We're installing an outdoor wheel chair lift (platform lift) for my MIL. To do this, we're putting down a concrete pad, and I'll be doing some of the work myself. I'll be shoveling out about 10-20 yards of dirt (exact figure TBD based on where we put the lift).
What do I do with that dirt? Small suburban lot, we can't really just pile it up out back.
Sign on front yard:
Free clean fill.
Put an ad on Craigslist for free fill dirt?
10-20 yards!? That's a lot of dirt...
Put it in a hole!
Ransom said:10-20 yards!? That's a lot of dirt...
Yeah, if it gets to the 20 yard mark I'll pay to make it go away. But if its closer to 10 it should be doable.
Lot's of people are looking for dirt. I don't think you'll have any problem getting rid of it
Ten cubic yards of dirt? With a shovel? No. Your math is wrong somewhere.
Cubic feet, maybe. I pulled a few yards out of my friend's backyard when he had a big pad built for his new garage. A dump truck is what, 9 yards?
Topsoil is selling for about $30/yard. Fill dirt is about $12/yard.
It shouldn't be too hard to get rid of.
How much dirt is in a hole 3 feet wide by 4 feet long by 2 feet deep?
24 cubic feet, or about 0.9 yard.
How big is this platform? 20 yards is a lot of dirt.
I forgot to answer. When we dug out my uncle’s basement we snuck the dirt into the neighboring park a little at a time.
In reply to Wally :
I picture you and your uncle with pockets full of dirt like Andy.
Keith Tanner said:A dump truck is what, 9 yards?
A cement truck holds 9 yards. A dump truck will hold more like 15.
Keith Tanner said:24 cubic feet, or about 0.9 yard.
Gotcha!
There is no dirt in a hole! 
Streetwiseguy said:Ten cubic yards of dirt? With a shovel? No. Your math is wrong somewhere.
That's a little less than one of these:
If it's just for a pad, he probably means just scraping the top soil in a 10 sq yard area.
In reply to Nick Comstock :
My brother, two day laborers and I dug a crawl space into a 5 ft tall basement with shovels and 5 gallon pails over two weekends. Looking back I’m not sure what kept the house from sinking. I was just moving dirt, I think the laborers were doing something with cinder blocks to shore the place up.
I had quite a pile of dirt left over from a French drain, put an ad on Craigslist and stated I would help load the dirt. Took a few weeks but a guy came and took all of the dirt, the next day another guy called. So I had two people in one week looking for dirt.
YMMV
Paul B
Nick Comstock said:In reply to Wally :
I picture you and your uncle with pockets full of dirt like Andy.
Steve McQueen - the Great Escape. Walk around and empty the bags.
1988RedT2 said:Keith Tanner said:24 cubic feet, or about 0.9 yard.
Gotcha!
There is no dirt in a hole!
Oooo, I'm gonna use that on my 5 year old nephew.
ProDarwin said:Keith Tanner said:A dump truck is what, 9 yards?
A cement truck holds 9 yards. A dump truck will hold more like 15.
Guess who's married to someone who works at a Redi-mix company? She'll be proud that I remembered "a truck" is 9 yards.
Datsun310Guy said:Nick Comstock said:In reply to Wally :
I picture you and your uncle with pockets full of dirt like Andy.
Steve McQueen - the Great Escape. Walk around and empty the bags.
Came here to post this. Well done.
Keith Tanner said:1988RedT2 said:Keith Tanner said:24 cubic feet, or about 0.9 yard.
Gotcha!
There is no dirt in a hole!
Oooo, I'm gonna use that on my 5 year old nephew.
ProDarwin said:Keith Tanner said:A dump truck is what, 9 yards?
A cement truck holds 9 yards. A dump truck will hold more like 15.
Guess who's married to someone who works at a Redi-mix company?
Well....most modern trucks can hold 12 yards but cant really mix it really well in the drum. 9 yards is actually sort of low, a lot of pretty old concrete trucks, i.e nearer to before they used hydraulics can do about 8 yards.
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