Mulch Needed for 30 square feet at 3 inches Deep

"Mulch Calculator" Calculator

Cover an area of

to a depth of

in

How much mulch do I need for 30 square feet?

Answer

Covering 30 square feet with mulch 3 inches deep takes
0.28 cubic yards

That is 7.5 cubic feet, or 4 bags of 2 cubic feet. In bulk, order 0.31 cubic yards to allow 10% for waste.

Mulching 30 square feet to 3 inches deep takes 0.28 cubic yards — 7.5 cubic feet, or 4 bags of 2 cubic feet. At this depth one cubic yard covers 108 square feet.

How the Volume Is Worked Out

Cubic yards = square feet × inches ÷ 324

The 324 is exact, not a fudge factor: a cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so spread one inch thick it covers 27 × 12 = 324 square feet. No density is involved, which is why the volume is the part of this answer that is exact — the weight further down is not.

30 square feet × 3 inches

=

0.28 cubic yards

(7.5 cubic feet = 4 bags)

Bags or bulk: part bags are rounded up, so 4 bags is what you actually carry home. In bulk the same job is 0.31 cubic yards once the 10% waste allowance the WSDOT Design Manual gives for stockpiled material is added.

30 square feet at Other Depths

Depth is an input, and every row below is a page of its own — set it in the form or follow a link. Extension services recommend 2–4 inches of organic mulch; below 2 inches weeds come through, and above 4 inches water and air stop reaching the roots.

Depth Mulch Cubic feet Bags One cubic yard covers
1 inch0.0926 cubic yards2.5 cubic feet2 bags324 square feet
2 inches0.19 cubic yards5 cubic feet3 bags162 square feet
3 inches0.28 cubic yards7.5 cubic feet4 bags108 square feet
4 inches0.37 cubic yards10 cubic feet5 bags81 square feet
6 inches0.56 cubic yards15 cubic feet8 bags54 square feet

What This Much Mulch Weighs

0.28 cubic yards of dry bark or wood chips weighs roughly 112–224 lbs — 0.056–0.11 tons — from a typical 400–800 lbs per cubic yard.

This one is an estimate and we say so. No authoritative source publishes a single density for mulch, so the figure is printed as a range and carries no citation — inventing a precise number would be worse than an honest band. It is also a dry weight: mulch soaked with rain weighs two to three times as much, which is what decides whether a load fits in a car boot.

Related Calculations

See Also

About "Mulch Calculator" Calculator

This calculator works out how much mulch a bed needs: enter the area and it returns the volume in cubic yards and cubic feet, the number of standard bags, the weight range and how much ground one cubic yard covers. For example, it can help you find out how much mulch do I need for 30 square feet? (The answer is: 0.28 cubic yards). Enter the area (e.g. 30 square feet), choose the unit and set the depth — 3 inches by default, the middle of the 2–4 inch range extension services recommend. Any other depth is accepted and gets its own page.

"Mulch Calculator" Calculator

Cover an area of

to a depth of

in

Mulch by Area at 3 inches Deep

AreaMulch neededCubic feetBags
30 square feet0.28 cubic yards7.5 cubic feet4 bags
50 square feet0.46 cubic yards12.5 cubic feet7 bags
60 square feet0.56 cubic yards15 cubic feet8 bags
80 square feet0.74 cubic yards20 cubic feet10 bags
100 square feet0.93 cubic yards25 cubic feet13 bags
120 square feet1.11 cubic yards30 cubic feet15 bags
150 square feet1.39 cubic yards37.5 cubic feet19 bags
160 square feet1.48 cubic yards40 cubic feet20 bags
200 square feet1.85 cubic yards50 cubic feet25 bags
250 square feet2.31 cubic yards62.5 cubic feet32 bags
300 square feet2.78 cubic yards75 cubic feet38 bags
400 square feet3.7 cubic yards100 cubic feet50 bags
500 square feet4.63 cubic yards125 cubic feet63 bags
600 square feet5.56 cubic yards150 cubic feet75 bags
800 square feet7.41 cubic yards200 cubic feet100 bags
900 square feet8.33 cubic yards225 cubic feet113 bags
1,000 square feet9.26 cubic yards250 cubic feet125 bags
1,200 square feet11.11 cubic yards300 cubic feet150 bags
1,500 square feet13.89 cubic yards375 cubic feet188 bags
2,000 square feet18.52 cubic yards500 cubic feet250 bags

FAQ

How much mulch do I need for 30 square feet?

Covering 30 square feet with mulch 3 inches deep takes 0.28 cubic yardsThat is 7.5 cubic feet, or 4 bags of 2 cubic feet. In bulk, order 0.31 cubic yards to allow 10% for waste.

How many bags of mulch for 30 square feet?

4 bags of 2 cubic feet, because 30 square feet at 3 inches deep works out at 7.5 cubic feet and each bag holds 2 cubic feet. Part bags are rounded up — running one bag short is the one rounding error you notice on site.

How much does the mulch for 30 square feet weigh?

0.28 cubic yards of dry mulch weighs roughly 112–224 lbs — 0.056–0.11 tons — from a typical 400–800 lbs per cubic yard. That is a typical range for bark and wood chips rather than a measured density, and mulch soaked with rain weighs two to three times as much.

How much area does one cubic yard cover over 30 square feet?

At 3 inches deep one cubic yard covers 108 square feet, because a cubic yard spread one inch thick covers 324 square feet. Divide 324 by the depth in inches to get the coverage at any other thickness.

See Also