Above Ground Pool Pad Gravel Calculator
A 24 ft pool plus a 2 ft border is a 28.00 ft gravel pad: 7.60 cubic yards and 10.89 short tons at 4 inches and 1,700 kg/m³.
Last updated . 1,700 kg/m³ is this site’s crushed-base default, 1.43 short tons and 1.30 tonnes per cubic yard. Sand under a pool stays on the pool sand calculator at 1,600 kg/m³.
Leveling sand, including the 15 ft round example, is the pool sand calculator. Filter sand is a different tool.
Pool gravel pad
The border is added on every side, so the pad grows by twice this distance.
Crushed-base start: 1,700 kg/m³. Pool sand on the other page stays at 1,600 and does not add this border.
Pad size and gravel
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Cubic yards
0.00
Cubic feet
0.00
Cubic meters
0.00
Short tons
0.00
Tonnes
0.00
Gravel pad, not pool sand
The pool sand page answers how much sand goes under the pool shell. This page answers how much gravel goes in a pad that sticks out past the wall. The default pool is 24 feet across. Two feet of border all around makes 28.00 feet of pad. Area uses the pad, not the pool.
| Pool sand page | This gravel pad | |
|---|---|---|
| Material | Sand at 1,600 kg/m³ | Gravel at 1,700 kg/m³ |
| Example | 15 ft round, 2 in, no extra border in the headline | 24 ft round plus 2 ft border, 4 in |
| Result | 1.09 yd³ and 1.47 short tons | 7.60 yd³ and 10.89 short tons |
How the diameter is built
Pad diameter = pool diameter + 2 × border. In feet that is 24 + 4 = 28.00. The metric diameter is 8.53 m. Volume is π × radius² × depth, then converted with 0.9144³ cubic meters per yard. The rectangle option uses length and width the same way: 12 by 24 plus 2 feet becomes 16.00 by 28.00 ft, 5.53 cubic yards, and 7.92 short tons.
Weight
One yard at 1,700 kg/m³ is 1.43 short tons, 2865.44 lb, and 1.30 tonnes. The round pad’s 7.60 yards are 10.89 short tons and 9.88 tonnes. No compaction percent is folded in. If you compact in lifts and want extra loose stone, increase the depth or add it yourself.
Worked example
Leave the shape on Round, the diameter at 24 ft, the border at 2 ft, the depth at 4 in, and the density at 1700. The pad line reads 28.00 ft diameter (8.53 m). Cubic yards read 7.60. Cubic feet read 205.25. Cubic meters read 5.81. Short tons read 10.89. Tonnes read 9.88. The formula line starts “Pool diameter 24.00 ft plus 2.00 ft of border on each side is a 28.00 ft diameter pad (8.53 m).”
Frequently asked questions
How much gravel for a 24 foot above-ground pool?
The pool diameter stays 24 ft. A 2 ft border on every side makes the pad diameter 28.00 ft (8.53 m). At 4 inches and 1,700 kg/m³ the pad is 7.60 cubic yards, 205.25 cubic feet, 5.81 cubic meters, 10.89 short tons, and 9.88 tonnes. The gravel is the pad under and just past the wall, not sand inside a filter and not the water.
Is this the pool sand calculator?
No. The pool sand calculator is sand under the pool. Its round example is a 15 foot pool at 2 inches of sand and 1,600 kg/m³, which is 1.09 cubic yards and 1.47 short tons, on the pool footprint. This page is gravel, 4 inches, and the pad is larger than the pool by the border. A 24 foot pool is not that 15 foot sand example.
Why is the pad bigger than the pool?
The border is added twice, once for each side. 24 + 2 + 2 = 28.00 ft. The formula line says the 24.00 ft diameter plus 2.00 ft of border on each side is a 28.00 ft pad. Set the border to 0 if you truly want gravel only under the wall line. The default keeps the 2 ft collar.
How much does the gravel weigh per yard?
The start is 1,700 kg/m³, the crusher-run and limestone family on this site, because a pool pad is a base rather than decorative pea gravel. One cubic yard is 1.43 short tons, 2865.44 lb, and 1.30 tonnes. One short ton is 0.70 cubic yards. Type 1600 if the yard is supplying clean stone at the #57 density. The sand page stays at 1,600.
What if the pool is a rectangle?
Switch the shape menu to Rectangle. The filled rectangle is 12 ft by 24 ft with the same 2 ft border, so the pad is 16.00 by 28.00 ft. At 4 inches and 1,700 kg/m³ that is 5.53 cubic yards, 149.33 cubic feet, 4.23 cubic meters, 7.92 short tons, and 7.19 tonnes. The round result does not apply once the menu changes.
How thick should the gravel pad be?
Four inches is the depth filled in. The pool sand page uses 2 inches because it is a leveling sand layer. A gravel pad is doing the structural job, so this default is thicker. Soft ground may need more, or a compacted 411 or 304 base calculated on those pages. This tool does not add a hidden compaction percent on top of the 4 inches.
Can I enter meters?
Yes. Diameter, border, and depth each have a unit menu, including meters and centimeters. The pad line always prints feet and meters from the values you typed. Leave the defaults in feet when you want the 28.00 ft pad, 7.60 cubic yards, and 10.89 short tons.