Stone calculator

Gabion Stone Calculator

Gabion fill is priced by the ton and placed by the basket. Enter your basket dimensions and wall size for tonnage.

French drain trench lined with landscape fabric, perforated pipe and clean washed drainage stone, with a wheelbarrow of stone for a french drain stone calculator — A drain trench is bought as clean washed stone, never dense-graded base — the fines that make a driveway hard are the same fines that block a drain.

Your project

Wall length

Wall height

Wall depth (front to back)

Gabion walls are typically 1/3 to 1/2 of their height in depth.

Fill method

Rock density

lb / cu ft

Stone price per ton

$ / ton

Gabion fill stone

4.83

US tons

Basket volume: 90 cu ft (3.33 cu yd)
Void allowance: 35%
Baskets (3' × 3' × 1.5'): 7
Effective density: 107 lb per cu ft
Estimated fill cost: $314

Fill stone must be larger than the mesh aperture — typically 4-8 inch rock for standard 3 inch mesh. Undersized stone escapes and the basket slumps.

The shareable link reopens this calculator with your exact inputs.

Gabion stone

hardscapecalculator.com

Gabion fill stone4.83 US tons

Your inputs

Wall length	20 ft
Wall height	3 ft
Wall depth (front to back)	1.5 ft
Fill method	Standard machine fill (35% voids)
Rock density	165 lb / cu ft
Stone price per ton	65 $ / ton

Results

Basket volume	90 cu ft (3.33 cu yd)
Void allowance	35%
Baskets (3' × 3' × 1.5')	7
Effective density	107 lb per cu ft
Estimated fill cost	$314

Fill stone must be larger than the mesh aperture — typically 4-8 inch rock for standard 3 inch mesh. Undersized stone escapes and the basket slumps.

French drain stone calculator diagram of a trench cross-section showing width, depth, perforated pipe, washed stone and fabric with the cubic yard and tonnage formula — Trench work is billed like any other aggregate: width × depth × length gives cubic feet, ÷27 gives cubic yards, and the stone density converts that to tons.

https://hardscapecalculator.com/gabion-stone-calculator?wallLength=20&wallHeight=3&wallDepth=1.5&voidRatio=0.35&stoneDensity=165&pricePerTon=65

Sizing gabion fill

Gabion stone should be between 1.5 and 2 times the mesh opening — for common 3 inch mesh that means 4-8 inch rock. Angular quarried rock locks together and holds shape; rounded river cobble rolls and settles.

Void space is 30-40% depending on how carefully the basket is filled. Hand-packing the visible faces and machine-filling the core is the usual compromise: it looks like a stone wall from outside and fills fast inside.

Building the wall

Gabions are gravity structures — the wall's weight resists the soil behind it. Depth should be roughly one third to one half of the height, and taller walls step back with each course.

Fill in one-third-height lifts and cross-tie the basket walls between lifts, or the faces bulge. A bulged gabion cannot be straightened once the stone is in.

Gabion fill tonnage

At 165 lb/ft³ granite with 35% voids — about 1.34 tons per cubic yard of basket.

Basket size	Volume	Fill tons
3' × 3' × 1.5'	13.5 cu ft	1.45
3' × 3' × 3'	27 cu ft	2.90
6' × 3' × 1.5'	27 cu ft	2.90
6' × 3' × 3'	54 cu ft	5.79

Frequently asked questions

+How much stone does a gabion basket hold?

A 3 ft × 3 ft × 1.5 ft basket holds about 1.45 tons of granite fill after allowing 35% void space.

+What size stone for gabion baskets?

Four to eight inch angular rock for standard 3 inch mesh — between 1.5 and 2 times the mesh aperture. Never use rounded or undersized stone.

+How many tons of stone per cubic yard of gabion?

About 1.3-1.4 tons per cubic yard of basket volume, versus 2.2 tons for solid rock, because a third of the basket is air.

+How deep should a gabion wall be?

One third to one half of its height. A 3 foot wall needs 1-1.5 feet of depth; a 6 foot wall needs 2-3 feet and should step back.