Cut & Fill Volume Calculator

How It Works

Bank measure vs. loose measure: Bank cubic yards (BCY) is the volume of material in its natural, undisturbed state in the ground. Once you dig it up, it expands — this is called swell. Most soils swell 20–30%; this calculator uses a standard 25% swell factor.

Swell factor: Loose CY = Bank CY × 1.25. When loading trucks, you're loading loose material, so use loose CY for a conservative load count. Bank CY is used for payment and specification purposes.

Example: A cut that's 200 ft long × 40 ft wide × 6 ft deep:

• Volume = 200 × 40 × 6 = 48,000 cubic feet
• Bank CY = 48,000 ÷ 27 = 1,778 cy
• Loose CY = 1,778 × 1.25 = 2,222 cy
• Truck loads at 14 cy (bank) = ceil(1,778 ÷ 14) = 127 loads

Grade stakes: Numbers written on grade stakes are in centimetres (or tenths of feet), showing cut or fill from existing ground to design grade. Use those numbers as your depth input.

Metres conversion: When you enter dimensions in metres, the calculator converts m³ → cubic yards (1 m³ = 1.30795 cy) before calculating truck loads. This ensures truck loads are always in the correct unit.