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How this calculator works
It gives you two volumes, and the difference between them is the point.
Bank volume is the hole: length × width × depth, in cubic yards, measured in the ground. That is what most excavation calculators return, and on its own it will mislead you.
Loose volume is what you actually truck away. Material expands the moment a bucket breaks it loose — air gets in between the particles and never fully leaves. Contractors call that expansion swell, and it runs from about 10% in sand to 65% in rock:
| Material | Swell | 100 cu yd dug becomes |
|---|---|---|
| Sand or gravel | 10 – 18% | 110 – 118 cu yd |
| Common earth / loam | 20 – 30% | 120 – 130 cu yd |
| Clay | 30 – 42% | 130 – 142 cu yd |
| Rock or shale | 45 – 65% | 145 – 165 cu yd |
Basis: standard construction swell ranges by material class, given as ranges because moisture content moves them. Truck loads assume a 12 cubic yard tandem body, which is the common residential size — confirm what your hauler runs.
This is why a hauling bill beats the estimate so often. Somebody quoted the hole and paid for the pile. On a clay site those are two numbers 40% apart.
What the inputs mean
Length
The dimensions of the hole, at the bottom. For anything with sloped sides, this will read low.
Width
Add working room. A crew needs space beside a foundation to form and strip it, which is usually two feet each side.
Depth
Measure from finished grade, not from the top of the topsoil pile.
Material
This sets the swell factor — how much the material expands once it leaves the ground. It is the number that decides how many truck loads you pay for.
Your price per cubic yard
Leave blank if you have no quote yet. For reference, excavation runs $2.50–$15.00 a cubic yard, or $100–$300 an hour with an operator. The band is wide because access and disposal move it more than anything we could average — restricted sites run 20%–40% higher and disposal alone is 20%–40% of the total.
Why we do not guess your rate
Three site-specific things drive excavation pricing: access, haul distance, and where the county lets you put the spoil. They swamp any national average we could publish. Some contractors quote by the cubic yard and some by the hour, and the same hole costs very different money depending on whether a truck can get within twenty feet of it.
Put your own quoted rate in the box and the cost line appears, calculated against bank volume — which is how excavation is normally priced, even though hauling is priced on the loose figure.
What this estimate does not include
- Where the spoil goes, which is often the largest cost on the job
- Shoring or benching, which OSHA requires below five feet
- Dewatering if you hit water
- Backfill and compaction after whatever you built is in
Two questions worth asking before anyone digs
Where does the spoil go? On a lot with room to spread it, disposal costs nothing. On a tight site it means trucks, fuel, time and a tip fee, and it can be the single largest line on the job. Ask before you compare bids, because one contractor may be assuming they can leave it on site and another may not.
Have you called 811? Utility locates are a legal requirement, not a courtesy, and the notice window is a wait you have to schedule around — two working days in Texas, two business days in Florida, three in North Carolina. It applies to a homeowner with a shovel as much as to a crew.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate cubic yards of excavation?
Length × width × depth in feet, divided by 27.
A 30 by 20 foot hole, 4 feet deep, is 2,400 cubic feet, which is about 89 cubic yards. That figure is called bank volume — the material measured while it is still in the ground.
It is not the number you haul, and that distinction is what this calculator exists for.
What is swell factor in excavation?
Swell is how much material expands once it comes out of the ground.
Undisturbed soil is compacted by everything sitting on top of it. Dig it and air gets in between the particles, so the same material takes up more room in a truck than it did in the hole.
Typical ranges: 10 to 18% for sand, 20 to 30% for common earth, 30 to 42% for clay, and 45 to 65% for rock.
How many cubic yards fit in a dump truck?
About 12 cubic yards in a tandem-axle body, which is the usual truck on residential work. Larger tri-axles and trailer dumps carry 16 to 20.
Weight often fills a truck before volume does. Wet clay is heavy enough that a hauler will load short of the sideboards to stay legal, so ask what your contractor is actually running rather than assuming.
Why is my hauling bill higher than the excavation estimate?
Nine times out of ten, somebody quoted the hole and paid for the pile.
Excavation is usually priced on bank volume, but hauling is priced on what fills the truck — the loose volume, after swell. On a clay site those two numbers are around 40% apart.
Ask any bid to state which volume it is quoting, and where the spoil is going. Disposal is often the largest single cost on the job.
Do I need to call 811 before excavating?
Yes. It is a legal requirement, and it applies to a homeowner with a shovel as much as to a crew with a machine.
The notice window differs by state: Texas two working days, Florida two full business days, North Carolina three full working days.
Build the wait into your schedule. A contractor planning to dig tomorrow has not filed the ticket.