How much screened topsoil do you need?
Measure the lawn or bed you are building up. You get cubic yards, tons and truck loads of screened topsoil.
You need about
0 cubic yards
0tons
Add your truck size to see loads
for this job
How this was worked out
Assumes screened topsoil at 1.1 tons per cubic yard. Soil weighs more or less with its mix and the water in it, so ask your supplier for their number.
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About screened topsoil
Screened topsoil is the top layer of a field, run through a screen so the rocks, roots and clods come out. It spreads smooth under a rake and gives grass seed or sod a loose bed to root into. Most yards order it by the cubic yard, about 4 to 6 inches deep for a new lawn.
Also called black dirt.
More about screened topsoil
Topsoil is stripped from the top few inches to a foot of ground, piled, and then pushed through a shaker screen. The screen size decides how fine it comes out; a half inch screen is common for lawn work. Unscreened topsoil is the same soil with the lumps still in it, quicker to make and harder to rake.
For a new lawn, spread 4 to 6 inches over subsoil that has been loosened first, so the two layers knit instead of forming a slick line that water sits on. Roll it once with a light lawn roller, rake out the low spots, then seed or lay sod. On an existing lawn, a topdress of 1/4 to 1/2 inch raked down into the grass fills thin spots without smothering it.
Weight swings with the weather. A dry pile comes close to 1.1 tons a yard, but a truck loaded the morning after a hard rain weighs a lot more for the same yards, because the scale counts the water. Order by the yard when you can, and keep a delivered pile covered if it will sit.