How much fill dirt do you need?
Measure the hole, low spot or pad you need to raise. You get cubic yards, tons and truck loads of fill dirt.
You need about
0 cubic yards
0tons
Add your truck size to see loads
for this job
How this was worked out
Assumes fill dirt at 1.2 tons per cubic yard. Soil weighs more or less with its mix and the water in it, so ask your supplier for their number.
-
About fill dirt
Fill dirt is subsoil dug from below the topsoil, with little or no plant matter in it. Because there is nothing in it to rot, it settles less and can be packed firm. It is for raising ground, backfilling walls and building pads, not for growing grass.
More about fill dirt
Fill comes from road cuts, basements and borrow pits, so one load can be sandy and the next mostly clay. Ask the supplier what is in it and whether it is clean, meaning no trash, stumps, concrete chunks or topsoil mixed through. Roots and leaves buried in fill rot out over the years and leave a dip.
Under a slab, a pad or a driveway, place it in lifts of 6 to 8 inches and pack each lift before the next goes down. A plate compactor works on sandy fill; clay fill packs better under a sheepsfoot roller or a jumping jack. Fill that is too dry will not pack and fill that is too wet pumps under the machine, so aim for damp enough to hold a ball in your fist.
Packing shrinks it, so the loose yards on the ticket come out fewer once compacted; plan on extra. Finish a raised area with 4 to 6 inches of topsoil if grass is going on it. A load hauled after rain weighs more on the scale and is harder to pack until it dries back.