How much rubber mulch do I need?

The formula in three steps

Three numbers give you an order: your area, your depth, and what a pallet holds.

Step 1. Measure the area. For a square or rectangular bed, multiply length by width. For an odd shape, split it into rectangles and add the pieces together.

Step 2. Pick the depth. In a landscape bed the depth is your choice. In a play area the depth follows the fall height of the equipment.

Step 3. Do the math. Divide your depth in inches by 12 to get feet. Multiply that by your square footage for cubic feet. Divide cubic feet by 75 for your pallet count, then round up.

The formula: square feet × (depth in inches ÷ 12) = cubic feet. Then cubic feet ÷ 75 = pallets.

What one pallet holds

Every pallet holds 75 cubic feet, and you pick how it is packed.

• Bags: 50 bags of 1.5 cubic feet each, which is 75 cubic feet per pallet.
• Super sack: one large sack holding the same pallet load.
• Same price: the packaging you choose does not change what you pay.

Your pallet count is the same either way. Packaging changes how you move the mulch, not how much you get.

Keep your units straight

Depth is the one place this math trips people. Area comes out in square feet, and depth is in inches, so the depth has to become feet first.

Three inches is 0.25 feet. Four inches is 0.333 feet. Six inches is 0.5 feet. Divide by 12 before you multiply, and the order comes out right.

Coverage by depth

This table is the same math laid out for you. Find your depth, then read across.

These figures are arithmetic. Your own coverage moves a little with how evenly you rake the mulch out.

Choosing your depth

Play areas

Depth under play equipment is not a design choice. It follows the highest point a child can fall from, and it is the whole reason the surface works.

“Use Zone — The surface under and around a piece of equipment onto which a child falling from or exiting from the equipment would be expected to land.”

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Public Playground Safety Handbook (Publication 325)

Our playground safety guide walks through fall height and use zones. If you want help reading your equipment specification, ask us.

Landscape beds

Depth in a bed is a design choice, and you get to make it. A thinner layer shows more of the bed line and costs less to fill. A deeper layer covers the soil more completely and takes longer to thin out in the busy corners.

Most people land on three or four inches and stay there. Pick one, then use it for every bed on the property so your order math stays simple.

Worked examples

If you are used to ordering by the yard

Bulk mulch is often sold in cubic yards, and the two units convert cleanly. One cubic yard is 27 cubic feet.

A pallet holds 75 cubic feet, which is close to 2.8 cubic yards. So a quote written as five yards is 135 cubic feet, and two pallets cover it.

Does color change how much you need?

No. Every color is the same rubber and takes the same depth for the same job.

Black, Brown, Red, Green, Blue, and Unpainted all cover the same ground per pallet. Choose by looks, then run the same math.

Checking depth as you spread

Mark a stick at your depth and keep it in your pocket. Push it down to the soil every few feet as you rake.

Depth drifts without a gauge. A bed that starts at four inches can finish at two in the far corner, and the far corner is where you run out.

Measuring an odd shape

Curved beds

Break the bed into simple shapes: rectangles, triangles, and circles. Work each one out, then add them up. If you would rather keep it quick, measure the average width across the length of the bed and multiply. That gets you close.

A ring around a tree

Measure straight across the ring to get the diameter, then halve it for the radius. The area is π × radius². Subtract the trunk only if it is a wide one.

Beds with plants in them

Measure the whole bed and do not subtract the small stems. Do subtract the large things you are not mulching under, such as a dense shrub bank or a patio edge.

Order a little extra

Buy slightly more than the math says. Ground is never perfectly flat, and the mulch settles into low spots as you spread it.

A reserve also covers upkeep. Rubber mulch migrates out of busy spots, under a swing or inside a gate, and those spots get raked back and topped up. Having a bag on the shelf beats placing a second order for one bag.

Bags or a super sack

Choose by how the mulch will move on your site, since both cost the same.

Bags suit a job done by hand. One person carries a bag at a time from the curb to the bed, and the work can pause and pick up next weekend.

A super sack comes off in one piece, so it needs a loading dock, or a forklift and a pallet jack on site. There is one piece to lift instead of 50, so a large job unloads faster when you have the equipment.

Ordering your pallets

Order 1 to 7 pallets online at your delivered price, which already includes curbside delivery to the 48 contiguous states.

We quote any quantity. For 8 pallets or more, send us your project details and we will quote it. Our delivery and shipping guide explains how delivery works.

Get an exact number

These formulas get you a solid estimate. The calculator gets you the exact one, along with your real delivered price.

Enter your square footage and your address, and it returns the amount you need and what it costs to your curb.

Calculate your delivered price