Dirt calculator for Texas
Cubic yards and tons of fill dirt for grading, holes and low spots, with settling already in the estimate.
Enter your project dimensions
Loose fill dirt loses 10–15% of its height as it settles. Order for the hole you measured and you'll be an inch or two short by the first heavy rain, which is why this dirt calculator keeps a 10% allowance switched on. Fill dirt weighs about 2,400 lb per cubic yard dry (1.2 tons), it's sold by the yard, and it's the cheapest material on this site. It's also the wrong material for anything that grows; that job belongs to topsoil, covered on its own calculator.
Measuring a fill project
- For areas, take length times width in feet, then the average depth of the raise. Low spots vary, so measure the deepest point and the shallow edge and split the difference.
- For holes and trenches, length times width times depth of the void, all in feet.
- Divide cubic feet by 27 for yards, multiply by 1.2 for tons, and leave the settling allowance on.
Tons = cubic yards × 1.2 · +10% for settling is on by default
Weight and coverage
| Material | Weight per cubic yard | Tons per yard |
|---|---|---|
| Fill dirt (dry) | ≈ 2,400 lb | 1.20 |
| Fill dirt (wet) | up to 3,000 lb | 1.50 |
| Topsoil, for comparison | ≈ 2,200 lb | 1.10 |
| Depth of fill | 1 cubic yard covers | 5 yards cover |
|---|---|---|
| 2 inches | 162 sq ft | 810 sq ft |
| 4 inches | 81 sq ft | 405 sq ft |
| 6 inches | 54 sq ft | 270 sq ft |
| 12 inches | 27 sq ft | 135 sq ft |
Common fill jobs and their yardage
| Project | Typical size | Depth | Volume | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raise a low lawn area | 20 x 20 ft | 4" | 4.9 yd³ | 5.9 tons |
| Level a settled depression | 15 x 15 ft, avg 6" | 6" | 4.2 yd³ | 5 tons |
| Backfill a utility trench | 25 ft x 2 ft | 18" | 2.8 yd³ | 3.3 tons |
| Build a landscape berm | 20 x 6 ft | 12" | 4.4 yd³ | 5.3 tons |
| Backfill along a foundation | 60 ft x 2 ft | 10" | 3.7 yd³ | 4.4 tons |
What fill dirt is, and when it's the wrong buy
Fill dirt is subsoil: the mineral layer under the living topsoil, screened to remove rock and debris. Low organic content is the point. Organic matter decomposes and sinks, so the less of it in a structural fill, the flatter that fill stays. Grade changes, hole filling, trench backfill, berms: fill dirt. Anything that needs to grow grass or vegetables gets 4–6 inches of topsoil over the fill, and never pay topsoil prices for the structural part underneath.
The settling problem, solved at order time
Dirt is the one material where the second delivery for the same hole is a routine call, and it's always a settling story. Spread in 6–8 inch layers and compact each one, or at minimum water each layer heavily and let it consolidate. Leave lawn repairs about a half-inch proud; they'll finish flush. Deep structural fills under slabs or footings follow an engineer's compaction spec, in thinner lifts, with equipment. And keep organic debris out of any fill: buried wood becomes a sinkhole on a five-year delay.
Wet weather changes dirt orders
Rain adds weight but not volume, so your order quantity doesn't change. Your schedule might. Saturated fill smears instead of compacting and turns wheelbarrow work miserable, so aim the delivery at a dry stretch. The pile itself sheds most rain if it sits high; tarp it anyway when storms are coming and you'll be spreading days sooner.
Fill dirt questions from real projects
How many yards of dirt do I need?
How much does a yard of fill dirt weigh?
What is fill dirt?
What's the difference between fill dirt and topsoil?
How much dirt to fill a hole?
Where can I buy fill dirt?
How many yards of dirt fit in a dump truck?
Do I need to compact fill dirt?
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Screened fill dirt for grading and backfill, delivered across Texas.