Plan the whole project before you buy a single bag.
Enter your measurements once. Get every material, how deep to dig, a drawing to scale and a shopping list, with the math shown so you can check it.
Planners
One planner per project, built to cover the whole job rather than one number at a time.
- Patios
Paver Patio Planner
Pavers, base gravel, sand, edging, dig depth and cost, with a to-scale drawing.
Open planner → - Gravel
Gravel & Stone Planner
Any shape, up to three layers of stone: cubic yards, tons, bags and truckloads.
Open planner → - Concrete
Concrete Slab & Footing Planner
Slabs, footings and post holes, in bags or ready-mix, with rebar and forms.
Open planner → - Walls
Retaining Wall Planner
Blocks, caps, base and drainage gravel, pipe and fabric, with a height check.
Open planner → - Garden
Raised Bed, Soil & Mulch Planner
Several beds at once, soil mix and lumber, plus mulch and topsoil. Bags vs bulk.
Open planner → - Drainage
French Drain Planner
Trench depth with slope, drainage gravel, pipe and fabric for yard drainage.
Open planner →
Guides
Step-by-step how-tos with the quantities already worked out.
- How to Build a Paver Patio, Step by Step
The whole job in order: layout, digging, base, sand, laying, cutting and joint sand, with the quantities worked out for a real patio.
- How Much Gravel for a Shed Base? (Size Table)
Gravel for every common shed size, in tons, cubic yards and bags, plus how to build a gravel shed pad that stays level.
- How Many Bags of Concrete Do You Need? (40, 60 and 80 lb Tables)
Bag counts for common slab sizes and post holes in 40, 60 and 80 lb bags, and when to switch to a ready-mix truck.
- How to Build a Block Retaining Wall (Under 4 Feet)
Planning, trenching, the leveling pad, the buried course, drainage and caps for a small segmental block retaining wall.
- Raised Bed Soil: How Much and What Mix
Soil volumes for common raised bed sizes, simple mixes that work, and whether to buy bags or bulk.
- How to Build a French Drain in Your Yard
Where to run it, how deep and how much slope, the right gravel, pipe and fabric, and the step-by-step build.
What makes these different
The whole project, not one number
Most calculators tell you how much gravel. A patio also needs pavers, sand, edging, joint sand and the right dig depth. You get all of it from one set of inputs.
The math is on the page
Every planner lists its formulas and assumptions, like how much extra to order for compaction. You can check any number by hand.
See it before you dig
A drawing to scale and a cross-section of the layers show exactly what you are building, and a shopping list you can print or copy.