How we calculate

Trace the geometry, product assumptions, purchasing adjustments and rounding.

YardTakeoff is a browser-based material worksheet. Its output is a function of the numbers you enter, not a recommendation of an installation depth, product, structural design or local price.

Geometry before purchasing

Rectangle area is length × width. Volume in cubic feet is area in square feet × depth in inches ÷ 12; divide by 27 for cubic yards. The multi-area planner subtracts each row’s excluded area, calculates each depth zone separately and combines unrounded volumes for the same material.

Make adjustments explicit

Order volume = measured volume × supplier loose-volume factor × (1 + extra percentage / 100). A factor of one applies no conversion. Use another factor only when the measured depth and delivery basis require it. Ask whether a supplier adjustment already includes waste to avoid double-counting.

Rounding and packages

Whole bags and containers round upward after the requirement is combined. In the multi-area planner, a minimum bulk order is applied before rounding up to a multiple of the entered bulk increment. Individually required bags then round up to full packs when you specify a pack size. Bulk and bag purchases are alternatives, not quantities to add together. Pavers use unit face area; fence pickets account for n − 1 gaps between n boards. Wall blocks round per course and course count before the purchasing allowance. Caps stay separate. Fabric rolls use overlapping strip widths and pooled roll length; the cut plan can require more.

Coverage is product-dependent

Coatings use separate first- and later-coat rates, with zero in the later-coat field meaning reuse the first rate. A label rate for a complete application should be entered with one coat. Joint sand can use both ends of a coverage range. Container and bag counts always depend on the exact product yield.

Cost and mass

Prices start at zero, meaning not supplied. The bulk comparison includes only the entered cubic-yard rate and bulk delivery fee; the bag comparison uses rounded bags, entered bag price and its separate delivery charge. Zero delivery means no charge has been entered. Tax, handling and unentered supplier restrictions are additional. The optional minimum, increment and pack-size fields explicitly change the purchase quantity before cost is calculated. Weight is omitted until you supply US short tons per cubic yard; it then applies to the actual bulk purchase, including any minimum or increment surplus.

Project purchase worksheets added October 21, 2026

• Fabric cut plan: compares strips in two directions. Each strip must fit within a roll without an end seam. Short offcuts cannot be pooled into a longer strip.
• Patio order: separates five products. Base extension changes only the base footprint. Each product rounds to its own package or buying increment; the shared delivery charge is added once.
• Sod comparison: compares whole pallets, pieces and combinations, using actual supplier coverage and entered prices. Lowest cost does not necessarily mean least surplus.
• Fence finish worksheet: measures broad board faces and long edges separately, adds other measured surfaces once and compares small, large and mixed containers.

These worksheets are independent of the quick calculator above them. Editing one does not update the other. Download from the worksheet you actually used. The quick-estimate Print button prints that quick estimate only; new project worksheets provide their own text downloads.

Additional project measurements

The driveway layer worksheet rounds each material separately; an omitted zero-depth layer adds no delivery charge. The deck surface ledger adds physical surfaces before applying coats and allowance, keeping tread and riser counts separate. Neither tool chooses a structural design or finish compatibility.

Panel counts and material decisions

The separate-panel purchase worksheet rounds each clear span before adding spares once and rounding to supplier packs. It reports nominal excess width separately from spare and package-surplus boards; the count does not design a trimming or spacing pattern. Eight volume worksheets include paired, loadable scenarios showing how material scope changes the purchase: base extensions, bedding openings, measured depth zones, path branches, bag yields and additional fill. Scenario inputs replace the current multi-area worksheet and reset quote prices. All are hypothetical arithmetic examples, not field installation records.

Mixed-size pattern purchasing

The pattern-pack worksheet subtracts a separately ordered border from total paved area, applies the cutting allowance to the remaining field and rounds up by supplier-confirmed square feet per complete pack. It prices all purchased packs and adds delivery once. The coverage and price must refer to the same purchase unit and the selected laying pattern. It does not prove that the pattern module fits the edges or that leftover sizes are usable; border stones and other patio materials remain separate.

Keep measured need and purchased quantity separate

Geometry gives the measured requirement. Product assumptions and an allowance adjust that requirement. Supplier packages or minimums then determine what you buy. Surplus from purchasing is not an instruction to increase the installed thickness or use every item.

• Different concrete hole sizes: subtract each square post from its round hole, multiply by the concrete-filled depth and hole count, then sum unrounded volumes. Apply the shared allowance and divide by the same mix's bag yield before rounding up. Do not combine incompatible mixes or assume a batch remains usable for a later pour.
• Drain gravel purchasing: subtract the pipe's outside-cylinder volume from the specified gravel envelope before applying extra material. Do not include soil cover in that envelope. Bulk minimums and buying increments change only the bulk alternative; bags round from the adjusted gravel need and their own volume yield. Each option has its own price and delivery. Pipe, fittings and fabric are outside the gravel subtotal.
• Single-size pavers: first round the area-based requirement with allowance up to whole pavers. Divide that count by pavers per required pack, round up to whole packs, then multiply back to obtain purchased pavers. Material cost uses purchased pavers multiplied by the entered per-paver price. The extra pieces from a pack are separate from cutting allowance. Mixed-size pattern packs need the supplier's coverage/layout method instead.

Checks and limits

Automated checks cover published default calculations, independently specified numeric cases, invalid inputs, unit conversions and local navigation. Each page also provides a second example and product-specific pitfalls. Tests check arithmetic, not field performance, drainage capacity, stability or compliance. We do not claim professional engineering review.

Privacy and portability

Inputs stay in the browser. Export files are created on your device. A copied estimate link includes measurements in its URL fragment; anyone you share that link with can see them. No account is required. Read the privacy notice.

Sources and corrections

Manufacturer and university references support the identified product assumptions. The worked examples are original arithmetic scenarios, not copied project reports. Report a discrepancy with its full inputs using the correction instructions.

Revised October 23, 2026.