As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Tons and cubic yards of stone dust (screenings) for paver bedding, paths and pool bases, with compaction and cost.
With these inputs:
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Stone dust to order | 0.69 tons |
| Loose cubic yards | 0.51 yd³ |
| Round up to | 1 tons |
| Material cost | $21 |
| Area | 144 sq ft at 1 in |
| Compacted volume | 144 × 1 ÷ 12 ÷ 27 = 0.44 yd³ |
| +15% for compaction | 0.51 yd³ loose |
| Weight | 0.51 × 2,700 lb ÷ 2,000 = 0.69 tons |
Weight per yard varies with the parent rock and moisture; ask the yard for its own figure. Under interlocking pavers, the industry standard bedding is 1 in of coarse concrete sand — stone dust holds water and can let pavers settle — so use it where your installer or paver maker recommends it.
Stone dust — also sold as screenings, quarry dust or crusher fines — is the fine material left when a quarry crushes stone, from about 3/8 inch down to powder. Enter the area and the finished depth: the calculator adds the volume it loses when tamped, converts loose cubic yards to tons at about 2,700 lb per yard, and prices the order.
Multiply the area by the compacted depth in feet, divide by 27 for cubic yards, add about 15% for compaction, then multiply by 1.35 tons per yard. A 12 × 12 ft patio with 1 in of bedding is 0.44 yd³ compacted, 0.51 yd³ loose and about 0.69 tons — order 1 ton.
About 2,700 lb (1.35 tons) loose. A quarry shipping test recorded screenings at 2,612 lb per yard when loaded and 2,849 lb after a 150-mile haul, because the fines settle in the truck.
In volume it's cheap at the quarry: Lewis County, New York's 2026 bids for stone dust ranged from $7.50 to $20.25 a ton, plus $10–$11 a ton of trucking for 25 miles. Landscape supply yards charge more for small loads and delivery, so get a delivered price for your quantity.
About 210 sq ft at 1 in deep, 105 sq ft at 2 in and 70 sq ft at 3 in, once 15% compaction is allowed for.
For interlocking concrete pavers, the industry standard is about 1 in of coarse concrete sand over a compacted base: it drains, so the bedding doesn't hold water and heave in frost. Stone dust packs harder and is common under flagstone, paths and pool bases. If you use it under pavers, keep it thin and over a free-draining base.
Yes — stone dust, screenings, quarry dust, crusher fines and #10 screenings are names for the same thing: crushed rock from about 3/8 in down to powder. Decomposed granite is similar but naturally weathered rather than crushed.
Need the whole roof at once? The free roofing calculator works out roof area, squares, shingle bundles, underlayment, drip edge, ridge cap and installed cost from one set of measurements.