Topsoil Calculator

Topsoil ordering follows the same volume math as any other loose material. Length in feet times width in feet times depth in feet, divided by 27 for cubic yards. Depth is almost always given in inches, so divide by twelve first. A twenty by twenty foot lawn area getting a four inch topsoil topdressing is 20 x 20 x (4/12) / 27 = 4.94 cubic yards.

In bags, a 40 pound bag of topsoil holds roughly 0.75 cubic feet, so a cubic yard is about 36 bags. Bagged topsoil is fine for a raised bed or filling a few low spots, but any project over about ten bags is dramatically cheaper delivered in bulk from a landscape supply yard.

Weight varies with moisture content. Dry topsoil runs about 1.1 tons per cubic yard. Saturated topsoil after a week of rain can hit 1.4 tons per cubic yard, which matters for trailer capacity and for how much you can move by wheelbarrow in a day.

Not all topsoil is topsoil. In the strict sense, topsoil is the top six to twelve inches of native soil, the biologically active layer where organic matter and microbes concentrate. In the landscape yard sense, topsoil can be anything from screened field dirt to a heavily amended garden mix.

Screened topsoil has been run through a rotary screen, usually to a half inch or three-eighths inch mesh, to pull out rocks, roots, and tramp material. It is a step up from bulk unscreened material and worth the modest premium for any application where you will be seeding a lawn or planting shallow-rooted plants.

Garden mix is a blended product: usually screened topsoil, aged compost, and sometimes sand or expanded shale for drainage. Ratios vary by yard. A 50-30-20 blend of topsoil, compost, and sand is a common raised-bed formulation. Ask what is in the mix before you buy, because a heavy compost content can burn tender plants until it stabilizes.

Fill dirt is a different product entirely. It is unscreened, often carries clay, and is intended for grade changes, not for growing. Never use fill dirt where you plan to plant.

For a new lawn on native soil, three to four inches of quality screened topsoil incorporated into the top six inches of subgrade is the standard. For a lawn topdressing to level low spots and improve turf health, a quarter to half inch across the whole area, applied twice a year, is enough.

For a vegetable garden or raised bed, twelve to eighteen inches of a quality garden mix is what most vegetables want. Deep-rooted crops like tomatoes and okra do better with two feet of soil depth. Shallow-rooted salad crops can get by on eight inches.

For a grading project where you are raising the finish grade around a house or filling a low area, use fill dirt for the bulk of the depth and cap the top four to six inches with topsoil. Filling entirely with expensive topsoil is a waste of money and often actually worse for drainage than a properly graded fill-plus-topsoil profile.

Texas has some of the most challenging soils in the country for gardening and landscaping. The Blackland Prairie clay in North Texas is fertile but drains poorly and cracks in summer. The sandy soils east of the Trinity River drain freely but hold no water and no nutrients. Central Texas Hill Country soils are thin, alkaline, and rocky.

When you order topsoil in North Texas, ask what the yard is starting with. Some yards screen local clay-heavy field dirt and call it topsoil; it is nowhere near what you want for a lawn or garden. Others source river-bottom loam or bring in sandy loam from the sand belt. The delivered material varies enormously.

For any serious garden or new lawn install, ask for a screened sandy loam or a properly blended garden mix. Expect to pay more per yard for the better material. It is dollar for dollar the best investment on a project because everything you plant depends on the soil it starts in.

Sod installs, new lawns, garden bed installs, and topsoil delivery are search-driven work. Peak Local Leads builds and ranks local landscape and lawn sites for one contractor per Texas market. Seven day free trial on the calls, flat monthly after, no per-lead fees. Ask us if your area is open.