Excavation & Site Prep Calculator
Enter the length, width and average depth of a cut to get bank yards, loose yards after swell, a machine-hour estimate and truckloads if the spoil is hauled off.
Excavation & Site Prep Calculator — ConcreteNear.com
| Loose yards to haul (with swell) | 111.1 yd³ |
| Excavator hours | 3 hr |
| Truckloads (if hauling) | 10 |
Cost estimate U.S. average prices
| Excavator & operator 3 hr × $250.00 | $750.00 |
| Trucking (1 starting hour per load) 10 hr × $106.69 × 1.25 | $1,334 |
| Estimated total | $2,084 |
- Swell means you need more truckloads than the hole measures. Ask the hauler about body size and legal payload.
- Production varies a lot with soil, access and whether the machine is also loading trucks.
- Trucking cost here assumes about one billable truck-hour per load as a starting point — edit it or use the dump-truck calculator for cycle times.
| Inputs | |
| Length | 40 ft |
| Width | 30 ft |
| Average depth | 2 ft |
| Swell / bulking | 25% |
| Excavator production | 30 yd³ |
| Truck body (heaped) | 12 yd³ |
| Include trucking off-site | Yes, haul the spoil |
Planning estimate only — confirm with your supplier or contractor.
Prices used — edit any price to match your local quote
| Item | Unit price | Basis & source |
|---|---|---|
| Excavator and operator per hr | starting estimate Starting estimate for a common mid-size excavator with operator. Machine size, access, rock and urban work change the rate. | |
| Truck operating cost per hr | public source ATRI, An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: 2026 Update, Table 9 — average marginal cost per hour, 2025 (fuel, truck payments, repairs, insurance, tires, tolls, driver wages and benefits) (2025 data, published Jul 2026) — For-hire fleet cost before overhead and profit. Local dump and lowboy rates are usually higher; use the overhead % to adjust. | |
| Hauler overhead & profit per % | starting estimate Starting estimate added on top of the ATRI operating cost. |
How to use this calculator
- Measure the area and the average cut depth.
- Set a swell percentage for the soil (15–30% is common for ordinary fill).
- Enter a realistic production rate for the machine and site.
- Choose whether spoil is hauled off, then compare with a local excavation quote.
Formulas
Bank yd³ = length × width × depth (ft) ÷ 27Loose yd³ = bank × (1 + swell %)Machine hours ≈ bank yd³ ÷ production (yd³/hr)Truckloads = ceil(loose yd³ ÷ truck body yd³)
Questions
What is swell?
Dug soil takes up more volume than it did in the ground. That extra volume is swell or bulking, and it is why you need more truckloads than the hole measures.
How many yards of dirt in a 40×30×2 ft cut?
Bank volume is 40 × 30 × 2 ÷ 27 ≈ 88.9 yd³. With 25% swell, plan about 111 loose yards — roughly 10 loads in a 12-yard truck.
Does this cover shoring or utilities?
No. Deep cuts, trenches and work near utilities need a plan, 811 locates and often shoring. This calculator is quantity and a starting cost only.
Sources & assumptions
Prices checked 2026-11-10. State pricing multiplies national figures by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities (goods for materials, services for labor and services). RPPs compare general consumer price levels (U.S. = 100). They are not construction-specific; we use RPP Goods for materials and RPP Services: Other (excludes rents) for labor and services.
- Truck operating cost — ATRI, An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: 2026 Update, Table 9 — average marginal cost per hour, 2025 (fuel, truck payments, repairs, insurance, tires, tolls, driver wages and benefits) (2025 data, published Jul 2026). For-hire fleet cost before overhead and profit. Local dump and lowboy rates are usually higher; use the overhead % to adjust.
Starting estimates No public price series was found for: Excavator and operator; Hauler overhead & profit. These defaults are editable placeholders — replace them with a local quote.
Results are planning estimates, not quotes or engineering advice. Codes, specifications and your supplier's numbers govern.
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