# How much dirt can I stockpile in a given area? Help please



## TurnkeyConst (Feb 14, 2007)

Hey guys was wondering if you would be able to help me out.

I have a construction company building a school 2 miles from the
house and they need to get rid of 250,000 yards of dirt. 
Well I have a spot on my property that I could have dirt stockpiled.
It is 120'x130' could be a little wider and deeper but those are safe
measurements. I have figured it if I pile it 10' high I can hold 380
loads 15 yds a load. Thats a square pile. Not sure how to take into
consideration of sloping. The more I can take the more they will do
Like bring in a dozer and push it up as well as help with erosion
control. It is all going to be topsoil. A friend of mine told me I could
probrably sell it to local contractors for about $15 a yard. Dont know
if I could make anything off of it. But hopefully when my business
really gets going I can use it. Well if you could help me calculate
how many yards I could hold or give me a basic calculation for
figuring in the sloping factor would really appreciate it!!! Thanks guys

Houston Trim III
Turnkey Construction


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## dayexco (Mar 4, 2006)

i don't want to give you a "dr. laura" answer...dude, get your calculator out, and redo the calculations, this is simple math come on now...an ACRE of land, 15' deep...is only 24,200 yds of dirt...IN place. unless you have an immediate sale or quick sale for that dirt....you want it that close to your home for that long?


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## dayexco (Mar 4, 2006)

turnkey const....forgive and ignore the above post. i have to quit typing after machinery salesmen take me out for a wine and dine,


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## jmic (Dec 10, 2005)

dayexco said:


> turnkey const....forgive and ignore the above post. i have to quit typing after machinery salesmen take me out for a wine and dine,


Day,
Did they get into your wallet?:w00t: :laughing:


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## BeetsZ71 (Nov 16, 2006)

What tandem truck hauls 15 yards of dirt without being overweight? The best you'll get around here is $1 a yard for fill dirt and most people just give it away for free if you pay the loading and trucking costs. Sometimes you can get people to split the haul.

Aren't you going to need a stockpiling permit too?


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## denick (Feb 13, 2006)

Turn,

your measurements give you in the vicinity of 6,000 yards. 

You may be out in no where without much zoning regulation and neighbors?

Where we are you can bring in almost as much fill as you want. If you want to remove from that property more than 250 yards you need a permit. If you are going to sell more than 250 yards you need the equivalent of a gravel mine permit. You have to do traffic studies and so on. You will need to have silt fence up around the pile?


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## Trencher (Mar 6, 2007)

dayexco said:


> ...an ACRE of land, 15' deep...is only 24,200 yds of dirt...


day, would that be 24,200 cubic yards?


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## TurnkeyConst (Feb 14, 2007)

Well I have a couple friends in grading and they say you dont have to have silt fence around here unless you disturb over one acre of land. Which I will not be disturbing. This is going to be screened topsoil not just regular old fill dirt. And not everyone around here gives it away. The company I am going to get it from will only haul it and pile it if I get over 200 loads. I was just saying 15 yards they normally only haul 14 but they are hauling it 2 miles driveway to driveway. I have 2 neighbors that wont mind. 2 that I could care less about. I know how to calculate yards in a pile just dont know how to calculate in the slope factor of the pile. I used to run a front end loader at an asphalt plant and stockpile but never had to learn to calculate plus I could tell you how much a pile is in tons pretty close never had to deal with yards as measurement. The pile would be 200' from my house. thanks for all your input


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## PipeGuy (Oct 8, 2004)

TurnkeyConst said:


> ...It is 120'x130' could be a little wider and deeper but those are safe
> measurements. I have figured it if I pile it 10' high I can hold 380
> loads 15 yds a load.


the volume of a stockpile (frustum of a pyramid) = the height/3 x (the area of the base of the stockpile + the area of the top of the stockpile + the square root of the base area x the top area.

10/3 x ((120x130) + (100x110) + square root of (120x130) x (100x110))

3.33 x (15600 + 11000 + square root of 15600x11000)

3.33 x (26600 + 13100) = 132201 CF = 4896 CY

And that's with 1:1 side slopes. You lose about 800 yards at a 2:1.

Now if that were fat clay, clean sand or screened topsoil you might have something. Otherwise you've got little more than a pile of dirt.


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## PipeGuy (Oct 8, 2004)

TurnkeyConst said:


> ...they need to get rid of 250,000 yards of dirt. ..The more I can take the more they will do. Like bring in a dozer and push it up as well as help with erosioncontrol. It is all going to be topsoil.


If they NEED to get rid of it, why not consider CHARGING them for each load dumped. 
4896 CY hauled = 5800 CY (?) stockpiled = 480 loads @ $50 per load = $24,000.

FYI - unscreened topsoil is a liability around here. It's conceivable it could cost you well in excess of $50K to get rid of the dirt. That'd require a per load charge to dump of over $100.


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## jaminjimi (Mar 12, 2007)

Length X Width X Height-Divided by 27 = cubic yards
120'X130'X10'=156000(cubic feet) divided by 27 = 5777.77 cubic yards
That is a neat line or an exact measurement. On a 1 to 1 slope you would have to consider the above measurements less 10' on all four sides, then re-calculate the outer dimension at 5' high, that would be the actual value on a 1 to 1 slope, it's easy to get confused here because you are dealing with an area that will be:
420' length,X 10' wide,X 5' high, divided by 27 or approx. 777 yds.
You might get 5000 yds in that area you are talking about.
Actually PipeGuy has given you all the information you need the correct way, I just do it a different way being self taught and 10th grade is all the further I got in school. 
Depending upon the area your from the topsoil may have some value, here in the area we're in it is a premium, with out processing it. Wish I had it here.


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## denick (Feb 13, 2006)

Hi Jam,

Welcome to the forum!
I'm glad you jumped in to contribute. Please feel free to help us out.


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