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Earth filling and excavation calculator
Work out the earth to fill a low plot, or to dig out for a foundation or basement, in cft and cubic metres, tractor trolleys and dumpers, with the extra for compaction and swell and what it costs.
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Work out the earth
Choose filling a low plot or digging out, give the plot or the hole, and see the earth in cft, trolleys and dumpers, with what it costs.
Earth to bring
- Filled, once rammed
- 4,500 cft127.4 cubic metres
- Loose, to bring
- 5,625 cft1.25 times, 159.3 cubic metres
- Trolleys
- 57of 100 cft, 56.3 loads
- Dumpers
- 10of 600 cft, 9.4 loads
Cost at Lahore rates
- Earth, delivered and tipped57 trolleys at Rs 6,500 a trip
- Rs 370,500
- Cost
- Rs 370,500 (3.71 lakh)
Spread the earth in layers of 6 to 9 in, watering and ramming each, or it will keep settling. That work is on top of the rate: a labourer earned about Rs 1,747 a day in Lahore in the week of 24 September 2026 (PBS); a roller is quicker on a big plot.
Reference
Trolleys of earth to fill a plot
How many tractor trolleys the usual plots take to raise them 1, 2 or 3 ft.
| Plot | Sq ft | 1 ft deep | 2 ft deep | 3 ft deep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 marla | 675 | 9 | 17 | 26 |
| 5 marla | 1,125 | 15 | 29 | 43 |
| 7 marla | 1,575 | 20 | 40 | 60 |
| 8 marla | 1,800 | 23 | 45 | 68 |
| 10 marla | 2,250 | 29 | 57 | 85 |
| 1 kanal | 4,500 | 57 | 113 | 169 |
| 2 kanal | 9,000 | 113 | 225 | 338 |
Plots at 225 sq ft to the marla, raised by the depth shown, with 1.25 cft of loose earth for each cft of filled ground, in whole tractor trolleys of 100 cft. A plot measured in revenue marla of 272.25 sq ft takes about a fifth more.
How it is worked out
From plot size to trolleys
To raise a plot, multiply its area by the depth to fill: a 10 marla plot of 2,250 sq ft raised 2 ft is 4,500 cft of filled ground, 127.4 cubic metres. Earth arrives loose, with air between the lumps, and packs down as it is watered and rammed, so more has to be brought than the hole it fills. The calculator allows 1.25 cft of loose earth for every cft of filled ground: 5,625 cft here, or 57 tractor trolleys of 100 cft. Sandy fill that is only watered needs a little less, about 1.2; clayey earth rolled hard needs more, up to about 1.4.
Digging works the other way. Earth in the ground is packed; dug out, it loosens and takes up about a quarter more room in a trolley, so 1,000 cft dug fills 1,250 cft of trolleys, 13 loads. Sand swells less than that and clay more. A pit or a basement is its length times its width times its depth; a row of footing pits is one pit times how many there are.
Loads are counted in tractor trolleys of 100 cft and in dumpers of 600 cft, a 10-wheeler's body of about 17 cubic metres. Trolleys run from about 75 to 150 cft and a large truck can carry 900 cft or more, so ask what a load holds before you agree a price for it, and change the sizes to match.
Earth for filling is not in PBS's price survey. Lahore's rate starts at Rs 65 a cft, Rs 6,500 a 100 cft trolley, the middle of June 2026 quotes for fill sand (ghassu) delivered in Lahore. Karachi's and Islamabad's are worked from it in step with PBS's price for pit sand in each city in August 2026, since earth is carted the same way: Rs 6,700 and Rs 11,100 a trolley. They are rough, and a local trolley owner's quote is better. Digging by hand starts at Rs 2,150 per 100 cft, the middle of September 2026 quotes of Rs 1,800 to 2,500.
On site
Terms you will hear
- Bharai
- Filling: raising a low plot, or the space inside a foundation, with earth or sand up to the level wanted.
- Ghassu or khassu
- A silty fill sand, cheaper than building sand, often used to fill plots in Punjab. It packs well when watered.
- Compaction
- Packing loose earth down by watering and ramming or rolling it, so it will not settle later under a floor or a wall.
- Swell or bulking
- How much more room earth takes once it is dug out and loosened: about a quarter for ordinary earth, less for sand, more for clay.
- Cft
- A cubic foot, the unit earth, sand and crush are sold by. A cubic metre is 35.31 cft.
- Dumper
- A tipper truck. A 10-wheeler carries 16 to 20 cubic metres, about 565 to 706 cft; bigger trucks carry more.
Questions
Earth filling questions
Still have a question?
Ask our team during Pakistan business hours, in English or Urdu.
+92 333 2466662Chat on WhatsAppHow many trolleys of mitti does a 10 marla plot need?
About 29 tractor trolleys of 100 cft for every foot the plot is raised: 57 for 2 ft and 85 for 3 ft. A 10 marla plot is 2,250 sq ft, so a foot of filled ground is 2,250 cft, and with 1.25 cft of loose earth for each cft rammed it takes 2,813 cft. In 600 cft dumpers, 2 ft is 10 loads.
What does earth filling cost per trolley?
About Rs 6,500 for a 100 cft trolley in Lahore, from June 2026 quotes of Rs 60 to 70 a cft for fill sand delivered. Worked from PBS's sand prices, that is about Rs 6,700 in Karachi and Rs 11,100 in Islamabad, where earth has to come further. A bigger trolley costs more a trip, and the distance the earth comes from moves the price most, so ask a local trolley owner and put in the rate.
What does it cost to fill a plot?
Raising a 10 marla plot 2 ft takes 57 trolleys, about Rs 370,500 (3.71 lakh) at Rs 6,500 a trolley in Lahore, for earth tipped on the plot. Spreading it in layers, watering and ramming it is labour on top: a labourer earned about Rs 1,747 a day in Lahore in the week of 24 September 2026 (PBS), or hire a roller for a big plot.
How much extra earth is needed for compaction?
Allow about a quarter more loose earth than the filled volume: 1.25 cft for each cft of firm ground. Sandy fill that is only watered needs about 1.2, clayey earth rolled hard up to 1.4. Tipped and left loose, a fill keeps settling for a year or more, which cracks floors and boundary walls built on it.
How much does earth swell when it is dug?
Ordinary earth takes up about a quarter more room once dug: 1,000 cft in the ground fills about 1,250 cft of trolleys, 13 loads of 100 cft. Sand swells about 10 to 15%, stiff clay 30% or more. Count the trolleys to cart away on the swollen figure.
How do I work out excavation for a foundation or basement?
Multiply the length, width and depth of the hole, and the number of pits if there are several alike. A 30 x 50 ft basement 10 ft deep is 15,000 cft, 424.8 cubic metres; it swells to 18,750 cft, 188 trolleys or 32 dumpers to cart away. Dug by hand at Rs 2,150 per 100 cft, the digging comes to Rs 322,500 (3.23 lakh), carting extra. For a basement an excavator, hired by the hour, is quicker, and the sides need shoring as it goes down.
How many cft are in a trolley or a dumper?
A tractor trolley holds about 100 cft, from about 75 for a small one to 150 for a large one. A 10-wheeler dumper holds 16 to 20 cubic metres, 565 to 706 cft. Loads sold as 900 cft or more come on bigger trucks. Ask what a load holds before you agree a price for it, and set the sizes in the calculator to match.
How should a plot be filled so it does not sink later?
Spread the earth in layers of 6 to 9 in, water each one and ram or roll it before the next goes on, with no roots, rubbish or building waste in it. Build foundations down to firm natural ground under the fill, not on the fill itself, and ask an engineer where the fill is deep.
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