Excavation Cut and Fill Calculator
Convert bank cubic yards of excavation into loose (hauled) and compacted (in-place) volumes using swell and shrink factors, and check whether a site balances or needs imported fill.
Cut and fill balance
-100 cu yd
-76.5 m³
What does a cut and fill calculator tell me?
Soil changes volume as you move it. In the ground it is measured as bank volume; once you dig it, it fluffs up to a larger loose volume that trucks haul; once you place and compact it as fill, it shrinks to a smaller compacted volume. A cut and fill calculator tracks all three so your haul and order quantities line up.
Two factors do the work. The swell factor sets how much the soil expands when excavated, which drives the loose volume you truck away. The shrink factor sets how much it loses when compacted, which drives the compacted yield you actually get for fill. Sand and gravel move less than clay, so the numbers depend on the soil.
The headline result is the balance: the compacted yield from your cut minus the compacted fill the site needs. A positive balance means surplus soil to haul off or stockpile; a negative balance means you are short and must import fill. For a real project, use the swell and shrink factors from a geotechnical report.
How does this calculator handle cut and fill?
Formula
Loose volume = bank volume x (1 + swell / 100). Compacted yield = bank volume x (1 - shrink / 100). Excavation needed for a fill = compacted fill / (1 - shrink / 100). Balance = compacted yield - compacted fill (negative means import fill).
Start with the excavation measured as bank volume, the soil in place before it is disturbed. The swell factor multiplies that by (1 + swell / 100) to give the loose volume you haul. The shrink factor multiplies the bank volume by (1 - shrink / 100) to give the compacted yield you get when it is placed as fill. To find how much to dig for a required fill, divide the compacted fill by (1 - shrink / 100). In metric mode the same figures come back in cubic meters.
Reading the balance
The balance is the compacted yield from your cut minus the compacted fill the project needs. Positive means you have surplus soil to remove or stockpile; negative means the site is short and you import that many compacted cubic yards. Because import and export both cost money, a near-zero balance is the goal when a project is graded to balance.
Where the factors come from
Swell and shrink vary with soil type, moisture, and how hard the material is compacted, so the presets are only starting points. Sandy and gravelly soils move less; clays move more. For anything you are pricing or building, take the swell and shrink factors from the geotechnical report, since they drive the haul, the yield, and any imported fill.
Example
- 1Loose volume to haul1,000 x (1 + 25/100) = 1,250 loose cu yd.
- 2Compacted yield from cut1,000 x (1 - 10/100) = 900 compacted cu yd.
- 3Excavation needed for the fill1,000 / (1 - 10/100) = 1,111 bank cu yd.
- 4Balance900 - 1,000 = -100 cu yd (short by 100).
FAQ
What swell and shrink mean, how to read the balance, and when a site needs imported fill.
How do I know if my site balances or needs imported fill?
Compare the compacted yield from your excavation to the compacted fill the project needs. Excavating 1,000 bank cubic yards of common earth at 10% shrink yields about 900 compacted cubic yards; if you need 1,000, the balance is about -100, so you would import roughly 100 cubic yards. That same cut loosens to about 1,250 cubic yards to haul.
What is the difference between swell and shrink?
Swell is how much soil expands when you dig it, which sets the loose volume you truck away. Shrink is how much it loses when you compact it as fill, which sets the compacted yield. The same bank cubic yard becomes more loose volume but fewer compacted cubic yards.
What swell and shrink numbers should I use?
They depend on the soil. Sand and gravel swell and shrink less than clay, which moves more. The presets give common planning ranges, but for a real project use the swell and shrink factors from your geotechnical report, since they drive the haul and import quantities.
Bank, loose, and compacted -- what do they mean?
Bank cubic yards are the soil in place before digging. Loose cubic yards are the same soil after excavation, fluffed up, which is what a truck hauls. Compacted cubic yards are the soil after it is placed and rolled to specification. Estimators track all three because material is measured differently at each stage.
Can I use cubic meters?
Yes. Switch to Metric or set the volume unit to cubic meters. The loose, yield, and balance figures come back in cubic meters alongside cubic yards, and the swell and shrink percents work the same in either system.
Sources
1. Earthwork Representation Guide (bank, loose, compacted volumes and shrink/swell)
U.S. Federal Highway Administration, Federal Lands Highway
Federal earthwork guidance defining BCY and CCY and how shrink/swell factors convert between them.
https://highways.dot.gov/federal-lands/design/tools/cfl/earthwork-representation-guide.pdf2. Geotechnical Design Manual M 46-03, Chapter 21 (materials source, shrink/swell factors)
Washington State Department of Transportation
State geotechnical guidance on shrink/swell factors used to convert compacted quantities to bank yards.
https://wsdot.wa.gov/publications/manuals/fulltext/m46-03/chapter21.pdf3. Gravel Tons by Area and Depth Calculator
AnswerCalc
Companion calculator for estimating imported aggregate by area and depth.
https://www.answercalc.com/en/construction/materials/gravel-tons-by-area-depth/
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