices came from pits, not yards.
Because the ton and yard prices come from different places, they don't line up.
Play sand comes in 50 lb bags. One store in Ohio charged $6.49, and one in Hawaii $13.49. Two prices is too few, so treat them as rough. Our play sand calculator has more.
Questions people ask
How much sand do I need?
Work out cubic yards first: square feet × depth in inches ÷ 324. Then multiply by 1.2 for tons of dry sand.
How many yards of sand are in a ton?
About 0.83 cubic yards of dry sand. Wet sand is heavier, so a ton is only about 0.65 cubic yards.
How many tons is a yard of sand?
About 1.2 tons when dry and loose. Damp sand is about 1.43 tons, and wet sand about 1.55.
How many pounds is a yard of sand?
About 2,400 lb of dry sand. Damp sand is about 2,860 lb, and wet sand about 3,100 lb.
How many bags of sand do I need?
Sakrete says its 50 lb bag of play sand holds 0.5 cubic feet. So a cubic yard takes 54 bags. A 10 × 10 ft area, 1 in deep, takes 17 bags.
How do you calculate sand weight?
Take the cubic yards times the tons per yard for your sand. For pounds, times that by 2,000. So 2 cubic yards of dry sand is 2.4 tons, or 4,800 lb.
How much does 100 tons of sand cost?
At our middle prices, about $4,600 for mason sand, or $1,499 for concrete sand. Each price is from only 3 sellers, so treat it as rough.
Does wet sand weigh more than dry sand?
Yes. A loose yard of wet sand weighs about 1.55 tons, against 1.2 tons dry. That is about 29% more.
Where our numbers come from
- Material weights: Caterpillar earthwork tables
- Weights of sand, gravel, soil and stone: Tapco weight chart for bulk materials
- Packing down: US Army earthmoving manual (FM 5-434)
- Sand extra: Palmetto Sand & Gravel (add 10%)
- Play sand bags: Sakrete Natural Play Sand data sheet (50 lb = 0.5 cubic foot)
- Base under pavers: CMHA paving guide (4 in for a patio, 6 in for a driveway)
- Sand prices: the middle of 7–8 US sellers per cubic yard (Oct 2026)
- Play sand prices: 2 US stores (Oct 2026; few prices)
- Blocks, mortar, sand and core fill: Concrete Masonry & Hardscapes Association (TEK 04-02A)
Made by BuildersCount. Last checked 3 Oct 2026.
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