Convert cubic yards of gravel to tonnes

Hello All,

This is the first forum i have joined but i have used your page before to help with a lot of my conversions.

We up here in Canada use metric but in the construction and aggregate industry it has been yards and feet for a long time... Not anymore and for someone who has been in the industry for years it is hard to get used to. Half the industry has turned over and half has not. it makes it hard when you have to convert things 2 ways to get your job done. Anyway enough of my chatter.

I have a job that is giving me some trouble

I have to dig and remove 500ft x 6ft x 3ft /27 = 333.33 cubic yards of dirt

I have to put back 500ft x 3ft x 3ft /27 = 166.66 cubic yards of dirt

I also have to put in 166.66 cubic yards of 3/4 gravel

because the dirt is denser and does'nt compact the same will I need the same amount of gravel to fill the hole

I know gravel and dirt have different density's but i would like to know how many tonnes of gravel I will need and how many tonnes of dirt that will be used as well

Is there an easy formula to convert cubic meters into 3/4 gravel tonnes?

Hope this isnt too confusing
Thanks
Rob

[JohnS]

Originally Posted by stinkyrob

Hello All,

This is the first forum i have joined but i have used your page before to help with a lot of my conversions.

We up here in Canada use metric but in the construction and aggregate industry it has been yards and feet for a long time... Not anymore and for someone who has been in the industry for years it is hard to get used to. Half the industry has turned over and half has not. it makes it hard when you have to convert things 2 ways to get your job done. Anyway enough of my chatter.

I have a job that is giving me some trouble

I have to dig and remove 500ft x 6ft x 3ft /27 = 333.33 cubic yards of dirt

I have to put back 500ft x 3ft x 3ft /27 = 166.66 cubic yards of dirt

I also have to put in 166.66 cubic yards of 3/4 gravel

because the dirt is denser and does'nt compact the same will I need the same amount of gravel to fill the hole

I know gravel and dirt have different density's but i would like to know how many tonnes of gravel I will need and how many tonnes of dirt that will be used as well

Is there an easy formula to convert cubic meters into 3/4 gravel tonnes?

Hope this isnt too confusing
Thanks
Rob

When you dig (and load) dirt it is loosened up, When you fill a hole, you have to plan a little extra. So you certainly have a 333.33 yd³ hole, but probably more than a 333.33 yd³ pile of dirt from it. (If you are in the industry, you probably know better than I. Is 5% a good allowance?)

Density figures are not usually stated in "mixed "units. You can find data in pounds (or short tons) per cubic yardm and kilograms or metric tons per cubic meter.

It would be easier to measure in meters, but you have 166.7 yd³ each of dirt and gravel. Those are 166.7 * (0.9144 m/yd)³ = 127.5 m³. For dry materials, I have figures of 1.7 t/m³ for gravel, and 1.5 t/m³ for dirt. Both can vary with source of material and especially any moisture. If wet, they could be 10-20% heavier.