Soil Calculator

Cubic yards, tonnage & truckloads for commercial Texas site work, quoted same-day.

EarthworkPad & Lot
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0 cy·0 loads
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The math, in plain sight

How to calculate soil for your project

Every dirt order comes down to three numbers: the space you are filling, how much the material settles, and how many trucks that becomes. Here is exactly how the calculator gets there, so your delivered total is never a surprise.

  • 27 cubic feet in one cubic yard
  • 43,560 square feet in one acre
  • 18cy in one standard truckload
Worked example

A 120 x 40 ft pad, 6 inches deep

120 times 40 times 0.5, divided by 27, equals 88.9 cubic yards.

That is the in-place volume, before waste and compaction. Six inches deep goes in as 0.5 ft, so depth is always entered in feet.

Why your delivered number is bigger

Soil loses volume on the way to the finished grade. The calculator adds it back, so the trucks that show up actually fill the hole.

+10% Waste allowance
Material lost in transport, spreading, and grading. Standard on most commercial jobs.
+15-25% Compaction
Extra loose material to reach 95% Standard Proctor density on a structural fill.

What each material weighs

Tonnage depends on the material. These are the loose densities the calculator uses.

Fill dirt

1.15-1.35tons / cy

General grading, pads, backfill

Select fill

1.20-1.40tons / cy

Engineered structural pads

Topsoil

1.00-1.20tons / cy

Final grade, landscaping, sod

Sand

1.30-1.50tons / cy

Bedding, drainage, concrete

Acres to cubic yards, at a glance

Large sites add up fast. A quick reference at common fill depths, with truckloads at 18 cy each.

AcresDepthCubic yardsTrucks
16 inches80754
11 foot1,613108
51 foot8,067538
52 feet16,1331,076
102 feet32,2672,151
13.752 feet44,3672,958

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