One cubic yard of topsoil covers about 80 square feet at 4 inches deep. That is the workhorse depth for new lawns — the 4–6 inch range gives seed a real root zone — so a full 6-yard load preps roughly 480 sq ft.
One yard of topsoil covers…
| Depth | Coverage |
|---|---|
| 1" | ~324 sq ft |
| 2" | ~162 sq ft |
| 3" | ~100 sq ft |
| 4" | ~80 sq ft |
Divide your square footage by the coverage number for your depth, then round up to the next half yard — running one wheelbarrow short at the end of a lawn job is the classic mistake. And since loam and topsoil weigh about 2,100 lbs per yard, let the truck do the hauling. Order Screened Topsoil by the yard, or let the material calculator do the division.
