How much clay fill do you need?
Enter the size of the berm, pond bank or pad you are building. You get cubic yards, tons and truck loads of clay fill.
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for this job
How this was worked out
Assumes clay fill at 1.3 tons per cubic yard. Soil weighs more or less with its mix and the water in it, so ask your supplier for their number.
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About clay fill
Clay fill is subsoil that is mostly clay, often red, orange or gray. Packed in thin lifts it sheds water, which is why it is used to build berms, pond banks and pads. It is heavier per yard than topsoil and much harder to work when wet.
More about clay fill
Clay fill sticks together when you squeeze it and smears shiny under a thumb. That same stickiness is what lets it hold a pond or keep water off a building pad, as long as it is packed hard and kept free of roots and rock.
Spread it in lifts of 6 to 8 inches and pack each one with a sheepsfoot roller or a jumping jack; a flat plate just bounces on it. It packs best at a moisture where it holds a ball without leaving your palm wet. Too dry and it stays in clods, too wet and it turns to mud that will not firm up for days.
Wet clay weighs a lot more than dry and grabs onto tires and buckets, so loads hauled after rain cost time at both ends. Do not plant in it straight; put 4 to 6 inches of topsoil over a clay pad that will be seeded. Clay swells when it gets wet and shrinks when it dries, so keep it out from under a slab unless an engineer says otherwise.