How much soil do I need to fill a hole?

Measure a rectangular space from its length, width and fill depth, or enter a known area and depth. A 3 foot square space at 24 inches holds 18 cubic feet and needs 12 bags of 1.5 cubic feet, 18 of 1 or 9 of 2. A 2 foot square space at 36 inches holds 12 cubic feet and needs 8 bags of 1.5. These are supplied shape quantities, with no compaction or structural recommendation.

How do I work out a trench?

For a rectangular trench, enter length, width and the layer depth. A 20 by 3 foot space at 4 inches holds exactly 20 cubic feet and needs 14 bags of 1.5 cubic feet. Doubling its length gives 40 cubic feet and 27 bags of 1.5; it does not double the already rounded 14-bag count. No slope or irregular-section geometry is inferred.

How much topsoil do I need to level a low spot in a lawn?

The page gives quantity for a supplied rectangular patch or known area at a chosen depth. A 10 by 10 foot rectangle at 2 inches holds 50/3 cubic feet and needs 12 bags of 1.5. Two 1 inch layers have the same full volume; doubling the separately rounded 6-bag requirement happens to agree in this example, but separate ceilings do not establish the combined requirement in general. It does not recommend a levelling method, depth or number of passes.

What if the hole is not a rectangle?

There is no irregular or multiple-space geometry workflow. If you have a measured total area and one uniform depth, use Known area. A round straight-sided space can be described in Pot mode as one cylinder. For separately measured spaces, add their full volumes and then calculate the combined bag ceiling; adding already rounded bag counts can overcount. The page does not infer an average depth from an uneven bottom.

Should I order fill by the bag or by the cubic yard?

This calculator displays cubic yards and whole bags but carries no bag prices, delivered bulk quotes or cost comparison. One cubic yard is exactly 27 cubic feet, with an 18-bag ceiling at a supplied 1.5 cubic foot capacity. The quantity alone cannot decide how to order; compare your applicable capacities, prices and delivery terms separately.

Fill Soil Calculator

A hole 3 feet by 3 feet and 2 feet deep takes 18 cubic feet of fill, which is 0.67 cubic yards, 510 litres, or 12 bags of the 1.5 cubic foot size. This page presents Fill mode with that example on a first visit. Supply a rectangular length, width and fill depth, or a known area and depth. The calculator shows cubic feet, cubic yards, litres, cubic metres and bags from your supplied capacity, with exact unit conversions. It does not infer compaction, settling, an irregular excavation shape or prices.

Soil needed3 ft by 3 ft at 24 in

Cubic feet18.00

0.67 cu yd · 509.70 litres · 0.51 m³12 bags at 1.5 ft³, rounded up

0.84 m² combined plan area × 24 in = 0.51 m³; bag division uses the full combined volume.

Supply your measured space, chosen fill depth and the capacity printed on your bag. Pot mode measures identical straight-sided cylinders using an inside diameter and fill height; it does not model taper or a plant. The initial dimensions and 1.5 ft³ bag are editable examples. Plan, depth and bag units are independent. Unit changes preserve measurements as exact decimals or fractions. Results round to two decimal places; ≈ marks a cylinder approximation and … marks an abbreviation. Complete values are below.

Complete selectable calculation

Soil Calculator - supplied quantity estimate
Mode: fill; 3 ft by 3 ft at 24 in
Supplied bag capacity: 1.5 ft³
Combined plan area: exact 0.83612736 m² (1306449/1562500)
cubicMetres: exact 0.509703238656 m³ (497757069/976562500)
cubicFeet: exact 18 ft³ (18)
cubicYards: exact 2/3 yd³ (2/3)
Litres: exact 509.703238656 L (995514138/1953125)
Whole bags: 12
A supplied rectangular space or known area and chosen fill depth, or identical straight-sided cylindrical containers with an inside diameter, fill height and exact positive whole count. Defaults are editable examples, not suitable depths or product recommendations.
Rectangle and known-area arithmetic and unit conversions are exact. Cylinders are π times the stated coefficient; decimal displays use a 100-place bound for π and are approximate. A bag range means that bound straddles a whole-bag boundary.
Bag counts round up from the full combined volume before display rounding. Large previews are abbreviated; this report retains complete values. Litres are exactly 1000 times cubic metres.
No taper, root-ball displacement, drainage, settling, compaction, weight, soil mix, material suitability, supplier, delivery or price is inferred. Separately rounded bag counts do not establish the ceiling for a combined job.

A 4 by 8 raised bed10 in of mix
26.67 cu ft · 18 bags at 1.5 ft³
A hole to fill3 ft by 3 ft, 2 ft deep
18.00 cu ft · 12 bags at 1.5 ft³
A 12 in round pot10 in of mix
≈ 0.65 cu ft · 1 bags at 1.5 ft³

Supplied quantities and complete working. Exact arithmetic for length by width by depth or known area by depth, with quantities converted without rounding until the last step. The cylinder formula for a pot uses a bounded approximation of pi; a bag-count range marks an uncertain boundary. It cannot know how far soil settles after its first watering, how much room root balls take, or what a brand actually puts in a bag. Open the complete calculation for exact quantities, cylinder bounds and the assumptions used.

Common questions

How much soil do I need to fill a hole?: Measure a rectangular space from its length, width and fill depth, or enter a known area and depth. A 3 foot square space at 24 inches holds 18 cubic feet and needs 12 bags of 1.5 cubic feet, 18 of 1 or 9 of 2. A 2 foot square space at 36 inches holds 12 cubic feet and needs 8 bags of 1.5. These are supplied shape quantities, with no compaction or structural recommendation.
How do I work out a trench?: For a rectangular trench, enter length, width and the layer depth. A 20 by 3 foot space at 4 inches holds exactly 20 cubic feet and needs 14 bags of 1.5 cubic feet. Doubling its length gives 40 cubic feet and 27 bags of 1.5; it does not double the already rounded 14-bag count. No slope or irregular-section geometry is inferred.
How much topsoil do I need to level a low spot in a lawn?: The page gives quantity for a supplied rectangular patch or known area at a chosen depth. A 10 by 10 foot rectangle at 2 inches holds 50/3 cubic feet and needs 12 bags of 1.5. Two 1 inch layers have the same full volume; doubling the separately rounded 6-bag requirement happens to agree in this example, but separate ceilings do not establish the combined requirement in general. It does not recommend a levelling method, depth or number of passes.
What if the hole is not a rectangle?: There is no irregular or multiple-space geometry workflow. If you have a measured total area and one uniform depth, use Known area. A round straight-sided space can be described in Pot mode as one cylinder. For separately measured spaces, add their full volumes and then calculate the combined bag ceiling; adding already rounded bag counts can overcount. The page does not infer an average depth from an uneven bottom.
Should I order fill by the bag or by the cubic yard?: This calculator displays cubic yards and whole bags but carries no bag prices, delivered bulk quotes or cost comparison. One cubic yard is exactly 27 cubic feet, with an 18-bag ceiling at a supplied 1.5 cubic foot capacity. The quantity alone cannot decide how to order; compare your applicable capacities, prices and delivery terms separately.

Exact arithmetic for length by width by depth or known area by depth, with quantities converted without rounding until the last step. The cylinder formula for a pot uses a bounded approximation of pi; a bag-count range marks an uncertain boundary. It cannot know how far soil settles after its first watering, how much room root balls take, or what a brand actually puts in a bag.