Play sand calculator
Work out how many bags of play sand a sandbox or play area needs.
Play sand calculator
Use your supplier's density
You need
- Volume
- Weight
- Area
| Order by | Exact | Order, rounded up for anything sold in whole bags |
|---|
Enter your measurements to see what to order.
One cubic yard of play sand weighs about 1.23 US tons and covers about 162 square feet at 2 in.
How to work out how much play sand you need
- Measure the area in feet and multiply length by width.
- Pick a depth in inches and multiply it by the area to get a volume.
- Multiply the volume by the bulk density, 1454 kg per cubic metre for play sand, to get a weight.
- Divide the weight by your supplier's ton or cubic yard to get what to order, and round up. Suppliers do not sell part bags.
- Add 10 percent. Covers settlement, uneven ground and the material lost around the edges. A second delivery for half a yard costs more than the extra you did not use.
How many tons in a cubic yard of play sand?
About 1.23 US tons, at 1454 kg per cubic metre. Because published densities run from 1305 to 1602, the honest answer is a range: between 1.1 and 1.35 tons per cubic yard depending on grading and how wet the load is.
How many cubic yards in a ton of play sand?
About 0.82 cubic yards. One tonne is about 0.69 cubic metres.
How much does play sand weigh?
Between 1305 and 1602 kg per cubic metre, a spread of 23 percent. Washed and screened, quoted lighter than concrete sand. The calculator above uses 1454, and you can replace it with your own supplier's figure.
4 published figures from 4 suppliers, read 2026-09-20.
| Supplier | Published figure | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Greenleaf Landscape Supply, Grand Rapids, MIinternational | Approximately 2550 lbs. per yard | Unstated |
| Ivy Trails Gift & Garden, Manitowoc, WIinternational | approximately 2200 lbs per yard | Unstated |
| SAKRETE of North America LLC, Charlotte, NCUS | 50 lb (22.7 kg) bag; yield 0.5 ft3 per bag (i.e. 100 lb/ft3) | Bagged, screened and washed, then dried for bagging - effectively a dry loose... |
| Asphalt Materials, Inc. (Indianapolis, IN)international | 2600 lbs (1.3 tons) per cubic yard | Unstated. |
What you can order play sand in
| Pack | Where | Size |
|---|---|---|
| cubic yard | US, CA | 0.765 m3 |
| US ton | US, CA | 907 kg |
| 0.5 cu ft bag | US, CA | 0.014 m3 |