Excavation Calculator
Find how many cubic yards you're digging, how much it swells once dug, and how many truckloads it takes to haul away.
- Cubic feet
- Loose volume
- Truckloads
- Metric
- Hauling Cost
Dig List
Items you add are saved in this browser.
| Name | Size | Bank Yd³ | Loose Yd³ | Loads | Cost | Remove |
|---|
How to Calculate Excavation Volume
Dirt is measured three ways. Bank cubic yards are the soil as it sits in the ground. Once dug, it loosens and takes up more room: loose cubic yards, which is what fills trucks. Compacted in a fill, it takes up less. The swell percentage converts bank to loose.
Worked Example
Swell by Soil Type
| Material | Swell | Loose Yards per 10 Bank Yards |
|---|
Typical values published by ProjectEngineer.net; actual swell depends on moisture and how the material breaks.
Tips
Call 811 before digging. Trenches deeper than 5 feet need protective systems under OSHA rules, such as sloping, shoring or a trench box. Dump truck capacity is usually limited by weight before volume with wet or rocky soil, so check both. Plan where spoil will go: a pile next to the excavation must be set back from the edge.