Rubber Mulch Calculator
A 10 by 12 foot play area at the 8 inch installed depth is 80.00 ft³, 2.9630 yd³. At the example 2 cubic foot bag that is 40 bags.
Figures checked against CPSC Publication 325, July 2025, Table 2. Length opens at 10 ft, width at 12 ft, depth on the installed rubber row. The bag opens at 2 cubic feet as an example.
A rubber mulch calculator and playground mulch calculator. Volume is the area times the depth. The depth menu can follow Table 2 or a depth you type.
Bark or wood mulch for a bed, without this fall-height table: mulch calculator.
Playground loose-fill volume
The 2 cubic foot bag is an example so the arithmetic has a starting volume. It is not a brand. Type the cubic feet printed on the bag you are buying. Depth choices other than “Depth I type” come from CPSC Table 2.
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Table 2 depths
Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Public Playground Safety Handbook, Publication 325, July 2025. Table 2, “Non-impact-tested loose-fill surfacing depths (when tested materials are not available),” is on handbook page 17. The handbook says to use it when impact-tested materials with a manufacturer critical height are not available. Field testing can still be used to confirm a critical height. The footnote says rubber does not compress the way the other loose-fill materials do, and the depth still has to be kept up because the material can be displaced.
| Material | Installed, inches | Compressed, inches | Critical height, feet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rubber mulch | 8 | 6 | 10 |
| Sand | 12 | 9 | 4 |
| Pea gravel | 12 | 9 | 5 |
| Wood mulch (non-CCA) | 12 | 9 | 7 |
| Wood chips | 12 | 9 | 10 |
Tip 7 on that page says never maintain less than 9 inches of loose-fill except for rubber mulch, where 6 inches is recommended. The rubber row’s compressed depth is that 6 inches, and its installed depth is 8 inches. Both are tied to a 10 foot critical height. A depth you type does not inherit that height.
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Worked volumes
- 10 × 12 ft at 8 in: 10 × 12 × 8 ÷ 12 = 80 cubic feet. 80 ÷ 27 = 2.96296…, shown 2.9630 yd³. At 2 cubic feet per bag, 80 ÷ 2 = 40 bags.
- Same rectangle at 6 in: 10 × 12 × 0.5 = 60 cubic feet, 2.2222 yd³, 30 bags of the 2 cubic foot example.
- Same rectangle at a typed 3 in and a 1 cubic foot bag: 30 cubic feet, 1.1111 yd³, 30 bags, and no Table 2 height.
No pound or ton line is shown. The handbook does not print a bulk density for rubber mulch, and this page does not supply one. Bag count uses only the cubic feet you type.
Rubber mulch questions
How much rubber mulch is in a 10 by 12 foot area at the installed depth?
Leave length at 10 ft, width at 12 ft, material on Rubber mulch, depth on Table 2 installed depth, and the bag at 2. Depth used reads 8.00 in. Cubic feet reads 80.00 ft³. Cubic yards reads 2.9630 yd³. Bags reads 40 bags (40.0000 before rounding up). Critical height reads Rubber mulch at the installed depth protects to 10 ft in Table 2..
What changes at the compressed rubber depth?
Switch depth to Table 2 compressed depth and leave the 10 by 12 and the 2 cubic foot example bag. Depth used reads 6.00 in. Cubic feet reads 60.00 ft³. Cubic yards reads 2.2222 yd³. Bags reads 30 bags (30.0000 before rounding up). Critical height still reads Rubber mulch at the compressed depth protects to 10 ft in Table 2., because both rubber depths are the same Table 2 row.
What if the depth is 3 inches and the bag is 1 cubic foot?
Set depth to Depth I type, typed depth to 3, and bag volume to 1. Depth used reads 3.00 in. Cubic feet reads 30.00 ft³. Cubic yards reads 1.1111 yd³. Bags reads 30 bags (30.0000 before rounding up). Critical height reads A typed depth is not a Table 2 critical height.. Three inches is not a row in the table, so no fall height is attached to it.
Is 2 cubic feet a rubber-mulch bag?
No. The 2 is an example volume so the bag line has a number on first load. Replace it with the cubic feet printed on the bag you are buying. This page does not store a brand yield.
What are the other Table 2 depths?
Sand, pea gravel, and wood mulch (non-CCA) are 12 inches installed and 9 inches compressed. Their critical heights are 4 feet, 5 feet, and 7 feet. Wood chips are 12 and 9 inches and protect to 10 feet. The material menu switches the depth and the height sentence. The volume math stays area times depth.
Is this the bark-mulch yard calculator?
No. Landscape bark and a bed depth you choose without a playground fall height are the mulch calculator. This page is the playground loose-fill volume, with the CPSC depths beside it. It does not assign a weight, because no density is taken from the handbook.