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The tonnage quoted, ordered or delivered.
About 1.2 short tons per cubic yard for screened topsoil at typical moisture; wet soil is appreciably heavier.
Approximate volume
8.333 yd³
About 1.2 short tons per cubic yard for screened topsoil at typical moisture; wet soil is appreciably heavier. The inverse of the volume-to-weight figure. Compare the resulting volume against your compacted or settled requirement, not the loose figure.
- Conversion factor applied
- 0.83 yd³ per short ton
They open the calculator with your figures already in it
Topsoil Tons to Cubic Yards Calculator: 8.33 yd³ — shown in imperial, US market. The link sets both, so the result they see is the one on your screen.
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How this was calculated
Formula source(s)
- Inverse of approximately 1.2 short tons per cubic yard
- 1 short ton = 2,000 lb; a metric tonne is about 10% heavier
Inputs used
- Topsoil weight (short tons)
- 10
Intermediate steps
- Conversion factor applied
- 0.83 yd³ per short ton
Confidence note: About 1.2 short tons per cubic yard for screened topsoil at typical moisture; wet soil is appreciably heavier. The inverse of the volume-to-weight figure. Compare the resulting volume against your compacted or settled requirement, not the loose figure.
What this calculation does not cover
- Dividing this volume across an area gives an average depth, not the depth you get anywhere in particular. Where the finished level is fixed by a path or an edging, you are filling a level difference rather than laying a thickness. A small error in the existing levels moves that quantity more than the density does.
- A depth of soil is not a depth of root run. Where the formation below has been smeared by a bucket or rolled by plant, the imported layer is the whole of the rooting depth — the pan impedes roots and infiltration, and water perches on it. Breaking that up before spreading is the fix, not more soil.
- Being under on soil costs far more than being over. Making up a shortfall means a second delivery at a minimum-load charge, and soil from another batch rarely matches the first for colour or texture, so the join shows on a lawn.
Estimated cost — your price
This site holds no price list for this material — local prices vary too much to publish honestly. Enter your supplier's price and the result is costed with it.
Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Presented in US customary units and US trade terminology. Where a formula follows a published standard, that standard and its edition are cited beside it on this page; where none governs, the page says so. Local amendments override model codes — verify against the code in force where you build.
Sources checked 2026-08-26 · in the site-wide review of 2026-09-06 · v1.0.0
Regulatory standards & verification citations2
- Inverse of approximately 1.2 short tons per cubic yard
- 1 short ton = 2,000 lb; a metric tonne is about 10% heavier
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A tonnage quote for topsoil says little about whether the load will cover the beds, so converting to volume is the check that matters. Bear in mind that soil settles considerably: freshly spread topsoil loses a meaningful proportion of its loose depth within weeks as it consolidates and rain works it down. Ordering to the finished depth leaves borders sitting low by the second season. Add for settlement, spread slightly proud, and remember that a wet delivery buys fewer cubic yards per ton than the dry assumption predicts, because part of the weight on the ticket is water rather than soil.