Aggregate calculator.
Sub-base, sand, gravel, ballast or topsoil: enter the area and depth and get tonnes, bulk bags and grab loads.
- Bulk bags (approx. 850 kg)
- 25 kg bags
- Grab lorry loads (approx. 15 t)
- Best way to buy
Typical densities; suppliers vary by a few percent. Aggregate delivery and muck-away in Essex.
How many loads will the dig produce?
Soil takes up more room out of the ground than in it. Enter the hole and we will tell you the loose volume, the weight and the number of grab loads to budget for.
Based on a grab lorry carrying about 14 tonnes. Wet clay hits the weight limit before the lorry looks full, so it goes by tonnes, not by the size of the pile. Get a muck-away price.
Aggregate and muck-away questions.
How many tonnes of MOT Type 1 do I need?
Area in square metres times depth in metres gives cubic metres; Type 1 weighs about 2.1 tonnes per cubic metre once compacted. A 50 m² driveway at 150 mm is 7.5 m³, so roughly 16 tonnes. Order it loose rather than in bags at that size.
How much is in a bulk bag?
Usually 800 to 900 kg, which is about half a cubic metre of most materials. Suppliers sell them as a 'bulk bag' or 'tonne bag' but they are rarely a full tonne. Above three or four bags, a loose load by grab lorry is cheaper per tonne.
What depth should sub-base be?
100 mm compacted for paths and patios, 150 mm for a domestic driveway, 200 mm or more where vans and lorries will stand. On soft Essex clay, deeper is cheaper than doing it twice, and a geotextile membrane under it stops the stone sinking into the clay.
How much soil will a dig produce?
More than the hole. Ground swells by 20 to 30 percent when it is dug. A 10 m³ trench produces about 12.5 m³ of loose spoil, which is roughly 20 tonnes of clay — a grab lorry and a half. That is why muck-away quotes are by load, not by hole.
Can you deliver aggregate and take spoil away on the same visit?
Yes, and it is the efficient way to do it. Our grab lorries drop the sub-base or topsoil and load the spoil on the same trip, so you pay for one movement instead of two.
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