Enter the area and choose the job. We’ll set a practical depth and tell you how much dirt to order.
Volume is area multiplied by depth. Weight is that volume multiplied by the material's density.
volume = area × depth
tons = volume (cu ft) × 76 lb/cu ft ÷ 2000
order = volume × 1.05Density used: 76 lb per cubic foot. Loose fill dirt, typical 70–85 lb/ft³. Actual delivered weight varies with moisture and stone size, so treat tonnage as an estimate and confirm with your supplier.
The recommended order adds 5% on top. Material settles, ground is never perfectly flat, and a second delivery costs far more than a little extra dirt.
Fill dirt is subsoil with the organic matter screened out — inert, cheap, and it compacts well, which is exactly what you want under a structure or filling a hole. Topsoil has organic content and is what plants grow in. Using topsoil as bulk fill is expensive and it settles more.
Around 2,000 lb per cubic yard loose, more once wet or compacted. A standard half-ton pickup should not carry a full cubic yard of it.
Because loose dirt loses volume when you tamp it. Fill that is not compacted in layers will sink later, leaving you with the same low spot you were trying to fix. Plan on roughly 15% more loose material than the finished volume, and compact every 4 in as you fill.
Enter the hole's actual depth rather than a landscaping depth, and use its length and width at the widest point. Holes are rarely neat rectangles, so round up — being a wheelbarrow short is worse than being one over.