Garden & Outdoor
Garden & Outdoor
Beds, borders, paths and decks: turn measurements into mulch yards and bags, or the full lumber order for a deck — joists to screws, span tables included.
Tools
Calculators for This Category
- Mulch & Topsoil Bulk Garden & Outdoor Rectangle or circle beds, any depth — cubic metres, yards, litres and bag counts.
- Deck Lumber Garden & Outdoor Joists, beam, posts and deck boards from the IRC span tables — the full takeoff for an attached or freestanding deck.
- Paver Quantity Garden & Outdoor Paver count from area, paver size, joint and waste — plus bedding sand volume.
- Retaining Wall Blocks Garden & Outdoor Courses, blocks per course and totals from wall dimensions — with the drainage and engineering warnings.
- Fence Post & Rail Garden & Outdoor Posts, rails, boards and post-hole concrete from a fence run.
- Raised Bed Soil Garden & Outdoor Soil volume in litres and bags for any bed size, across as many beds as you’re building.
Field guides
Practical Guides
- How Much Mulch Do I Need? Bed area, depth by purpose, and the bulk-versus-bags decision.
- Mulch Depth Guide Two, three or four inches — what each depth actually does.
- Mulch vs Stone Upkeep and the look that lasts — compared honestly.
- How Much Lumber Do I Need to Build a Deck? Joist spans, counting joists, beam and post sizing, decking and fasteners — the full takeoff, worked.
- How Many Pavers Do I Need? Pieces, patterns, base tons and sand — the full patio takeoff.
- How Long Should Sprinklers Run? Inches needed ÷ inches per hour — run times that fit the soil.
- Fence Posts, Rails and Boards Post spacing, embedment rules of thumb, hole sizing and the concrete-versus-gravel backfill decision.
Mulch Depth by Purpose
| Goal | Depth | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Moisture retention (beds) | 2–3 in. | Keep off trunks and stems |
| Weed suppression | 3–4 in. | More depth, fewer weeds |
| Play / path surface | per product | Follow the bag's spec |
| Winter protection | 4 in. after frost | Apply late, remove in spring |
Bulk mulch sells by the cubic yard; bags are usually 2 cu ft. The calculator converts both.
Deck Framing at a Glance
| Joist size | Span @ 16 in o.c. | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| 2×6 | 9 ft 0 in | Small, low decks; lighter builds |
| 2×8 | 11 ft 10 in | Decks to about 11 ft deep |
| 2×10 | 14 ft 0 in | The workhorse — most attached decks |
| 2×12 | 16 ft 6 in | Deep decks without a mid-span beam |
Southern Pine No. 2, IRC Table R507.6. The deck lumber calculator checks your span and totals the whole order.
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