Bulk Topsoil

• Commercially bought topsoil is used to create raised garden beds, added to poor soil, and for leveling out low spots or seeding a new lawn with grass. Topsoil distributors measure topsoil by the cubic square. This is the amount of soil that would fit into a box 3 feet wide, deep and tall.
  
  

Influencing Factors

• Various factors affect the weight of topsoil. For example, a clay-based soil is going to be heavier than one with a lot of sand. Also, organic material weighs less than the minerals in soil, so a topsoil with heavy amounts of organic material, which is preferred, is going to weigh less than one without. The primary factor affecting the weight, however, is the amount of moisture in the soil.
  
  

Weight and Coverage

• A cubic yard of topsoil is approximately one ton, or 2,000 pounds. It will cover 100 square feet, or a square that's 10 feet by 10 feet, with a soil depth of 3 inches. The recommended amount when starting a new lawn is 4 to 8 inches of topsoil added to your yard and rototilled into the soil that was already there.