tons to cubic yards
by Michael Berry on 04/18/05 at 20:15:15

I work at a rock pit and my boss came in today and said the he needed me to find out how to convert our materials from tons to cubic yards for a contractor that is buying materials from us. we have never had to do this before. It was told to me that 2-4 inch bedding stone is 1.2 tons per cubic yard. I need to know how to figure that and also for crushed rock, fines, top soil, fill dirt, rip rap,89 stone, 57 stone,and sand. Please help if you can what is the equation I would use to figure these.

Re: tons to cubic yards
by Robert Fogt on 04/18/05 at 20:29:12

It would be different for every substance.

If you know the density of these substances, I can create the conversions formulas for you.

If you dont know the density of the substances, post a very descriptive list and I can look them up for you.

For example, dont just list sand, be specific, such as "wet packed sand" or "dry loose sand". Then I can try hunting down the density.

Re: tons to cubic yards
by Michael Berry on 04/22/05 at 17:50:58

The material we have is dug from a pit in south florida around Lake Okeechobee it has a little marrow and the rock I think is lime rock most of it. As for the crush rock it has fines and 2-3 inch rock. The fines is sand with pebbles in it. Top soil is black dirt. Rip Rap is a different type of stone we have that is hard as concrete with a yellowish white color. The 57 stone is a stone that is about quarter inch stone. The 87 stone is a real small stone almost like sand except it is rock. The material depends on the season of the year and how long the material has set at the stock pile. Sometimes it is wet and sometimes it is bone dry.

Re: tons to cubic yards
by Robert Fogt on 04/23/05 at 02:34:50

I have the density of the following types of rock and dirt (from Reade).

Asphalt, crushed
Asbestos, shredded
Asbestos, solid
Basalt, solid
Brick, common red
Brick, fire clay
Brick, silica
Brick, chrome
Brick, magnesia
Carbon, solid
Carbon, powdered
Cement, Portland
Cement, mortar
Cement, slurry
Chalk, solid
Chalk, lumpy
Chalk, fine
Charcoal
Clay, dry excavated
Clay, wet excavated
Clay, dry lump
Clay, fire
Clay, wet lump
Clay, compacted
Coal, Anthracite, solid
Coal, Anthracite, broken
Coal, Bituminous, solid
Coal, Bituminous, broken
Cobalt
Concrete, Asphalt
Concrete, Gravel
Concrete, Limestone w/Portland
Earth, loam, dry, excavated
Earth, moist, excavated
Earth, wet, excavated
Earth, dense
Earth, soft loose mud
Earth, packed
Earth, Fullers, raw
Granite, solid
Granite, broken
Graphite, flake
Gravel, loose, dry
Gravel, w/sand, natural
Gravel, dry 1/4 to 2 inch
Gravel, wet 1/4 to 2 inch
Gypsum, solid
Gypsum, broken
Gypsum, crushed
Gypsum, pulverized
Halite (salt), solid
Halite (salt), broken
Lime, quick, lump
Lime, quick, fine
Lime, stone, large
Lime, stone, lump
Lime, hydrated
Limonite, solid
Limonite, broken
Limestone, solid
Limestone, broken
Limestone, pulverized
Marble, solid
Marble, broken
Mortar, wet
Mud, packed
Mud, fluid
Peat, dry
Peat, moist
Peat, wet
Plaster
Quartz, solid
Quartz, lump
Quartz sand
Salt cake
Salt, course
Salt, fine
Saltpeter
Sand, wet
Sand, wet, packed
Sand, dry
Sand, loose
Sand, rammed
Sand, water filled
Sand w/ Gravel, dry
Sand w/ Gravel, wet
Sandstone, solid
Sandstone, broken
Sawdust
Sewage, sludge
Shale, solid
Shale, broken
Slag, solid
Slag, broken
Slag, crushed, 1/4 inch
Slag, furn. granulated
Slate, solid
Slate, broken
Slate, pulverized

I can give you a weight to volume conversion factor for any of the above.

Re: tons to cubic yards
by Jon Joy on 05/08/05 at 18:16:13

give em all! lets see you work  ;D ;D ;D ;D :P

Re: tons to cubic yards
by Pam Marchand on 05/18/05 at 12:55:16

Could I get the conversion factors for earth: moist- excavated, wet-excavated, dense?

Thanks
Pam

Re: tons to cubic yards
by Robert Fogt on 05/19/05 at 00:54:39

Earth, moist, excavated - 90 pounds/cubic foot
Earth, wet, excavated - 100 pounds/cubic foot
Earth, dense - 125 pounds/cubic foot

The above is according to Reade.

Multiply the volume in cubic feet by the above number, and you will get pounds.

Re: tons to cubic yards
by RAC400 on 07/21/05 at 14:01:14

I was wondering if you could forward me the weight to volume conversion factor

Thanks

Re: tons to cubic yards
by Robert Fogt on 07/22/05 at 02:54:27

For weight to volume, you just divide by the above number.

Instead of multiplying to go from volume to weight.

Re: tons to cubic yards
by Adrienne Ostman on 08/22/05 at 16:50:25

???

I'm trying to find out how much it will cost me to fill 630 square feet with Pea Gravel (small, dry) to a depth of one or two inches (depending on cost!).  One place sells it by the ton and the other by the yard, but I don't know how much of either I will need.  Please help!

Re: tons to cubic yards
by Robert Fogt on 08/22/05 at 22:11:12

I will calculate the cubic yards you need.

630 square foot * (1 inch / 12) foot = 52.5 cubic foot
630 square foot * (2 inch / 12) foot = 105 cubic foot

52.5 cubic foot = 1.94 cubic yard
105 cubic foot = 3.89 cubic yard

So you would need between 2 and 4 yards, depending on if you wanted it 1 or 2 inches thick.

As to how many tons that is, I can only estimate because I do not know the density of pea gravel. Regular ole gravel has a density of about 100 pounds/cubic foot, which would mean you need between 2.6 and 5.25 tons depending on whether you want it 1 or 2 inches thick.

Re: tons to cubic yards
by Adrienne Ostman on 08/23/05 at 12:58:27

:)Thanks so much for the info.  I can now compare apples to apples in pricing.

Re: tons to cubic yards
by SteveB on 09/06/05 at 17:26:47

I need help converting 1 ton of fine dry sand to cubic yards.  ???

Thanks,
Steve

Re: tons to cubic yards
by Robert Fogt on 09/06/05 at 22:26:40

Dry sand has a density of 100 pounds/cubic foot

1 ton = 2000 pounds
2000 pounds / 100 pounds/cubic foot = 20 cubic foot
20 cubic foot / 27 = 0.74 cubic yard

So 1 ton is about 3/4 of a cubic yard

Re: tons to cubic yards
by SteveB on 09/07/05 at 01:30:42

Robert,

Thanks for the help.  I am not sure how I got anything done before the Internet and guys like you were around to help.

Cheers,
Steve.

Re: tons to cubic yards
by Joe Rappa on 11/09/05 at 09:44:12

Hi,

I would like to order enough dirt to make a swale on the side of my home. I asked the builder how much he would charge for a truckload of dirt. He replied back that a truckload of sifted dirt is about 5 tons. Price is $250. Can anyone tell me if that is a good price, and how many yards of sifted dirst = 5 tons?

Thanks,
Joe

Re: tons to cubic yards
by Robert Fogt on 11/11/05 at 02:30:47

I do not know your exact type of dirt, but fullers dirt is about 42 pounds per cubic foot, making 5 tons to be about 9 yards.

I do not know if the price is good though.

Go Back | Archive Index