About
Yards or Bags is a small set of calculators for working out how much material a job needs — concrete, gravel, mulch, lumber. They answer the question you actually have standing in the garden with a tape measure: do I order a truck, or do I buy bags, and how many?
It is built and run from Texas, by one person.
Why it exists
Most of these calculators are attached to something that wants to sell you something, or they load half a megabyte of scripts before they will multiply three numbers together. These pages are one HTML file each. They work on a phone, they work on bad signal, and they do not ask you to sign up for anything.
Where the numbers come from
The volume maths is just geometry and it is shown in full on every page, so you can check it by hand. The rest is where estimates creep in:
- Bag yields for concrete are the figures printed on standard Quikrete and Sakrete bags. Other brands differ, and the yield is always printed on the bag.
- Weights per cubic yard for gravel are typical figures only. Real weight changes with the stone, the size and how wet it is. The calculator lets you type in your own supplier's number, and you should.
- Mulch bag sizes vary between 1.5, 2 and 3 cubic feet. Check the front of the bag.
Every page says which numbers are estimates and which are exact. We would rather tell you a figure is approximate than pretend to a precision that is not there.
These are estimates
Use them to plan and to check a quote. Measure twice, and confirm with your supplier before you order. We are not responsible for material ordered on the strength of these numbers — a tape measure on site beats any calculator.
Found something wrong?
Tell us. A wrong number here means somebody orders too little concrete on a pour day, which is a genuinely bad afternoon. Corrections are welcome and get fixed quickly — the contact page has the address.