How much river sand do you need?
Measure the bed, path or low spot you are covering. You get tons, cubic yards and truck loads of river sand.
You need about
0 tons
0cubic yards
Add your truck size to see loads
for this job
How this was worked out
Assumes river sand at 1.35 tons per cubic yard. Damp sand weighs more than dry, so ask your supplier for their number.
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About river sand
River sand is dug or dredged from riverbeds and banks, where moving water has worn the grains round and smooth. It is often tan or gray and comes washed, with a mix of fine and medium grains. Round grains roll past each other, so it drains well but does not lock as tight as crushed sand.
More about river sand
Where a river runs near the yard, river sand may be the main sand a supplier stocks, and the name tells you where it came from more than what size it is. One load may be close to masonry sand and the next closer to concrete sand. Ask to see the pile and rub a pinch to check the grain.
Round grains feel good underfoot, so it is used for volleyball courts, horse arenas and filling low spots in a yard before seed. It also works as the sand part of a garden bed mix. For pavers and steep slopes a sharper sand holds better, because round grains can shift under a load.
River sand can come straight from the dredge still wet, and wet sand weighs more: the scale may read 10 to 15 percent over the same sand dry. Let a delivered pile drain on a slight slope before you spread it. Keep it back from a ditch, where a hard rain can carry it off.