Cut & Fill Calculator
Calculate earthwork cut and fill volumes from elevation grid.
Enter existing (top) and proposed (bottom) elevation for each grid cell (m)
00.0
C1.0
C2.0
C3.0
C1.0
C2.0
C3.0
C4.0
C2.0
C3.0
C4.0
C5.0
C3.0
C4.0
C5.0
C6.0
Red=Cut, Blue=Fill
Total cut (bank)
4800.00 m³
Cut loose (swell)
6000.00 m³
Fill required
0.00 m³
Fill loose needed
0.00 m³
6000.0 m³ surplus (haul away)
Earthwork volume calculation
Enter existing and proposed ground elevations for a grid of points to calculate total cut, fill, and net earthwork balance. Swell and shrinkage adjustments included.
Frequently asked questions
- What is cut and fill in earthworks?
- Cut refers to earth removed to lower the ground level. Fill refers to earth placed to raise the ground level. Balancing cut and fill minimises hauling costs.
- What is swell factor?
- When soil is excavated, it expands (swells). A swell factor of 25% means 1 m³ of bank (in-situ) soil becomes 1.25 m³ loose. This affects truck load calculations.
- What is shrinkage factor?
- When loose soil is compacted, it shrinks. A 10% shrinkage means 1 m³ of loose fill compacts to 0.9 m³. This affects how much loose material you need to import for a given fill volume.
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