Crusher run calculator for Texas
The base layer that locks like pavement, ordered at compacted depth instead of loose guesswork.
Enter your project dimensions
Crusher run compacts 10-15% tighter than it sits loose in the truck. Order for the depth you measured and your compacted base finishes half an inch thin, which is why this crusher run calculator ships with a +10% allowance already switched on. The product goes by several names (crush and run in the Carolinas, ABC elsewhere, 2 inch minus on some tickets) and they're all the same thing: crushed stone with the fines left in, about 3,000 lb per cubic yard, that rolls down into a surface tires can't shove around.
Ordering at compacted depth
- Measure the footprint in feet: lane length times width, or pad dimensions.
- Set the depth the finished, compacted layer needs: 4 inches under paths and pavers, 4-6 under driveways, 6-8 under trucks.
- Cubic feet / 27 = yards, x 1.5 = tons, and keep the +10% on. Specs are written for after the roller, not before.
Coverage per ton
| Compacted depth | 1 cubic yard covers | 1 ton covers |
|---|---|---|
| 2 inches | 162 sq ft | ≈ 108 sq ft |
| 4 inches | 81 sq ft | ≈ 54 sq ft |
| 6 inches | 54 sq ft | ≈ 36 sq ft |
| 8 inches | 41 sq ft | ≈ 27 sq ft |
Where it goes, where it doesn't
- Driveway bases: 4-6 inches compacted, then 2-3 inches of #57 or driveway gravel for the running surface.
- Rural lanes on a budget: crusher run alone makes a drivable crust. Expect summer dust and a regrade every 2-4 years.
- Paver and slab bases: 4 inches, compacted in 2-inch lifts. The Paver Base Calculator handles the full paver stack.
- Shed and hot-tub pads: 4 inches over stripped ground, 6 on soft soil.
- Never in a French drain. The fines that make it lock also make it hold water; drainage wants clean #57 or drain rock.
Worked example: a 20 x 10 parking pad
Two hundred square feet at 4 inches compacted: 200 x 0.333 = 67 cubic feet = 2.5 cubic yards, or 3.7 tons, so 4 tons with the allowance. Spread half, compact, spread the rest, compact again. Two 2-inch lifts outlast one 4-inch pour by years, and a rented plate compactor for the afternoon costs less than the first pothole repair. Drivers will tell you they can spot a skipped compactor from the ruts by the second delivery.
Delivery notes
- Order base and surface stone in one delivery; the project timeline stays intact and delivery is free either way.
- Tip at the far end of the run and spread back toward the pile. Downhill beats uphill by a full day on big pads.
- Mist each lift before compacting. Damp crusher run locks visibly tighter than dry.
- Keep a wheelbarrow-load in reserve. It's the same material road crews patch potholes with, and yours will come.
Price logic
Crusher run is usually the cheapest structural product on a stone yard's list, because it's run-of-crusher output rather than washed, sorted stone. That makes generous ordering cheap insurance: the +10% allowance on a 4-ton order costs a few dollars and saves a second half-ton delivery. Check the Crusher Run product page for the per-ton price, compare Road Base while you're there, and order both layers of a driveway in one free delivery.
Crusher run, crush and run, ABC: your questions
How much crusher run do I need for a driveway?
How much does a yard of crusher run weigh?
What's the difference between crusher run and gravel?
Is crush and run the same as crusher run?
Can crusher run be the finished surface?
How much does crusher run compact?
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Base tonnage sorted? Good.
Crusher run by the ton, the cheapest structure on the yard, delivered free.