How much / best way of getting rid of 'dirt'?

[flyingjase]

I have a shed load of dirt to get rid of in my back garden. Someone has estimated it as "20 loads of an 8 wheeler grab lorry". I'm not sure if that is right but I will be phoning round grab lorries in the morning to get prices.

Is this the best way of getting rid of said dirt or should I be looking at another angle?

How much should I be paying for this?

Thanks

Indicative size of the pile (more has been added since this was taken):-

[m3jappa]

Very hard to say from the picture but theres no way 20 loads there. That looks like 4 max.

As a guide you will get 35m2 at between 8-10" of depth taken out per 8 wheel load. (the bigger the stuff comes out the less you will get on per load). I just put this s0o you can try and work out how much you had out and work it from there.

Essex prices are between £200-£240 per 8 wheel load. Biut less for 6 wheeler , both plus vat and you may get a deal.

If its decent topsoil or even vaguely decent try and get a deal as its all only going to get recycled anyway.

[anonymous-user]

Got to ask, where has it come from? Are you putting a pond in?

[flyingjase]

m3jappa said:

Very hard to say from the picture but theres no way 20 loads there. That looks like 4 max.

As a guide you will get 35m2 at between 8-10" of depth taken out per 8 wheel load. (the bigger the stuff comes out the less you will get on per load). I just put this s0o you can try and work out how much you had out and work it from there.

Essex prices are between £200-£240 per 8 wheel load. Biut less for 6 wheeler , both plus vat and you may get a deal.

If its decent topsoil or even vaguely decent try and get a deal as its all only going to get recycled anyway.

Thanks for the guidance - maybe it doesn't look as big as it is (or they can't estimate!). It does go back a fair way and is now slightly taller. I was thinking of ordering 2 load grabbers straight away and seeing what dent that makes. At 20 loads (if they are right), that's around £5k by your reckoning. It would be nice to find a cheaper way!

MRSNEAK said:

Got to ask, where has it come from? Are you putting a pond in?

I've just put in a pool.

[ColinM50]

Bury it

[Sarkmeister]

Yep, I agree. Dig a big hole and throw it in there.

Seriously though, what kind of soil is it?

Are you surrounded by farmland by any chance? If so, local farmers may take it away for free to fill in any low areas on their land.

[vdp1]

Well if its come out of your pool and you know the volume of the pool, and the volume of the trucks to take it away, do the math.

[Simpo Two]

Not quite, the soil will take up more volume than the hole it came out of because it's not so compacted. Wild guess - 15% more?

[Futureclassic]

Why not just spread it out over the lawned area behind it and put grass seed down?

[rsv gone!]

flyingjase said:

I've just put in a pool.

What are the dimensions of the pool?

Depth x width x length x 2 (bulking factor) = vol to cart away. Then you just need the capacity of the grab lorries (standard 8-wheel dumpers will take around 15m³).

[Austin.J]

Perfect excuse to save some money and build some form of motorcross jumps? or a fort?

[EvoDelta]

Fill up your pockets every time you go out for a walk, and sprinkle it down your trouser leg.

[tokyo_mb]

Sarkmeister said:

Seriously though, what kind of soil is it?

This is the key question. If you had the topsoil separate from the sub-soil you might have been able to make some money (or at least get free disposal of the former). There's not so much use/demand for the latter, and for 'dirt' there's almost no demand at all...

[Smiler.]

EvoDelta said:

Fill up your pockets every time you go out for a walk, and sprinkle it down your trouser leg.

was just thinking the same

[zaphod42]

Use it to landscape - build a rockery?

[Harry H]

Build an off road course for yer Rangie

[Nuisance_Value]

rsv gone! said:

What are the dimensions of the pool?

Depth x width x length x 2 (bulking factor) = vol to cart away. Then you just need the capacity of the grab lorries (standard 8-wheel dumpers will take around 15m³).

Excavated rock will double in volume but 'earth' doesn't bulk by that much, usually about 20 - 25% but it all depends on what type it is. Here's a handy reference and calculation tool..

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/soil-rock-bulkin...

http://www.source4me.co.uk/calculate_excavated_spo...

Unless you can find someone who needs some filling material (ask some local builders/developers/farmers) you'll have to pay to get it carted off site. 3 Years ago I was paying £170 per 15m3 including tipping fees, I expect it'll have gone up since then.

[E36GUY]

Austin.J said:

Perfect excuse to save some money and build some form of motorcross jumps? or a fort?

This is what I was thinking. SHould have left it to the side of the pool, grass seeded it and built a waterslide! Or diving platform.

[Renquist]

Teletubby style house, I tried to get a mate of mine to do this and he even had a container to put inside it, didn't do it though

[zaphod42]

Renquist said:

Teletubby style house, I tried to get a mate of mine to do this and he even had a container to put inside it, didn't do it though

Would planning permission be needed? Hard to argue it's a temp structure?