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Excavation & Earthwork Calculator
Updated Aug 25, 2026 Reviewed Aug 25, 2026
Estimate bank, loose, backfill, haul-off and imported earth volumes, truckloads and optional costs across multiple pits and trenches.
Excavation quantity planning
Enter pits, trenches and project-specific soil factors
Result
Calculation summary
Enter values to see the result
Your result, breakdown, assumptions, and warnings will appear here.
Earthwork balance preview
Bank soil, loose soil and haul balance
In-place bank
9.06 m³
Loose excavated soil
10.87 m³
Whole truckloads
1
How to use this calculator
- 1Add every pit or trench and select its geometry.
- 2Enter dimensions or a known in-place bank volume.
- 3Enter verified swell, backfill and loose-to-compacted factors.
- 4Choose truck capacity, output unit and optional prices.
Formula
Loose excavation = bank volume × (1 + swell %)
Compacted backfill is converted to required loose soil before the remaining haul-off or shortage is calculated.
Calculation steps
- Calculate bank volume for each area.
- Apply excavated-soil swell.
- Calculate compacted backfill target.
- Convert the target to loose backfill requirement.
- Calculate haul-off, imported fill, loads and cost.
Worked example
A 10 m³ bank excavation with 20% swell creates 12 m³ loose; 2.5 m³ compacted backfill at factor 1.1 needs 2.75 m³ loose, leaving 9.25 m³ to haul.
Assumptions
- Dimensions describe excavation limits.
- Soil factors are supplied by the user.
- Sloped trenches have symmetric constant side slopes.
- Truckloads use volumetric capacity.
- Safety design and soil classification are excluded.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
What is bank volume?
The in-place soil volume before excavation.
What is loose volume?
The expanded volume after excavation using the entered swell.
How is backfill handled?
The compacted target is converted to a loose material requirement.
Can I mix pits and trenches?
Yes, up to ten excavation areas.
Are loads rounded?
Yes, haul-off is rounded up to whole truck capacities.
Does this choose safe slopes?
No. A competent project-specific review is required.
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