Riprap calculator
Work out how much riprap a bank or shoreline needs, in tons and cubic yards.
Riprap calculator
Use your supplier's density
You need
- Volume
- Weight
- Area
| Order by | Exact | Order, rounded up for anything sold in whole bags |
|---|
Fewer than three independent suppliers publish a density for this material, so treat this range as provisional and use your supplier's figure where you have one.
Enter your measurements to see what to order.
One cubic yard of riprap weighs about 1.4 US tons and covers about 162 square feet at 2 in.
How to work out how much riprap 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, 1661 kg per cubic metre for riprap, 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 riprap?
About 1.4 US tons, at 1661 kg per cubic metre. Because published densities run from 1661 to 1661, the honest answer is a range: between 1.4 and 1.4 tons per cubic yard depending on grading and how wet the load is.
How many cubic yards in a ton of riprap?
About 0.71 cubic yards. One tonne is about 0.6 cubic metres.
How much does riprap weigh?
Between 1661 and 1661 kg per cubic metre, a spread of 0 percent. One supplier. Riprap grading varies enormously by project, so treat this as a placeholder until your own supplier states theirs. The calculator above uses 1661, and you can replace it with your own supplier's figure.
1 published figures from 1 supplier, read 2026-09-20.
Fewer than three independent suppliers publish a figure for this material. Treat the range as provisional and use your supplier's own density where you have one.
| Supplier | Published figure | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Cummin Landscape Supply (Atlanta, GA)US | ~2800 lbs per cubic yard | loose (the same page states "Loose material ships on a dump truck") |
What you can order riprap in
| Pack | Where | Size |
|---|---|---|
| cubic yard | US, CA | 0.765 m3 |
| US ton | US, CA | 907 kg |