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Sycamore mulch chart
Put your sycamore mulch area, depth and waste in: 1500 sq ft at 3-inch depth with 10% waste needs 1,650.00 sq ft — 15.28 cubic yards exact, order 16.
★ CONSTRUCTION · REFERENCE TABLE #491 · BEECH MULCH
Sycamore Mulch Chart: 1500 Sq Ft at 3 Inches, Order 16 Yards
On the defaults — 1500 square feet at a 3-inch depth with 10% waste — sycamore mulch needs 1,650.00 square feet of coverage, which is 15.28 cubic yards exact, so order 16 cubic yards. This is reference table #491 — the sycamore version of the mulch chart, with a calculator on top and a 16-row lookup table below, following the juniper-mulch-chart page, the elm-mulch-chart page, and the poplar-mulch-chart page.
What does 15.28 cubic yards of sycamore mulch mean?
It means 1,650.00 square feet of ground — the 1500 square feet you measured plus 10% waste — covered 3 inches deep in sycamore mulch. One cubic yard covers 324 square feet at 1 inch, so at 3 inches each yard covers 108.0 square feet, and 1,650.00 divided by 108.0 is 15.28 yards. You cannot order 0.28 of a yard from a bulk supplier in practice, so the order rounds up to 16: the extra 0.72 of a yard is topping-up, not waste, because chips settle into the gaps between pieces as they bed in.
Output · formula · meaning
| Output | Formula | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Needed area | area × (1 + waste ÷ 100) | 1,650.00 sq ft — 1500 × 1.10. |
| Exact cubic yards | needed area × depth ÷ 324 | 15.28 — 1,650.00 × 3 ÷ 324. |
| Order | exact cubic yards rounded up | 16 cubic yards — the next whole yard above 15.28. |
| Coverage per yard | 324 ÷ depth | 108.0 sq ft per yard at 3 inches. |
| Needed area at 0% waste | area × 1.00 | 1,500.00 sq ft — no allowance added. |
| Area behind a target exact figure | target × 324 ÷ depth ÷ (1 + waste ÷ 100) | 1500 sq ft — 15.28 × 324 ÷ 3 ÷ 1.10. |
| Depth behind a target exact figure | target × 324 ÷ needed area | 3 inches — 15.28 × 324 ÷ 1,650.00. |
| Waste behind a target exact figure | (target × 324 ÷ depth ÷ area − 1) × 100 | 10% — (15.28 × 324 ÷ 3 ÷ 1500 − 1) × 100. |
Three things to check before you trust the number
First, measure only the beds the sycamore will actually cover: paths, lawn and bare soil inside your measurement inflate the order by their full area times depth. Second, pick the depth for sycamore, not for bark: sycamore chips are light, fine-textured and slow to break down, and 3 inches gives a full, even cover that suppresses weeds without smothering shallow-rooted plants, while copying a shallow bark depth understates the order. Third, keep the waste allowance honest on slopes and open ground: sycamore chips are light, so wind moves them more on open ground, but a steep bank still sheds chips downhill before they bed in.
Worked example
Area 1500 square feet, depth 3 inches, waste 10%. Needed area: 1500 × 1.10 = 1,650.00 square feet. Exact yards: 1,650.00 × 3 ÷ 324 = 15.28 cubic yards. Order: 16 cubic yards. At 4 inches instead, the same area needs 20.37 yards exact — order 21 — because one inch more across 1,650.00 square feet is 1,650.00 ÷ 324 = 5.09 more yards. Depth is the lever that moves this chart fastest.
Sycamore mulch lookup table
Every row below is the same formula at 10% waste: needed area is area × 1.10, exact cubic yards are needed area × depth ÷ 324, and the order is the exact figure rounded up. Rows vary in both area and depth, so a shallow small bed and a deep large one can both be read off directly. Find your row, or use the calculator above for any size the table does not list.
| Area (sq ft) | Depth (inches) | Needed area (sq ft) | Exact cubic yards | Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 350 | 2 | 385.00 | 2.38 | 3 cubic yards |
| 550 | 3 | 605.00 | 5.60 | 6 cubic yards |
| 800 | 2 | 880.00 | 5.43 | 6 cubic yards |
| 450 | 4 | 495.00 | 6.11 | 7 cubic yards |
| 1000 | 3 | 1100.00 | 10.19 | 11 cubic yards |
| 650 | 4 | 715.00 | 8.83 | 9 cubic yards |
| 1400 | 3 | 1540.00 | 14.26 | 15 cubic yards |
| 900 | 2 | 990.00 | 6.11 | 7 cubic yards |
| 1500 | 3 | 1650.00 | 15.28 | 16 cubic yards |
| 1100 | 4 | 1210.00 | 14.94 | 15 cubic yards |
| 700 | 5 | 770.00 | 11.88 | 12 cubic yards |
| 1200 | 2 | 1320.00 | 8.15 | 9 cubic yards |
| 1600 | 3 | 1760.00 | 16.30 | 17 cubic yards |
| 950 | 4 | 1045.00 | 12.90 | 13 cubic yards |
| 1450 | 4 | 1595.00 | 19.69 | 20 cubic yards |
| 1800 | 2 | 1980.00 | 12.22 | 13 cubic yards |
Every branch, checked
At 0% waste, 1500 square feet at 3 inches needs 13.89 yards exact — order 14. At 4 inches with 10% waste, the same area needs 20.37 yards exact — order 21. At 1600 square feet with 3 inches and 10% waste, the order is 16.30 yards exact — order 17. At 1200 square feet with 3 inches and 10% waste, the order is 12.22 yards exact — order 13. Each branch changes exactly one input, so the difference from 15.28 isolates that input.
The reverses, worked backwards
The area behind 15.28 yards is 1500 square feet: at 1400 square feet the figures are 14.26 yards exact — order 15, and at 1600 square feet they are 16.30 yards exact — order 17. The depth behind 15.28 yards is 3 inches: at 2 inches the figures are 10.19 yards exact — order 11, and at 4 inches they are 20.37 yards exact — order 21. The waste behind 15.28 yards is 10%: at 5% the figures are 14.58 yards exact — order 15, and at 15% they are 15.97 yards exact — order 16 — waste moves the exact figure here, and the order moves at the lower neighbor only.
What the defaults assume
The defaults assume a flat 1500 square feet, a uniform 3-inch layer, and a 10% waste allowance. Real beds are not uniform: edges thin out, the ground underneath undulates, and chips poured thick in the middle and thin at the edges average out only roughly. Zero square feet is the honest edge: 0.00 yards exact, order 0. Negative area, zero depth and negative waste are rejected — none of them describes a bed you can mulch. Re-measure after the first barrow loads if the pile looks wrong: catching a measurement error early beats ordering a second delivery.
Who uses this
A home gardener mulching beds with sycamore for a pale, fine finish: the chart prices the order before the delivery truck arrives, and the lookup table answers the common bed sizes without a calculator. A landscaper quoting a sycamore job: the waste allowance is the margin between a short load and a second delivery charge. A groundskeeper topping up paths and play areas: sycamore is fine underfoot and breaks down at a moderate pace, and the depth choice sets both the order and the refresh cycle. A garden-centre clerk answering “how much do I need”: the area, depth and waste inputs turn a rough bed size into a whole-yard order on the spot.
Accuracy & limitations
The arithmetic is exact for the inputs entered; the judgement is in the inputs. An area that includes paths, a depth guessed rather than measured, or a waste allowance that ignores slope will each move the answer by exactly the amount of the error. The model does not include delivery minimums, bulk-bag sizes, compaction after rain, or the moderate breakdown pace of sycamore against bark — re-check the depth after the first season, and re-measure beds that were only paced out. This page is a calculation tool, not landscaping advice.
Cite this calculator
Sycamore mulch 1500 sq ft at 3-inch depth with 10% waste needs 1,650.00 sq ft — 15.28 cubic yards exact, order 16. Calculator plus 16-row lookup table, free. Source: Bright Side Kit, https://brightoolbox.com/sycamore-mulch-chart/, accessed 30 October 2026 (2026-10-30).
Frequently asked questions
How many cubic yards of sycamore mulch do I need?
Area times depth divided by 324, plus waste: 1500 square feet at 3 inches with 10% waste is 1,650.00 square feet needed, 15.28 yards exact, order 16. Use the calculator for any size the lookup table does not list.
Why order 16 yards when the exact figure is 15.28?
Because bulk mulch is sold by the whole yard, and the 0.72 extra is topping-up that settles into gaps as the chips bed in. Ordering 15 would leave the last beds thin once the chips settle.
Is 3 inches the right depth for sycamore?
For most beds, yes: deep enough to suppress weeds and hold moisture, shallow enough not to smother shallow roots. Use 2 inches for a light refresh over existing mulch and 4 inches only where weed pressure is heavy.
What does the 10% waste allowance cover?
Settling, spreading loss and uneven ground. Sycamore chips are light, so wind moves them more than dense chips; use more than 10% on steep or open ground and less on flat, sheltered beds.
How does sycamore differ from bark mulch in this chart?
Only in how fast it breaks down and how dense it is: the volume formula is the same, but sycamore breaks down moderately fast, so a 3-inch sycamore layer needs topping up sooner than a 2-inch bark layer.
Can I use the lookup table instead of the calculator?
Yes, for the sizes listed: find your area and depth row and read the order across. For any other size, the calculator above applies the same formula with your exact figures.