#4 Stone: Size, Uses, Weight and How Many Tons You Need

#4 stone is a clean, washed or screened crushed stone with pieces mostly between about 3/4 inch and 1 1/2 inches. Think of a rock a bit smaller than a golf ball, with no dust or sand mixed in. Because there are no fines to fill the gaps, a pile of #4 is full of open space, which lets water run straight through it. That makes it a workhorse for drainage jobs and for the bottom layer of a driveway on soft ground, but a poor choice for a finished surface you plan to walk or drive on. For planning, figure about 1.4 tons per cubic yard. This guide explains the size, how #4 compares with its neighbors such as #3 and #57, where it works, how deep to lay it and how to work out the tons.

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What the “#4” in #4 stone means

The number comes from the standard aggregate size chart that most state transportation departments and quarries use, ASTM D448 (AASHTO M 43 is the matching highway version). Each size number stands for a band of screen sizes. Size No. 4 has a nominal range of 1 1/2 inches down to 3/4 inch. In practice that means nearly all of it passes a 1 1/2-inch screen, and very little gets through a 3/4-inch screen.

Screen opening	Share passing, by weight (size No. 4)
2 inch	100%
1 1/2 inch	90 to 100%
1 inch	20 to 55%
3/4 inch	0 to 15%
3/8 inch	0 to 5%

Read the last two rows and you can see why it drains so well: at most a few percent of the stone is smaller than 3/8 inch. Quarries do not all hit the middle of the band, and some states tweak the chart for their own specs, so ask the yard for its gradation sheet if a plan or permit calls out a size.

One naming trap: a “No. 4 sieve” is something else entirely. It is a fine screen with openings of about 3/16 inch, and you will see it on spec sheets for sand and for the bottom end of products such as #57. When someone says “#4 stone,” they mean the size number, not the sieve.

#4 stone vs #3, #57 and other sizes

Lower numbers mean bigger rock, and the two-digit numbers are blends that cover a wider range.

Size	Nominal range	Common jobs
#1	3 1/2 to 1 1/2 in	Construction entrances, bottom layer over very soft ground
#2	2 1/2 to 1 1/2 in	Coarse base, entrances, culvert bedding
#3	2 to 1 in	Lower base course, drainage
#4	1 1/2 to 3/4 in	Drainage, lower base course, pipe and drain backfill
#57	1 in down to about 3/16 in	Drainage, concrete, base under pavers, driveway topping
#67	3/4 in down to about 3/16 in	Concrete, drainage, smaller pipe bedding

The comparison people make most is #4 vs #57. Both are clean stone, but #57 runs from 1 inch down to small chips, so its pieces nest more tightly and give a firmer, smoother layer. #4 is coarser and more uniform, which leaves bigger voids. That moves more water and bridges soft soil better, but it also means #4 shifts and rolls underfoot unless something finer is worked into the top.

Where #4 stone works well

Drainage trenches and French drains. Large, clean voids carry a lot of water and are slow to clog. Wrap the stone in filter fabric where the surrounding soil is silty or clay, so fines do not wash in. Our guide to the best gravel for a French drain compares sizes.
Bottom layer of a driveway on soft or wet ground. Coarse stone spreads wheel loads and keeps working when the soil below is damp. Lay it on geotextile fabric, then cap it with a finer dense-graded rock so the surface packs. Choke stone over an open-graded base explains how the layers lock together.
Backfill behind retaining walls and around pipes. Many wall and pipe details call for clean stone in the drainage zone. See crushed stone for retaining wall backfill.
Dry wells and stormwater pits. The open space between stones stores water while it soaks into the ground.
Commercial and highway work. Larger clean stone of this size also shows up as coarse aggregate in some asphalt base mixes and in mass concrete, set by the engineer’s mix design.

Where #4 stone falls short

As a top surface, #4 is uncomfortable to walk on, hard to shovel snow from and loose under tires, which leads to ruts and scattered stone. It is also too open to pave on directly. Hot asphalt laid on bare #4 sinks into the voids unevenly, so a paving crew will want a finer cap first. For a smooth driveway surface, finish with #57, crusher run or a local dense-graded base. Under pavers, use a compacted dense base or a clean stone sized for the paver system’s instructions rather than raw #4.

How much #4 stone weighs

Clean crushed stone in this size range usually weighs about 1.35 to 1.5 tons per loose cubic yard, roughly 2,700 to 3,000 pounds, and 1.4 tons is a sensible planning number. The rock type matters: dense trap rock and granite run heavier than many limestones. Washed stone that is still wet off the pile weighs a little more until it drains. If the quarry lists its own weight per yard, use that figure instead. Our chart of crushed stone weight per yard covers other products.

Clean stone settles only a little when you run a compactor over it, far less than a dense-graded base with fines. Plan on about 5 to 10 percent extra for settling, uneven subgrade and spillage, not the 20 to 25 percent you would add for a minus product.

How deep to lay it

Lower base layer for a home driveway: about 4 to 6 inches of #4, topped with 2 to 4 inches of a finer rock that packs.
Very soft ground or heavy trucks: thicker, often 8 inches or more, on fabric, or a coarser #1 or #2 at the bottom.
French drains: enough to surround the pipe with a few inches of stone on every side, typically filling most of the trench depth.
Behind retaining walls: usually a zone about 12 inches wide directly behind the wall, full height. Follow the block maker’s chart.

These are general starting points. If an engineer, the wall manufacturer or your permit sets a section, follow that.

How many tons of #4 stone you need

Measure the area in square feet and the depth in inches. Then:

Cubic yards = area (sq ft) × depth (in) ÷ 324
Tons ≈ cubic yards × 1.4, which works out to area × depth × 0.0043
Area one ton covers ≈ 230 ÷ depth (in), in square feet

Then add 5 to 10 percent.

Depth	Approx. area one ton covers	Tons per 100 sq ft
3 inches	about 77 sq ft	about 1.3
4 inches	about 58 sq ft	about 1.7
6 inches	about 39 sq ft	about 2.6

Example: base layer for a 12 by 50 foot driveway, 4 inches of #4. 12 × 50 = 600 square feet. 600 × 4 ÷ 324 = about 7.4 cubic yards. 7.4 × 1.4 = about 10.4 tons. With 10 percent extra, order about 11 to 12 tons, then figure the finer topping layer on its own. Our guide to tons of gravel in a dump truck shows how many loads that is.

Example: a French drain 60 feet long, 12 inches wide and 18 inches deep. For a trench, multiply length × width × depth in feet: 60 × 1 × 1.5 = 90 cubic feet, or 3.3 cubic yards. 3.3 × 1.4 = about 4.7 tons. A 4-inch pipe takes up very little of that, so order about 5 tons.

Placing #4 stone

Dig out sod and soft soil to firm ground, and shape the bottom so water has somewhere to go.
Lay filter or stabilization fabric where the soil is clay, silt or wet. Overlap the seams.
Spread the stone in lifts of about 4 to 6 inches and run a plate compactor or roller over each lift to seat the pieces. You will not see much drop, and that is normal for clean stone.
On a driveway, add the finer cap rock, dampen it and compact until it stops moving. Work some of it into the top of the #4 so the layers knit together.
In a drain, keep the stone clean: do not let soil fall into the trench, and fold the fabric over the top before backfilling.

Buying tips

Say “#4 crushed stone” and confirm the size range. Some yards call it 1 1/2 inch clean or 1 1/2 inch washed. Others sell a #467 blend, which runs from 1 1/2 inches down to small chips and behaves more like a coarse #57.
Ask crushed or rounded. Angular crushed faces lock together better in a base. Rounded river stone of the same size drains well but rolls more.
Compare delivered prices. Trucking often costs as much as the stone itself, so a nearby yard can win even at a higher price per ton.
Pick a firm drop spot. A loaded tandem or tri-axle is heavy. Keep it off septic fields, soft lawn and thin pavement.

Questions people ask

What size is #4 stone?

Size No. 4 has a nominal range of 1 1/2 inches down to 3/4 inch. Nearly all of it passes a 1 1/2-inch screen and only a small share passes a 3/4-inch screen, so most pieces are roughly 1 to 1 1/2 inches across with almost no fines.

What is the difference between #4 and #57 stone?

#4 is larger and more uniform, about 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches. #57 runs from 1 inch down to about 3/16 inch, so it packs a little tighter and gives a smoother surface. #4 moves more water and bridges soft ground better; #57 is the more common all-purpose clean stone.

How much does a ton of #4 stone cover?

At about 1.4 tons per cubic yard, one ton covers roughly 77 square feet at 3 inches deep, 58 square feet at 4 inches, or 39 square feet at 6 inches. Add 5 to 10 percent for settling and waste.

How much does a yard of #4 stone weigh?

Usually about 1.35 to 1.5 tons per cubic yard, roughly 2,700 to 3,000 pounds, depending on the rock type and moisture. Use your quarry's figure when it gives one.

Can you use #4 stone for a driveway?

Yes, as the lower base layer, especially on soft or wet ground. It is too loose to work well as the top surface, so cap it with a few inches of a finer rock that packs, such as crusher run or another dense-graded base.

Is #4 stone good for drainage?

Yes. It is clean and coarse, so it has large open voids that carry water and resist clogging. That makes it a good fit for French drains, dry wells and the drainage zone behind retaining walls, ideally wrapped in filter fabric.

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