For a typical 12 ft wide driveway, plan on roughly 1.5 to 2.2 tons of gravel per 10 feet of length, built up in layers totaling 8 to 10 inches for a new driveway, or a single 2 to 3 inch layer (about half a ton per 10 feet) to refresh an existing one.
A new 12 x 40 ft single-car driveway therefore lands around 6 to 9 tons; a 12 x 100 ft drive around 15 to 22 tons. Here's the math, the tables, and the layer structure that makes a gravel driveway last.
The quick math
Gravel volume is area times depth: length (ft) x width (ft) x depth (inches) ÷ 12 gives cubic feet; divide by 27 for cubic yards. Crushed stone weighs about 1.4 tons per cubic yard, which converts yards to the tons a quarry sells.
One worked example: 12 x 40 ft at 4 inches deep is 160 cubic feet = 5.9 cubic yards = about 8.3 tons for that single layer. The gravel calculator runs any size and depth, and the crushed limestone calculator does the same with limestone's slightly higher density.
Gravel by driveway size (4 inch layer)
| Driveway | Cubic yards | Tons (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 x 20 ft (parking spot) | 2.5 | 3.5 |
| 12 x 40 ft (single car) | 5.9 | 8.3 |
| 12 x 60 ft | 8.9 | 12.4 |
| 12 x 100 ft | 14.8 | 20.7 |
| 20 x 40 ft (double wide) | 9.9 | 13.8 |
Multiply by 2 to 2.5 if you're building all layers of a brand-new driveway from bare ground.
The three layers of a driveway that lasts
A gravel driveway that stays firm is built like a road, in compacted layers:
- Base: 3 to 4 inches of large stone (#2 or #3, roughly 2 to 4 inch rock) laid on the subgrade. On soft or clay soil, put woven geotextile fabric underneath so the stone doesn't sink into the ground over time.
- Middle: 3 to 4 inches of crusher run (stone mixed with fines, also sold as road base or #411). The fines lock the layer into a hard crust when compacted.
- Surface: 2 to 3 inches of #57 stone or a finer crushed gravel. This is the layer you see and drive on, and the one you'll top up every few years.
Compact each layer before adding the next, and crown the surface slightly (an inch or two higher in the center) so water sheds to the sides instead of pooling into potholes.
Ordering tips
- Quarries sell by the ton, landscape yards by the yard. Same material; compare the delivered price per cubic yard (1 yard ≈ 1.4 tons of crushed stone).
- A full-size dump truck delivers 10 to 16 tons, so a new single-car driveway is often one delivery per layer type.
- Round up. Gravel compacts 10 to 20 percent from its loose delivered volume, and a thin spot in the base becomes next spring's pothole.
For the rest of the project: the concrete footing calculator sizes gate-post holes, and if the driveway ends at a parking pad, the concrete slab calculator takes over from there.