Decomposed Granite Calculator
A 20 ft by 10 ft path at 2 inches finished, with a 20 percent compaction allowance, is 1.48 cubic yards and 1.87 short tons of loose DG at 1,500 kg/m³.
Last updated . 1,500 kg/m³ is a planning assumption for loose decomposed granite, equal to 1.26 short tons and 1.15 tonnes per cubic yard. It is not a lab result. Stabilized mode orders finished volume × 1.20. Loose mode orders the finished volume only.
Choose stabilized or loose. Crusher fines and quarry dust stay on the quarry dust calculator. A compacted driveway base under the path stays on the 304 or crusher run page.
Decomposed granite path
Order volume = finished volume × (1 + allowance). The weight is the loose material you buy.
Planning assumption: 1,500 kg/m³ for the loose DG you buy. Type the supplier’s density if the ticket has one.
Volume and weight
Finished cubic yards
0.00
Order cubic yards
0.00
Order short tons
0.00
Order tonnes
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Loose DG and stabilized DG
Loose decomposed granite is raked into place and left. The depth you type is the depth you order. Stabilized DG is mixed with a stabilizer and compacted, so the loose material has to be thicker than the finished path. This tool’s stabilized setting adds 20 percent: order volume = finished volume × 1.20. The percent box is editable. Switching to Loose sets it to 0 and labels the preset Custom if you type your own percent.
The weight always uses the order volume and the loose density. Compaction packs the same rock into less space. It does not mean you should multiply by a heavier density and also add 20 percent. Doing both would order the stone twice.
What the 20 by 10 foot path comes to
| Loose (0%) | Stabilized (20%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Finished | 1.23 yd³ | 1.23 yd³ |
| Order | 1.23 yd³ | 1.48 yd³ |
| Order at 1,500 kg/m³ | 1.56 short tons, 1.42 tonnes | 1.87 short tons, 1.70 tonnes |
Finished volume is 200 square feet × (2 ÷ 12) feet = 33.33 cubic feet = 1.23 cubic yards = 0.94 cubic meters. One cubic yard of this assumption weighs 1.26 short tons. The tons to yards menu uses the same 1,500 kg/m³ for decomposed granite.
Not quarry dust
Quarry dust, crusher fines, and decomposed granite get mixed up on tickets. The quarry dust page is 1,700 kg/m³ and has no compaction toggle, because that page is a fines calculator for joints and bases. DG here is the path surface, with the allowance called out. If you need both a base and a DG top, run them as two orders.
Worked example
Leave the path at 20 ft by 10 ft, depth 2 in, mode on Stabilized, allowance 20, and density 1500. Finished cubic yards read 1.23. Order cubic yards read 1.48. Order short tons read 1.87. Order tonnes read 1.70. The formula line shows 0.94 m³ finished and the 20.00% allowance. Switch the mode to Loose. Order yards read 1.23, short tons read 1.56, and tonnes read 1.42. Finished yards stay 1.23.
Frequently asked questions
What is decomposed granite?
Decomposed granite, often called DG, is granite that has weathered into small particles and fines. Loose DG is spread and left. Stabilized DG is mixed with a stabilizer and compacted so the path stays put. It is a surface. Quarry dust is crusher fines used in bases and joints, and it has its own calculator at 1,700 kg/m³.
How much decomposed granite do I need?
The default example is a 20 ft by 10 ft path at 2 inches finished. That finished volume is 1.23 cubic yards and 0.94 cubic meters. Stabilized mode adds 20 percent so the order covers compaction: 1.48 cubic yards, 1.13 cubic meters, 1.87 short tons, and 1.70 tonnes at the 1,500 kg/m³ assumption.
What is the compaction allowance?
Stabilized DG is ordered loose and then compacted to the depth you want. The allowance starts at 20 percent, so order volume = finished volume × 1.20. The weight is the loose material you buy, not a compacted density. Switch to Loose and the allowance goes to 0. Finished volume stays 1.23 cubic yards and the order weight reads 1.56 short tons. Change the percent if your installer uses a different factor.
How much does decomposed granite weigh?
This page uses 1,500 kg/m³ as a planning assumption for loose DG. That is 1.26 short tons, 2528.33 lb, and 1.15 tonnes per cubic yard. It sits near the light end of the 1,450 to 1,600 kg/m³ river-rock band and below the 1,700 kg/m³ quarry-dust default. Replace it with the supplier’s number when you have one. It is not a measured density.
Should I choose stabilized or loose?
Loose is the mode when you will rake the DG and leave it, for example a garden path with no binder. Stabilized is the mode when a stabilizer will be compacted to a finished depth. The menu sets the allowance to 20 percent or to 0. It does not change the finished depth you typed.
How deep is a DG path?
A common finished depth for a foot path is about 2 inches, which is the example already filled in. A driveway asks more of the base under the DG. That base belongs on the 304 or crusher run calculator. This tool is only the DG layer, loose or with the compaction allowance.
How does 20 percent change the tons?
The finished 20 by 10 ft by 2 in layer is 1.56 short tons at 1,500 kg/m³. Twenty percent more loose material is 1.87 short tons. The ton line follows the order volume. A stabilized order is heavier because you are buying more loose DG, not because the rock itself was given a higher density.
Is decomposed granite the same as quarry dust?
No. The quarry dust calculator is crusher fines at 1,700 kg/m³, used under pavers, in joints, and as a compactable base. DG is weathered granite sold for paths and landscape surfaces. If the ticket says quarry dust or crusher fines, use the quarry dust page. If it says decomposed granite, use this one.