I need to know how many tons of dirt(6 inches deep)it takes to cover an area of 8 acres?
Question:By deep,I don't mean that I'd be digging 6 inches down;I mean from the ground up.
Answers:
A lot.
First we need to know how many cubic feet of dirt we need. To find this multiply 8 acres times 43,560 square feet/acre times 1/2 foot (6 inches). This is 174,240 cubic feet. Although the weight of dirt varies depending on its make-up and water content, a generally accepted value is 125 pounds per cubic foot. So the weight of dirt would be 125 pounds per cubic foot times 174,240 cubic feet, which is 21,780,000 pounds, which is 10,890 tons.
It's not the weight you need to worry about. The weight depends on the type of dirt, it's moisture content, it's clay content, it's sand content etc. No two "dirts" will weight the same. Also, the settling of the dirt once it's in place will dictate how much you actually need. Different contents in the soil will make some compress more than others so you'll need more of it.
So you will need this much compressed soil...
An acre is 43,560 square feet. Times 6" makes it 21,780 cubic feet. Times 8 is 174,240 cubic feet. divided by 3 is 58,080 cubic yards of compressed dirt.
if you need this much, try looking around for a big construction site that's digging a big foundation and call the contractor and offer your 8 acres as a clean-fill site.
You'll need a bull-dozer of some sort to spread the mounds around and help compress it down..
Just a ballpark figure here. 1.7 million pounds per acre. So, 13.6 million pounds, or 6800 tons.
I'm no math whiz but I've seen alot of construction done. 8 acres 6 inches deep? I'd say your looking at a good 200 to 300 tons! Those big Caterpillar dump trucks you see? The biggest is an 85 ton off road for mining and that wouldn't be enough for 8 acres.
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