Estimating dirt yardage for a job

[dswinnerjr]

I am new to this aspect of tractor work. I have a job for a customer, where he wants to raise the level of his parking area up about 3 inches total, to be level with the rest of his yard. Right now his property slopes down a good bit and all the water runs right through his parking spot. So I figured the area to be raised to be about 30x50, maybe 40x50 at the most. Quick calculation of 12 yds covering 750 sq ft at 4inches deep. I went ahead and ordered 12 yds of select fill after talking to the dirt guy. This maybe too much but he has an area of about 10x15 that is pretty low with mud holes.

Do ya'll think with the little amount of info I provided this will be enough.

 

[johnk]

I think you're quite short by my calcs. I get 22 yrds and 29 yrds. Maybe too much super bowl for me but thats what I figured.

 

[shaley]

I've got an excell spreadsheet that calcs dirt fill volumes and weights and truck loads if you want it.
30x50= 1500 sq ft. If that area is filled 4" deep (.33333 ft) it means you could take a cubic foot of dirt and slice into 3 4" deep squares it would cover 3 square feet so divide the 1500 by 3 = 500 cubic ft. There are 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard. 500 cubic ft divided by 27 = 18 Q yards. A tandem axle dump has a 10 yd box so you will need 2 loads.
We pay $28 per ton for topsoil at 15 tons per truck so you may want to get a load of fill at $22 per ton and then top it so it will grow grass.

 

[tallyho8]

I figure 14 yards for 30 x 50 and 18 yards for 40 x 50. Here a tri-axle holds 18 yards of fill. Load limits on your highways may be different.

 

[dswinnerjr]

Thanks ya'll for you input, I will certainly order more as I might have miscalculated.

Shaley, yes I would like to see that spreadshhet.

Thanks again ya'll

Another question I have

When do you want to add gravel first on a drive before dirt and then top it off with rock?

Just trying to get into this aspect of the business. Any good advice one could give on maintaining or improve driveways/roads?

 

[john_bud]

Thanks ya'll for you input, I will certainly order more as I might have miscalculated.

Shaley, yes I would like to see that spreadshhet.

Thanks again ya'll

Another question I have

When do you want to add gravel first on a drive before dirt and then top it off with rock?

Just trying to get into this aspect of the business. Any good advice one could give on maintaining or improve driveways/roads?

If you are improving and pretty much starting over, for muddy places put fabric down first then rock. If you don't do drainage, it will always be wet.

There is usually (at least around here) a mix used by the county for roads. It is a premium mix of sizes but packs down hard and fast. It is all sized to lock in together. We just call it "county mix". Costs more, but worth it.

jb

 

[gordon21]

I think these guys may be giving you low numbers. They are calculating the area of compressed packed dirt using a math formula. On this part, they are right. You need 18yds of compressed dirt when you are done.

However, you will be buying loose dirt which is full of air and loosely packed. Once you compact one yard of loose dirt, I think you will find that it will give you only about .5-.8 yards of yield. The issue here is what type of "shrink" you will encounter. Different kinds of fill will pack down at different rates.

Fine sand will be just about even. 1 loose yd=1 packed yard
Pure black dirt when dry 1 loose yard=.5-.7 packed yard
Loam or topsoil is usually a blend of sand and black dirt


If you use a rocky base using stone up to 1.5", you could fill the aea with the 18 yards. But guess what. You could then go back and dump another several yards of sand or "fines" (crushed rock) over the area, wet it down and roll it and the fines will disappear. They will pack down into all the little areas and give you a rock solid surface. You have now dumped way over 20 yards of material and it is still only 4" deep.

I have lots of experience over the last few months taking packed dirt out of a hillside and dumping it into a hydraulic trailer to be hailed away. I can tell you with confidence that exactly one cubic yard of natural packed dirt will swell up to 1.3 cubic yards once it is loosened with a backhoe and dumped and then manhandled in the trailer.

If you desire is one cubic yard of finished packed dirt, you had better start with way more than one yard.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

When estimating sand, gravel, or dirt we figure five hundred square foot of coverage for a ten yard load doing four inches of cover.

 

[gordon21]

Wroughtnharv's rule of thumb gives you 6.17 finished packed yards out of 10 loose yards. Yield of 61%

 

[shaley]

Questions with Answers from a Gravel Road Expert
Probably the best manual below
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/TA/T2Center/Mgt.Systems/PavementTechnology/GravelRoadsIndex.htm

http://www.ecs.umass.edu/baystate_roads/technotes/14_Maintaining Gravel Road Surfaces.pdf