Dirtwork term
Cut and Fill
also called: balance, earthwork balance
Moving dirt from high areas (cut) to low areas (fill) to reach a planned grade, balanced so net hauling is minimized.
Cut and fill is the math behind mass grading. The engineer calculates how much dirt has to be removed (cut) from areas that are too high and how much has to be placed (fill) in areas that are too low to reach the finished elevations. If cut and fill quantities are equal, the site is balanced and no dirt has to be imported or hauled off.
In practice, perfect balance is rare. Most sites import some select fill or haul off some unsuitable material. The take-off process is where the dirt contractor checks the engineer's numbers against field reality, expansion, shrinkage, topsoil stripping, unsuitable soil pockets all affect the actual quantity.
Loose dirt expands when cut and shrinks when compacted, so the numbers don't add up the way they look on paper. Honest take-offs account for shrink/swell factors specific to the soil on that site.
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Related terms
Other words that come up alongside this one
Mass Grading
Large-scale cutting and filling to reshape an entire site to a planned set of elevations.
Take-off
The process of measuring quantities off engineering drawings to bid a dirt-moving job accurately.
Select Fill
Imported soil chosen for known compaction and stability properties, used where native soil isn't suitable.
Compaction
Mechanical pressing of soil to reduce air voids, increase density, and provide a stable surface.
Spoils
Excavated material that's left over after cut-and-fill on a project, hauled off or stockpiled for later use.
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