Unless you’re a landscaper, builder or something similar, by trade, converting volumes and weights of materials when you are installing or maintaining your lawn can be confusing and pretty easy to get wrong.
Compaction
The volume of soils and sands will reduce slightly when they are watered, rolled and compacted correctly in preparation for turf to be installed. This can equate to around 10-20% so it’s important to order more to allow for this.
Bulking factor
When you excavate various materials and soil they become larger in volume due to the quantity of air and natural expansion – this is important to factor into removal costs.
For example:
1 cubic metre of clay with a bulking factor of 30% becomes 1.3 cubic metres upon excavation.
1 cubic metre of sand and sandy soils with a bulking factor of 10-20% becomes 1.1 – 1.2 cubic metres upon excavation.
Weights
When arranging for the transportation of materials, particularly as a DIY project, it’s important to understand how much a cubic metre actually weighs.
Mulch 0.30 tonnes per cubic metre
Water 1 tonne per cubic metre
Soil 1.3 tonnes per cubic metres
Loose sand 1.5 tonnes per cubic metres
Loose gravel 1.5 tonnes per cubic metres
Loose roadbase 1.75 tonnes per cubic metres
Compacted roadbase 2.25 tonnes per cubic metres
Concrete 2.3 tonnes per cubic metres
Turf rolls 10-15kgs per 1 square metre
Turf slabs 7-14kgs per .5 square metre
If in doubt about the conversion of size and weights when preparing for the installation on your new lawn or further down the track when it comes to maintenance, just speak to your local, professional landscape supplier or turf grower.
Contact Harden Park Lawns to learn more.
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