How much unscreened topsoil do you need?
Measure the ground you are raising or roughing in. You get cubic yards, tons and truck loads of unscreened topsoil.
You need about
0 cubic yards
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for this job
How this was worked out
Assumes unscreened topsoil at 1.2 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 unscreened topsoil
Unscreened topsoil is the top layer of a field, dug and hauled without going through a screen, so clods, roots and small rocks stay in it. It costs less than screened topsoil and is the usual pick for rough grading, raising a low area, or filling a bed you plan to till. For a finished lawn surface, screened topsoil is the better pick, often spread as a top layer over unscreened.
Also called regular topsoil.
More about unscreened topsoil
It is the same soil as screened topsoil, just loaded as it comes off the stockpile. Skipping the screen is why it costs less, and why it rakes harder: the clods and roots catch the rake and leave a lumpy surface. Ask the supplier how rocky their pile runs, because one yard's unscreened can be fairly clean and another's full of stones.
A common way to use it is to raise or level an area with unscreened, then top it with 2 to 3 inches of screened topsoil for seed or sod. In a garden bed you will till, the tiller breaks up the clods for you, and you can pick out the bigger roots and rocks as they come up.
Loose soil packs down and settles after it is spread and rained on, so order a little extra for a raised area. Weight swings with the weather: a dry pile runs close to 1.2 tons a yard, but a load hauled after a hard rain weighs more because the scale counts the water. Order by the yard when you can.