How much topsoil for a 10 x 20 area?
Short answer
- A 10 x 20 ft area is 200 square feet. At 4 inches deep it needs 2.47 cubic yards (66.7 cubic feet) of topsoil.
- With 10% extra: 2.9 tons or 74 bags of 1 cu ft (2.72 cubic yards).
- It's typically a garden plot.
Topsoil for a 10 x 20 area at 2, 4, 6 inches
Cubic yards are shown without extra so you can compare quotes. The other columns include 10% extra, and tons use 80 lb per cubic foot. Ask your supplier for the exact weight of their material.
Open this area in the topsoil calculator to change the size, depth, extra or material.
How the math works
10 ft × 20 ft = 200 sq ft. At 4 inches deep that's 200 × 4 ÷ 12 = 66.7 cubic feet, and ÷ 27 = 2.47 cubic yards. Adding 10% gives 73.3 cubic feet to buy.
How deep should it be?
Penn State Extension recommends at least 4 to 6 inches of good topsoil for a new lawn, measured after it settles. To improve an existing garden bed, Miracle-Gro's directions are to spread 2 to 3 inches and mix it into the top 6 to 8 inches. Loose soil settles once it's watered and walked on, which is why we add 10% extra.
Other sizes
- 4 x 8 area32 sq ft, typically a raised garden bed.
- 10 x 10 area100 sq ft, typically a vegetable plot or a bare lawn patch.
- 20 x 20 area400 sq ft, typically a lawn repair or a large garden.
- 25 x 40 area1,000 sq ft, typically a new lawn of 1,000 sq ft.
- 50 x 50 area2,500 sq ft, typically a new lawn of 2,500 sq ft.