How to Use This Driveway Calculator
Enter your driveway's length and width in feet, then choose the build type. A new driveway on bare or soft ground needs a full 6-inch build-up: a 4-inch compacted crusher run base and a 2-inch crushed stone surface. A standard rebuild over firm existing ground uses 2 inches of each. A top-up simply refreshes the surface layer of an existing driveway with 2 inches of new stone. The calculator reports each layer separately because you'll order the materials separately — base rock and surface stone are different products at different prices.
The Right Way to Layer a Gravel Driveway
Gravel driveways fail from the bottom, not the top. Dumping six inches of pretty stone on bare soil produces ruts within a season. The durable structure is layered: a geotextile fabric on graded soil, a compacted crusher run base (angular rock with fines that locks into a near-solid mat), and a 3/4-inch angular crushed stone surface such as #57 stone that drains freely and stays put under tires. Each layer should be spread and compacted separately in lifts no thicker than 3 inches.
| Layer | Material | Depth | Density (t/yd³) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Crusher run / road base | 4" (new builds) | 1.60 |
| Surface | #57 crushed stone (3/4") | 2" | 1.50 |
For single-layer projects or other materials, use the main gravel calculator, and check the coverage chart to sanity-check your supplier's quote.
Worked Example: 12 × 50 ft New Driveway
A 600 sq ft new driveway needs a 4-inch base: 600 × (4 ÷ 12) = 200 cubic feet, and 200 ÷ 27 = 7.41 cubic yards of crusher run, which at 1.6 tons per yard is 11.9 tons. The 2-inch surface layer is 600 × (2 ÷ 12) = 100 cubic feet = 3.70 cubic yards × 1.5 = 5.6 tons of #57 stone. Total: about 17.5 tons — order 19 tons to cover compaction. At $25/ton for base and $35/ton for surface stone, materials come to roughly $495 plus delivery.