Dispose of excavated earth - cost per m³ & free alternatives

• calculation example
• Cost of disposal
  • Save costs
  • Cost trap mixed waste
• Dispose of excavated earth free of charge
• Store excavated earth
• Tips for quick readers

Among the unexpected additional costs incurred in house construction, the spoil from the excavation counts. These costs can be amazingly high. However, there are ways to save at this point. In this guide, you will learn everything about the disposal of excavated earth.

Where does the whole earth come from? "> Calculation example

A normal family house with a basic size of 10 by 10 meters should get a cellar. At Abraum then fall the following volumes:

• Basement: 10 x 10 x 3 m³ = 300 m³
• Base plate: 10 x 10 x 0.25 m³ = 25 m³
• Strip foundations: 5 x 10 x 0.25 x 0.80 m³ = 10 m³ (assuming supporting outer walls plus a retaining wall in the middle of the building)
• Total: 335 m³

At a density of 1.8 t / m³, this gives a mass of approx. 600 tonnes. Impact on the volume 30% by soil loosening: approx. 450 m³. With a large dump truck with 17 m³ loading volume, this makes a total of approx. 26 trips to the landfill.

Cost of disposal

The good news now is that it does not matter which type of soil is under your house. As long as it is cleaner, mature soil, the cost of disposal remains the same. With a service provider, you can count on about 15 euros per cubic meter. In our example, these are already scarce 7000 euros. With a house for 150, 000 euros, this is a huge item with 2% of the construction sum, which beats without any real visible value.

Save costs

There are three tricks that a builder can use to reduce the cost of disposing of the overburden. However, these are associated with considerable personal contribution. The possibilities are:

• Compacting the soil in the container
• Organize transport yourself
• Exchange: ground against gravel

When compacting, the overburden in the bulk container is re-compacted with the aid of a vibrating plate. The original, grown state can not be restored, but a compression of 20-25% is possible. This work is quite simple, but it is also tedious. You achieve the best result if you condense consistently in layers. If you choose this solution, be sure to order drop-off containers. So the truck can always take a full container and leave an empty container for filling at the construction site. A suitable vibrating plate costs about 30 euros a day. However, since this work can be estimated quickly a few days, it is worth buying a used machine for cost reasons. This can be resold almost without loss of value after use again. Useful vibrating plates from the second-hand market are available from as little as 500 euros.

The main difference between the disposal by a service provider and the self-transport is that the service provider per volume, the disposer but calculated by weight:

If you deliver the excavation yourself and fill it yourself at the landfill, your costs are reduced dramatically. The landfills charge just 2-4 euros per ton. However, for the disposal costs of 1200 - 2400 euros even the rent of the truck must be expected.

A suitable Muldenkippper, with which the work can be handled in a reasonable cost, costs about 750 euros per week. With 26 trips this makes 5-6 trips to the landfill per day. Of course, it depends heavily on how far away the landfill is from your construction site. A truck of this size quickly consumes 30 liters of diesel fuel and more per hundred kilometers. Assuming the landfill is 10 kilometers from her house, this makes 20 kilometers each way. A full and an empty drive make an average consumption of 35 liters per 100 kilometers. With 26 journeys you come to a diesel demand of nearly 200 liters. However, you need a driving license for a truck of this size.

In summary, the following costs result in the self-disposal of overburden:

• Landfill fee: 1800 euros (average)
• Truck rental: 750 euros
• Cost of fuel: 200 euros
• Total: 2750 euros. That is 4250 euros less than a service provider. The effort should not be underestimated.

After all, many gravel works offer a completely free acceptance of overburden - provided you take the same amount of gravel. You have to buy these, but at least you save the disposal costs for your excavation. For the free acceptance, however, you must deliver the overburden. Quite in vain, this solution is therefore unfortunately not, especially since you also have to pay the gravel.

Cost trap mixed waste

The whole nice calculation, however, can fly you around the ears, if you did not pay close attention when filling the excavation. The dumps only and exclusively grow grown soil. This must not be contaminated or contaminated. Also root system, wood residues, building rubble or other seemingly harmless foreign matter, make the assumption of excavation impossible. The disposal costs then increase by a multiple per ton.

TIP: Check the container for contamination daily and before each transport. Many see in an open container a kind of free way to waste disposal. Carefully remove all foreign substances found in your container. Dig in the morning for foreign substances as well. If they only attract attention at the landfill, your costs will explode to a considerable extent! By comparison, the disposal of one cubic meter of overburden can be reduced to 2 euros with a little effort. However, if the landfill turns out to be rubble, the cost increases to 35 euros per tonne. If this rubble is also contaminated, are already 80 euros per ton payable. You can clearly see how important it is to keep the overburden absolutely clean. If necessary, close the container with a tarpaulin overnight.

How is dredged ">

Therefore, if you want to dig out your cellar or floor slab yourself, make sure you have a clean separation of the topsoil and the grown soil. In any case, first apply a layer about 50 cm deep, before you go right down to the bottom. Store the topsoil separately from the remaining overburden. Also remove the topsoil where you want to store the overburden. So he can mix with the filling in the container no longer with the excavation.

Dispose of excavated earth free of charge

Of course, they are free to leave topsoil and overburden for free. With a little luck, you will also find a buyer. Here, however, supply mostly exceeds demand by far. Nevertheless, leave no stone unturned to bring their tailings free to the man. You can clearly see what costs you can save with this.

If your property is big enough, check if you can spread the overburden. A volume of 450 m³ makes an elevation of only 22.5 cm on a 2000 m³ plot. If you condense them consistently with the vibrating plate, only 15 cm are left. You can also compensate for any bumps and create a basis for a beautiful, flat and level garden. Another option is to create earth embankments along your property line. A mound of about 80 cm in height and 3 x 10 meters in length takes up a volume of at least 20 m³. Together with a flat distribution on a plot, you can avoid or at least greatly reduce disposal costs. A green wall of earth does not look as repellent as a wall, but serves the same purpose.

Store excavated earth

You are not necessarily obliged to dispose of the resulting excavation immediately. Theoretically, you could then temporarily store the mountain of overburden on your property in one place, until you have found a cheap to free opportunity for the removal. However, there are several reasons against this approach.

Optics: Even if you do not mind the hill on your property, your neighbors must not necessarily like it. And you should not start the fight right now with the new neighborhood.

Pollution: A hill of loose soil will be overgrown with wild growth within a short time. Once hazelnut, maple, thistle and camphor have settled on the hill, they can no longer dispose of it as normal waste. The soil is now contaminated and they must put a lot of effort into making the material disposable. In addition, a hill of dirt is quickly abused as a wild landfill. Getting it under control again becomes really difficult.

Safety: Children are attracted by mounds almost magical. They love to climb on it and dig caves in it. Unfortunately this is very dangerous as they can easily spill into it. You can be held responsible for such an accident.

Calculating exactly is indispensable

If you are not sure whether your house really needs a basement, then consider including the question of disposal of the overburden in your considerations. With the waiver of the cellar, your challenges and costs are reduced to a considerable extent.

Tips for quick readers

• Check if a cellar is really necessary
• Calculate costs for disposal in advance
• looking for customers for excavation early
• condense loose material in the container
• distribute as much material as possible on your own property.
• Do not leave mounds for months
• Always keep overburden clean