GaugeYardCalculate. Convert. Construct.

THE MANUAL LIBRARY

Every number, worked and explained.

Every GaugeYard manual in one place. Worked estimating guides and cost breakdowns for concrete, gravel, sand, mulch, and paint, with the formula shown.

42 manuals in printUpdated Aug 10, 2026

A hand marking a short wooden block with a pencil while a yellow tape measure lies across the face of it, lit warmly against a dark background

Latest manualEstimating

How to Calculate Board Feet in 6 Steps

This manual walks how to calculate board feet step by step: the formula, the quarter system, nominal versus actual sizes, and the waste allowance that sizes the order.

Aug 10, 202626 min read

Cross section of a gravel installation showing a coarse base layer under a finer surface layer with a plate compactor nearby

How Deep Should Gravel Be? Driveways, Pavers, Paths, Drains

This reference sets gravel depth by use: driveway base and top layers, paver bases, pea gravel, paths, beds, and...

Aug 5, 202628 min read

A freshly dug fence post hole with a 4x4 post standing in it and a bag of concrete mix beside it

How to Set a Fence Post in Concrete

This manual sets a fence post in concrete in seven steps: hole depth and diameter rules, concrete per post,...

Aug 5, 202628 min read

A ready-mix truck chute discharging wet grey concrete into a wheelbarrow at a residential jobsite under a bright sky, the pour day the forecast has to approve

Pouring Concrete in Cold Weather or Rain

This manual covers pouring concrete in cold weather: the 40 degree threshold, the concrete curing temperature to...

Aug 5, 202632 min read

A ready-mix concrete truck chute pouring wet grey concrete into wooden forms while a worker guides the flow, the stage where most future cracks are decided

Why Does Concrete Crack? Causes, Types, and Prevention

This explainer sorts out why concrete cracks after pouring: plastic shrinkage, settlement, drying shrinkage,...

Aug 5, 202629 min read

A ready-mix concrete truck chute pouring wet grey concrete into wooden patio forms while a worker guides the flow

Concrete Patio Cost

This cost brief prices a concrete patio per square foot and by size, from a plain broom finish to stamped, with the...

Aug 4, 202629 min read

A french drain trench lined with landscape fabric being filled with washed drainage gravel around a perforated pipe

French Drain Cost

This cost brief prices a french drain per linear foot, from a shallow curtain drain to an interior basement system,...

Aug 4, 202630 min read

A long tape measure stretched down the length of a gravel drive past a wheelbarrow in warm light, the length and width an asphalt driveway cost estimate starts from

Asphalt & Paving

Asphalt Driveway Cost

This cost brief prices an asphalt driveway per square foot and per ton, scales it to a total by size, and covers...

Aug 3, 202630 min read

A stamped and colored concrete patio imprinted in an ashlar slate pattern in warm daylight, the finished result a stamped concrete cost estimate pays for

Stamped Concrete Cost

This cost brief prices stamped concrete per square foot, from a basic single-color pattern to premium custom...

Aug 3, 202629 min read

A freshly finished plain broom-finish concrete driveway leading to a two-car garage in warm evening light, the kind of finished job a concrete driveway cost estimate produces

Concrete Driveway Cost

This cost brief prices a concrete driveway per square foot, plain to stamped, with the thickness, rebar, base, and...

Aug 2, 202627 min read

A bulk delivery heaped on a residential driveway with a shovel in it, mulch here rather than stone, but the same by-the-load arrival a gravel driveway cost turns into an order

Gravel Driveway Cost

This cost brief prices a gravel driveway per square foot and per ton, works out how much gravel you need by layer,...

Aug 2, 202631 min read

A low concrete block wall going up in a garden, three courses of grey blocks on a gravel base beside excavated soil, with a spirit level and a pointing trowel resting on the open top course

Retaining Wall Cost

This cost brief prices a retaining wall per square foot of face and per linear foot, by material, with the height,...

Aug 2, 202631 min read

A finished concrete paver patio with tight, sanded joints catching warm daylight, the surface a sealer has to cover

Paver Sealer

This explainer covers paver sealer: what it protects, film-forming versus penetrating types, matte to wet-look...

Aug 1, 202635 min read

Piles of crushed stone, sand, and dark soil staged at a materials yard in warm daylight, the kind of materials a block wall is built from

Concrete Blocks for Retaining Walls

This explainer sorts the concrete blocks for retaining walls, segmental SRW, standard CMU, and interlocking, by...

Jul 31, 202632 min read

A decorative concrete surface with a low even sheen catching warm evening light, the wet-look finish a film sealer leaves behind

Concrete Sealer Types

This explainer sorts the sealers for concrete into four families, penetrating, acrylic, epoxy, and polyurethane,...

Jul 31, 202633 min read

Unlabeled metal cans of a two-part floor coating on a workbench, one open with a wooden stir stick resting in the amber product

How to Epoxy a Garage Floor

This manual epoxies a garage floor in seven steps: test the slab, pick the epoxy paint for concrete, prep and etch,...

Jul 29, 202627 min read

A residential concrete driveway leading to a two-car garage in warm evening light, the kind of slab where surface cracks commonly appear

How to Repair Concrete Cracks

This walkthrough repairs concrete cracks step by step: assess the crack type, clean and rout it, match the filler to...

Jul 29, 202629 min read

A freshly broom-finished residential concrete driveway leading to a two-car garage in warm evening light

How to Seal a Concrete Driveway

This manual seals a concrete driveway in six steps: pick a sealer, clean and repair, wait for a dry window, roll...

Jul 29, 202624 min read

Stacked bags of dry concrete mix on a pallet at a supply yard, the product most people call cement even though it is really a concrete blend

Portland Cement vs Concrete

This explainer settles portland cement vs concrete: cement is the powder binder, concrete is cement plus sand,...

Jul 29, 202632 min read

A person spreading and leveling a compacted gravel base inside a string-marked excavation in a backyard, the kind of base a wall is set on

How to Build a Retaining Wall

This manual builds a retaining wall in eight steps: plan and permit it, calculate the units, dig the base trench,...

Jul 28, 202633 min read

Stacked bags of dry mix on a pallet at a residential site rather than the block wall itself, the bagged mortar half of a block count

How Many Concrete Blocks Do You Need? The Wall Math

A concrete block calculator worked by hand: measure the wall, subtract openings, multiply by blocks per square foot,...

Jul 27, 202624 min read

A steel tape measure stretched down a gravel lane outdoors past a wheelbarrow, with trees on both sides in warm daylight

Land Area Measurement Guide

This reference sets out the fixed land area constants: 640 acres to a square mile, 43,560 square feet to an acre,...

Jul 27, 202626 min read

Stacked timber, cut stone slabs, and a tape measure arranged on a dark bench, the materials a coverage table turns into an order

Material Coverage Reference

A one-page reference for concrete bag yields, bags per cubic yard, and how far a yard of gravel, mulch, sand, or...

Jul 27, 20265 min read

A person using a tape measure across the length of an empty room floor with light wood planks in warm daylight

How to Calculate Square Footage

This manual shows how to calculate square footage step by step, from measuring length times width to breaking up odd...

Jul 26, 202627 min read

Stacked timber, cut stone slabs, and a tape measure arranged on a dark bench, the materials a written estimate has to account for

How to Make a Materials Estimate

This manual shows how to make an estimate in seven steps: read the plans, do the takeoff, add waste, price the...

Jul 25, 202627 min read

A person mixing wet grey concrete in a green wheelbarrow with a garden hoe on a residential driveway in warm daylight

How to Mix Concrete

This manual mixes concrete in six steps: choose a method, calculate the batch, get the water ratio right, mix, check...

Jul 24, 202626 min read

A freshly built and compacted gravel driveway of angular crushed stone curving toward a single-family home in warm daylight

How to Build a Gravel Driveway

This manual builds a gravel driveway in seven steps: measure and plan, calculate yards and tons, excavate, layer...

Jul 23, 202630 min read

A finished rectangular paver patio in a residential backyard with tightly jointed concrete pavers in warm daylight

Paver Patio

This manual lays a paver patio in eight steps: plan the slope, size a concrete paver patio, calculate pavers, base,...

Jul 23, 202633 min read

Two workers pouring and screeding a fresh wet concrete slab inside wooden forms on a residential jobsite in warm daylight

How to Pour a Concrete Slab

This manual pours a concrete slab in eight steps: plan, calculate, compact a base, build forms, reinforce, pour,...

Jul 23, 202630 min read

A screed board resting across wooden edge forms over a fresh concrete slab on a jobsite in warm daylight

How to Calculate Concrete for a Slab

Concrete slab calculator math in five steps: measure the form, convert to cubic yards, add a waste factor, and...

Jul 22, 202624 min read

Stacked timber, cut stone slabs, and a tape measure arranged on a dark bench, the materials and the measurement every estimate starts from

Material Estimation

Material estimation and estimating: how to estimate materials for a project, measure the area or volume, apply...

Jul 22, 202627 min read

A large heaped pile of crushed gravel aggregate at a building supply yard with a front loader bucket resting nearby in warm afternoon light

How Much Does a Yard of Gravel Weigh?

This manual answers how much does a yard of gravel weigh: a cubic yard runs roughly 2,400 to 2,900 pounds, about 1.2...

Jul 21, 202624 min read

A tape measure stretched across a marked-out rectangular plot of ground on a jobsite

Cubic Yard Calculator

Cubic yard calculator and manual: enter length, width, and depth to get cubic yards, tons, and bags, plus the...

Jul 20, 202628 min read

A large heaped pile of dark screened topsoil beside a wheelbarrow in a green garden in warm afternoon light

How Much Topsoil Do You Need? A Calculator and the Math

This manual answers how much topsoil do i need from the tape measure out: area times depth over 324 for cubic yards,...

Jul 17, 202626 min read

A large pile of crushed gravel aggregate at a building supply yard with a front loader bucket resting nearby in warm daylight

Tons to Cubic Yards

This manual shows how to convert tons to cubic yards using material density: tons divided by tons-per-cubic-yard,...

Jul 16, 202624 min read

A large pile of fine construction sand at a building supply yard under a pale winter sky

How Much Sand Do You Need? A Calculator and the Math

This manual works the sand volume formula end to end: area times depth over 27 for cubic yards, the yards-to-tons...

Jul 13, 202626 min read

A worker smoothing a fresh concrete pour with a steel trowel in warm amber light at a residential jobsite

How Much Does Concrete Cost? Per Yard, Per Bag, and Installed

Concrete cost calculator guidance: price a slab three ways, per cubic yard, per bag, and per square foot installed,...

Jul 10, 202625 min read

Stacks of dry concrete mix bags piled on a wooden pallet at a residential jobsite in warm amber light

How Many Bags of Concrete Do You Need? Bag Yields and the Math

This manual works the bagged-concrete question end to end: what a 40, 50, 60, and 80 pound bag actually yields, the...

Jul 9, 202624 min read

A gravel driveway with an empty wheelbarrow and a rake resting on freshly spread gravel in warm evening light

How Much Gravel Do I Need? Driveways, Paths, and Drainage

This manual works the gravel volume formula end to end: area times depth over 27 for cubic yards, the yards-to-tons...

Jul 7, 202623 min read

Fresh dark wood mulch spread across a curved garden bed beside a wheelbarrow in warm amber light

How Much Mulch Do I Need? The Cubic Yard and Bag Math That Sizes the Order Right

This manual works the mulch formula end to end: area times depth over 324 for cubic yards, the bag-versus-bulk...

Jul 6, 202624 min read

Fresh concrete being poured into a wooden slab form in warm evening light

Concrete Calculator

Concrete calculator for slabs, footings, and post holes: enter length, width, and thickness to get cubic yards, a...

Jul 4, 202628 min read

A paint roller loading warm gold paint from a metal tray in soft window light

How Much Paint Do I Need? The Coverage Math for Walls, Rooms, and Whole Houses

This manual works the wall-area formula, the two-coat default, primer and texture math, and the gallon rounding...

Jul 4, 202623 min read