How to Measure a Stockpile: Tape, Formula, Laser, Drone and Phone Methods Compared
Five ways to measure a pile, what each costs, how close each gets, and the five habits that improve all of them.
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Stockpile measurement, explained
Practical, vendor-neutral guides to measuring piles of gravel, sand, mulch, soil, salt and wood chips: the formulas, the densities, what accuracy really means, how to check a delivery, how to run an inventory count, and how the apps and drones compare.
Concepts
How stockpile volume works: the geometry, the density, the error sources and the sensors.
Stockpile Volume Formula: Cones, Ridges and Angle of Repose, With Worked Examples
The cone, frustum and ridge formulas, an angle-of-repose table, and where the math stops matching the pile.
Read article →How Much Does a Cubic Yard Weigh? Density Table for Gravel, Sand, Dirt, Mulch, Compost and Wood Chips
Pounds and tons per cubic yard for the common materials, why moisture moves them, and how to turn a volume into a weight.
Read article →Photogrammetry vs LiDAR for Stockpiles: What an iPhone Can and Can’t See
How photos and lasers each build a 3D surface, where phone LiDAR runs out of range, and why a hybrid works best.
Read article →How Accurate Is a Stockpile Measurement? Reading the ± Range and the Five Things That Move It
Base surface, toe, coverage, density and timing: the five sources of error, how big each is, and how to control them.
Read article →Bank, Loose and Compacted Yards: Swell, Shrink and Why the Pile Never Matches the Hole
Swell and shrink factors by material, a worked example, and how to check a haul bill against the hole it came from.
Read article →Point Cloud and Mesh Exports Explained: OBJ, USDZ, GLB, STL, PLY, LAS, E57 and KMZ
Which file to hand to CAD, GIS, Google Earth, a 3D viewer or a 3D printer, and what each one carries.
Read article →How-to guides for homeowners and landscapers
Measuring the pile in your driveway, checking what the truck left, and knowing what it weighs.
How to Measure a Pile of Gravel, Dirt, Sand or Mulch in Cubic Yards (and Tons)
The tape-and-cone method step by step, the walk-around method, and the same pile measured both ways.
Read article →Did You Get the Full Load? How to Check a Mulch, Topsoil or Gravel Delivery
Measure before it is spread, allow for settling, read the receipt, and know what a cubic yard looks like on the ground.
Read article →How Many Cubic Yards Fit in a Dump Truck? Tandem, Tri-Axle, Dump Trailer and Pickup Capacities
Capacities by vehicle, why gravel loads hit the weight limit before the bed is full, and how to tell what you got.
Read article →Buying Gravel by the Ton or by the Yard: Which Is Better, and How Not to Pay for Water
Why stone sells by weight and mulch by volume, how moisture tilts the deal, and how to compare quotes in one unit.
Read article →How to Measure a Pile of Firewood: Full Cords, Face Cords and the 180-Cubic-Foot Rule
What a cord is, what a face cord isn’t, and how a loose dumped pile converts to stacked cords.
Read article →Wood Chips by the Yard: How to Measure, Price and Sell a Chip Pile
How many yards a chipper makes, what a yard of chips weighs, and what a pile is worth by the yard or the ton.
Read article →How Many Yards Is My Debris Pile? Choosing a Dumpster for Dirt, Concrete or Brush
Measure the heap, then check the weight limit: concrete fills a dumpster by the ton long before it fills it by the yard.
Read article →How-to guides for yards, farms and public works
Monthly counts, reconciliations and the piles that live under a roof.
Monthly Stockpile Counts for Small Yards: A Phone Workflow for Landscape Supply, Mulch and Aggregate Dealers
Where yards that buy by the ton and sell by the yard lose margin, and a one-hour monthly walk that finds it.
Read article →Stockpile Reconciliation: Why Year-End Write-Offs Happen and How to Make Your Number Defensible
The causes of inventory drift, what auditors actually check, and the records that make a measured volume stand up.
Read article →Road Salt Inventory: Measuring Piles in Sheds and Domes Before, During and After Winter
Most agencies still eyeball the pile. How to measure salt under a roof, when to do it, and how to reconcile with spreader logs.
Read article →Measuring Compost Windrows, Manure Piles and Silage Without a Drone
Extension-service formulas for windrows and piles, bulk densities for compost and silage, and when a scan beats a tape.
Read article →Comparisons and buying guides
The tools: which app, and whether you need a drone at all.
Stockpile Measurement Apps for iPhone in 2026: SR Measure, StockAce, Polycam, LidarCad and Stockpile Scan Compared
Capture method, processing, LiDAR requirements, limits, outputs and pricing, side by side.
Read article →Drone vs Phone for Stockpile Measurement: Cost, Part 107, Airspace and When Each Wins
What a drone program really costs, where it can’t fly, and the hybrid that most yards end up with.
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