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How Much Does a Yard Of Topsoil Weigh?

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The topsoil, like any other dirt, is used in many landscaping applications around the property. It can be used for landscaping or to fill the holes.

In this case, you are supposed to understand how much you need to transport using the vehicle. Many soil suppliers can arrange for you to deliver to your home, but it cost a lot of money.

If you need more of it, you might be required to pay someone for the delivery.

However, if you have a vehicle or truck to carry topsoil at home, this is the fastest and cheapest option. Also, it is crucial to know the type of topsoil that can be used in the project and the correct increments and measurements.

Generally, the topsoil is expressed in cubic yards that almost weighs the right amount. So, if you are wondering How Much Does a Yard Of Topsoil Weigh, continue reading this article.

How Much Does a Yard Of Topsoil Weigh

Things to Consider When Getting the Topsoil

Soil composition

All types of soils, including the topsoil, contain various minerals, nutrients, and microorganisms. Their weight depends a lot on this makeup. For instance, a dry and sandy soil cubic yard weighs about £2,600, while a dry and clay soil weighs about £1,700.

Other factors, which affect the soil composition include blended versus straight soils. You can buy topsoil that contains wood chips or compost that add nutrients and improve drainage. These vary according to the weight of the soil.

Cost of the soil

Various sellers will charge a different amount for the topsoil you receive. Take a look at different sellers and choose the one that best suits you.

The cost also depends on whether you want to add nutrients and the weight of the soil. All of these things must be considered.

If you’re lucky, you may get the topsoil from the construction site freely, and you won’t have to pay anything, although it can be messy.

Scotts Turf Builder LawnSoil - How Much Does a Yard Of Topsoil Weigh
Scotts Turf Builder LawnSoil via Amazon.com

Transportation costs

Remember that the topsoil is ordinarily heavy. When transporting it yourself, it can damage the car. If possible, you can ask those people who sell it to transport it to your garden.

If they are pretty, they can assist you in uploading and spread them in the garden. Because they understand how it works, and you’re likely to get even and better soil for the whole yard.

How Much Does a Yard Of Topsoil Weigh?

The weight of the topsoil depends on the moisture, soil, and other materials mixed with the dirt. A cubic yard of the topsoil can weighs about 2,200 pounds.

When you decide to buy soil, you need to know that it is usually divided into the fill dirt and topsoil. Fill dirt is below the topsoil and generally contains a small organic matter level made up of more rocky material.

The topsoil is the top layer of the dirt on the surface of the earth. This layer is typically 10 to 30 centimeters deep and is composed of organic matter and nutrients. The high-quality topsoil is generally rich in nitrogen, carbon, and other beneficial nutrients, directly promoting plant growth.

Topsoil is termed as the best soil that can be used for gardening and planting. An increase in the number of nutrients and organic matter produces more oxygen for plants, promoting root health and increases growth.

This determines the weight of the topsoil in the yard. Due to the increased level of organic matter, the topsoil is more subject to decomposition due to the rupture of air pockets. Therefore, it is suitable for the top landscape layer instead of being used as the support layer under the solid structures.

Other substances like compost and fertilizers can be added to the topsoil to increase the level of oxygen and nutrients inside, which affect the weight.

Also, the topsoil is made into garden soil with sufficient fertilizer and compost, but the process may take months. Whatever you do with it, the topsoil should be on top of the fill dirt once it is set, particularly if you want the vegetation to flourish.

How To Measure A Yard Of Topsoil

Many topsoil bags are calculated in every cubic yard. One cubic yard can be measured as the area of a yard to one yard high and one yard long. However, if you want this imaginary cube to be narrower, shorter, or longer, you can modify the dimension accordingly.

Since you cannot fill the garden bed into the yard-tall chunks, you are required to understand how you can measure one cubic soil yard with unorthodox dimensions.

5 Steps to Measure A Yard of Topsoil

  • Choose how deep you need to fill the topsoil in an area you want to measure. Make sure you calculate using the fractions and yards. One yard is the same as 36 inches or 3 feet. So, if you’re filling 18 inches or 1 1/2 feet deep, you need to calculate it like 1/2 yard.
  • Decide the width of the filled area you want. This figure is expressed in fractions and yards. Therefore, if you fill a 4 1/2 foot wide bed, it equals 1 1/2 feet wide.
  • Multiply these two measurements together (depth and width). Since the measurements are calculated in yards and fractions, your answer is also in fraction and yard. In the above example, you need to multiply a depth of 1/2 yard by a width of 1 1⁄2 yards to get a value of 3⁄4 meters.
  • Put the number you have in a fraction. The resulting figure shows how much the bed is complete and other dimensions measured in the cubic yard. So, in the example, reverse 3⁄4 yards to get 4⁄3 yards for the length of the bed already known of 1 1/2 yard wide and 1/2 yard deep. Know that this step does not work if the yard is expressed in mixed numbers. You must write it in improper fraction.
  • If necessary, mark the width and length measurements with the small marks to get the visual representation of the cubic yard for the soil. You need to imagine that you measure the depth as it cannot be marked in any way.

Conclusion

Knowing the weight of the yard for the topsoil is crucial when purchasing this soil, as this will ensure you are getting good quality and enough soil. In addition, knowing how the calculation is done based on the garden size will help avoid inconvenience and wastage.

However, the final goal is to make sure you get the right quality because it will determine the health and growth of the plants.