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Quartz chip chart calculator
Put your area, depth and waste allowance in: 900 square feet at 3 inches with 10% waste needs 990.00 square feet, 9.17 cubic yards exact, order 10 cubic yards.
★ CONSTRUCTION · GARDEN · QUARTZ CHIP CHART
Quartz Chip Chart: Order 10 Yards, 900 Sq Ft at 3 Inches
On the defaults — 900 square feet at 3 inches with 10% waste — quartz chips need 990.00 square feet, 9.17 cubic yards exact, order 10 cubic yards. This is the QUARTZ version of the chip chart — the lava-rock-chip-chart page is the LAVA ROCK version — 950 square feet at 4 inches with 10% waste; the cobblestone-chip-chart page is the COBBLESTONE version — a chip chart for cobblestone ground cover; the pebble-chip-chart page is the PEBBLE version — a chip chart for pebble ground cover; and the bluestone-chip-chart page is the BLUESTONE version — a chip chart for bluestone ground cover.
What does 9.17 cubic yards of quartz chips mean?
It means that 900 square feet at 3 inches, with 10% waste allowed, needs 990.00 square feet of coverage — 9.17 cubic yards exact, so you order 10 cubic yards. The two steps are the whole story in miniature: the waste step grows the area from 800 to 990.00 square feet, and the depth step turns that area into volume — 990.00 times 3 inches, divided by 324. The part people get wrong is ordering the exact figure: 9.17 cubic yards cannot be delivered as 9.17, so the order rounds up to 9, and rounding down would leave the bed thin at the far end. The other part people get wrong is skipping the waste allowance: 900 square feet at 3 inches with no waste is 8.33 cubic yards, and a load ordered on that figure runs short the moment the ground is uneven or the edging gaps eat a few barrow-loads.
Three things to check before you trust the number
Is 800 really the area the chips cover? Eight hundred square feet is the measured ground, and it is the figure the whole order turns on: the 1100-square-foot branch orders 12 cubic yards against 10 on the defaults, so a 200-square-foot measuring difference is 2 cubic yards. Measure length times width for each section and add the sections, and count only ground the chips actually cover — a lawn strip or a planting bed inside the outline does not take chips.
Is 3 inches really the depth? Three inches is the layer depth, and it is the figure the volume turns on: the 2-inch branch orders 7 cubic yards against 10 on the defaults, so one inch of depth is about 3 cubic yards over 990.00 square feet. Check the depth after the first barrow-loads settle, not just as first spread — chips compact, and a layer measured loose reads deeper than the layer that stays.
Is 10% really the right waste allowance? Ten percent is the extra allowed for spreading loss, uneven ground and edging gaps, and it is the figure the needed area turns on: the 0%-waste branch orders 9 cubic yards against 10 on the defaults, so the allowance is one whole cubic yard here. Use 0% only for a perfectly flat, measured area; uneven ground, slopes or a long haul from the delivery pile usually earn the full 10%.
Worked example
On the defaults: 900 square feet, 3-inch depth, 10% waste.
- Needed area: 800 × 1.10 is 990.00 square feet.
- Coverage per cubic yard: 324 ÷ 3 is 108 square feet.
- Exact cubic yards: 990.00 × 3 ÷ 324 is 9.17 cubic yards (990.00 ÷ 108 is the same 9.17).
- Order: 9.17 rounded up is 9 cubic yards.
And the other way: the area behind 9.17 cubic yards is 900 square feet, the depth behind it is 3 inches, and the waste behind it is 10%. Check the depth reverse by hand: at 2.5 inches the same 990.00 square feet give 990.00 × 2.5 ÷ 324 = 7.64 cubic yards, order 7; at 3.5 inches they give 990.00 × 3.5 ÷ 324 = 10.69 cubic yards, order 10 — so the 3-inch star, 9.17 and order 9, sits exactly between its neighbors, as a depth reverse should. With 0 square feet the model honestly shows 0.00 cubic yards, order 0, because ground that does not exist takes no chips.
Quartz chip lookup table
Every row below is the same model at 10% waste: needed area is the area times 1.10, exact cubic yards are needed area times depth divided by 324, and the order is the exact figure rounded up. Find your area and depth, read across, and order the figure in the last column — do not round down, because a short load leaves the bed thin at the far end.
| Area (sq ft) | Depth (inches) | Needed area (sq ft) | Exact cubic yards | Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 450 | 2 | 495.00 | 3.06 | 4 cubic yards |
| 450 | 3 | 495.00 | 4.58 | 5 cubic yards |
| 450 | 4 | 495.00 | 6.11 | 7 cubic yards |
| 450 | 6 | 495.00 | 9.17 | 10 cubic yards |
| 900 | 2 | 990.00 | 6.11 | 7 cubic yards |
| 900 | 3 | 990.00 | 9.17 | 10 cubic yards |
| 900 | 4 | 990.00 | 12.22 | 13 cubic yards |
| 900 | 6 | 990.00 | 18.33 | 19 cubic yards |
| 1350 | 2 | 1,485.00 | 9.17 | 10 cubic yards |
| 1350 | 3 | 1,485.00 | 13.75 | 14 cubic yards |
| 1350 | 4 | 1,485.00 | 18.33 | 19 cubic yards |
| 1350 | 6 | 1,485.00 | 27.50 | 28 cubic yards |
| 1800 | 2 | 1,980.00 | 12.22 | 13 cubic yards |
| 1800 | 3 | 1,980.00 | 18.33 | 19 cubic yards |
| 1800 | 4 | 1,980.00 | 24.44 | 25 cubic yards |
| 1800 | 6 | 1,980.00 | 36.67 | 37 cubic yards |
Every branch, checked
- 900 square feet, 3-inch depth, 0% waste: 900 square feet, 3-inch depth, 0% waste: 8.33 cubic yards exact — order 9 cubic yards.
- 900 square feet, 2-inch depth, 10% waste: 900 square feet, 2-inch depth, 10% waste: 6.11 cubic yards exact — order 7 cubic yards.
- 1100 square feet, 3-inch depth, 10% waste: 1100 square feet, 3-inch depth, 10% waste: 11.20 cubic yards exact — order 12 cubic yards.
- 500 square feet, 3-inch depth, 10% waste: 500 square feet, 3-inch depth, 10% waste: 5.09 cubic yards exact — order 6 cubic yards.
The reverses, worked backwards
- Area behind 9.17 cubic yards: 900 sq ft — at 900 sq ft the figures are 9.17 cubic yards exact — order 10 cubic yards.; at the lower neighbor the figures are 8.66 cubic yards exact — order 9 cubic yards.; at the upper neighbor the figures are 9.68 cubic yards exact — order 10 cubic yards..
- Depth behind 9.17 cubic yards: 3 inches — at 3 inches the figures are 9.17 cubic yards exact — order 10 cubic yards.; at the lower neighbor the figures are 7.64 cubic yards exact — order 8 cubic yards.; at the upper neighbor the figures are 10.69 cubic yards exact — order 11 cubic yards..
- Waste behind 9.17 cubic yards: 10% waste — at 10% waste the figures are 9.17 cubic yards exact — order 10 cubic yards.; at the lower neighbor the figures are 8.75 cubic yards exact — order 9 cubic yards.; at the upper neighbor the figures are 9.58 cubic yards exact — order 10 cubic yards..
What the defaults assume
The defaults are 900 square feet, 3-inch depth and 10% waste, so the headline is one bed or path with a modest area and a standard 3-inch layer. The model is two multiplications and one division: the needed area is area times the waste factor, the exact figure is needed area times depth divided by 324, and the order is that figure rounded up. The area reverse is checked at 50 square feet either side, because 50 square feet at 3 inches with 10% waste is about half a cubic yard; the depth reverse is checked at 0.5 inches either side, because half an inch over 990.00 square feet is about 1.53 cubic yards; the waste reverse is checked at 5% either side, because 5% of 900 square feet at 3 inches is about 0.42 cubic yards. The model does not include delivery charges, edging materials, or landscape fabric — price those separately, and re-check the order when the measured area changes.
Output · formula · meaning
| Output | Formula | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Needed area | area × (1 + waste ÷ 100) | 990.00 sq ft — 800 × 1.10. |
| Coverage per cubic yard | 324 ÷ depth in inches | 108 sq ft — 324 ÷ 3. |
| Exact cubic yards | needed area × depth ÷ 324 | 9.17 — 990.00 × 3 ÷ 324. |
| Order | exact cubic yards, rounded up | 9 cubic yards — 9.17 rounded up. |
| Area behind 9.17 cubic yards | reverse | 900 sq ft: 9.17 cubic yards exact — order 10 cubic yards. |
| Depth behind 9.17 cubic yards | reverse | 3 inches: 9.17 cubic yards exact — order 10 cubic yards. |
| Waste behind 9.17 cubic yards | reverse | 10% waste: 9.17 cubic yards exact — order 10 cubic yards. |
| 0 square feet | same model | 0.00 cubic yards exact — order 0 cubic yards. |
| 108 square feet, 0% waste | same model | 1.00 cubic yards exact — order 1 cubic yard. |
Who uses this
- A gardener ordering quartz chips — 900 square feet at 3 inches with 10% waste is 9.17 cubic yards exact, order 9, with the lookup table covering the next bed size without a new calculation.
- A landscaper quoting a path — the branches price a shallower layer or a bigger area at once, so a quote change can be costed before it is agreed.
- A homeowner checking a delivery — the reverses recover the area, depth or waste behind any quoted cubic-yard figure, so a short load can be checked against the measurements.
- A builder topping up a bed — the 108-square-foot coverage per cubic yard at 3 inches says at a glance how far one more yard goes.
Accuracy & limitations
Figures are the model’s own arithmetic on the numbers you type, computed from unrounded values and displayed rounded HALF_UP to 2dp, with the order rounded up. The main limitation is the inputs, not the arithmetic: whether the area is measured honestly, whether the depth holds after settling, and whether the waste allowance fits the ground are all judgement calls, and this page prices the figures you enter without checking them. This page is a calculation tool, not landscaping advice.
Cite this calculator
Quartz chips for 900 sq ft at 3 inches with 10% waste need 990.00 sq ft, 9.17 cubic yards exactly, order 10 cubic yards, plus a free 16-row lookup table. Source: Bright Side Kit, https://brightoolbox.com/quartz-chip-chart/, accessed 29 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How many square feet does one cubic yard of quartz chips cover at 3 inches?
108 square feet: 324 divided by the 3-inch depth. At 2 inches one yard covers 162 square feet, and at 4 inches it covers 81 — depth and coverage move in opposite directions, which is why a shallow layer goes so much further.
Why order 10 cubic yards instead of 9.17?
Because suppliers deliver whole cubic yards, and rounding down leaves the bed short: 9 cubic yards cover 972 square feet at 3 inches, which is 18 square feet short of the 990.00 needed. The extra 0.83 of a yard is the margin that finishes the bed.
What if my area is not a rectangle?
Split it into rectangles and triangles, measure each, and add the areas before entering the total: a triangle is half its base times its height. Entering the outline rectangle instead overstates the order by the ground the chips never cover.
Should waste be 10% or 0%?
10% for uneven ground, slopes, edging gaps or a long haul from the delivery pile; 0% only for a perfectly flat, carefully measured area. The waste step here is worth one cubic yard, so the choice is visible in the order, not hidden in it.
How deep should quartz chips be?
3 inches is the usual bed or path depth: deep enough to suppress weeds and stay put, shallow enough to walk on. A 1-inch decorative scatter looks thin within a season, and a 6-inch layer doubles the order against 3 inches for the same area.
Can I use this chart for other chip materials?
Yes, for any loose chip or mulch sold by the cubic yard: the volume arithmetic is the same whatever the material. Only the coverage habit changes — a lighter material may settle more, which is a reason to keep the waste allowance, not to drop it.