We move
North Floridaone load at a time.

The math is simple — the mistake everyone makes is forgetting compaction.

• Volume: length × width × depth (in feet) ÷ 27 = cubic yards.
• Compaction: dirt compacts when placed and rolled. Order roughly 10–25% extra depending on material and how it's compacted — fill placed loose shrinks.
• Settling: if you're filling a low spot that holds water, expect it to settle more over the first year. Slightly over-build the grade.

"A load" means different things depending on the truck, the material, and legal weight limits — trucks usually weigh out before they cube out with dirt.

• Tandem dump: typically hauls in the 15–18 ton range, roughly 10–12 CY of fill.
• Tractor with dump trailer: bigger payloads per trip — the economical choice for high-volume jobs.
• Wet material weighs more. After heavy rain, the same cubic yardage hits legal weight sooner, so loads get smaller.

• Fill dirt: structural. Use it to raise grade, fill holes, and build pads. It compacts well precisely because it has little organic matter — nothing in it will rot and settle.
• Topsoil: for growing, not building. The top 4–6" where you want grass or landscaping. Never build a pad on topsoil.
• Limerock: the road base of North Florida. Compacts hard, drains predictably — driveways, parking areas, and base under concrete.
• Sand: drainage, pipe bedding, and leveling. Doesn't hold a slope on its own.

Clearing is the cheapest part of a project to do right and the most expensive to do wrong.

• Permits vary by county. Duval, St. Johns, Flagler, Clay — each has its own clearing and tree-protection rules. Check before the first machine shows up.
• Wetlands and protected trees can stop a job cold. A survey and an environmental check up front are cheap insurance.
• Grubbing matters. Knocking trees down is half the job — roots and stumps left in the ground become settling problems under your pad later.
• Plan the debris. Hauling, burning (where permitted), or grinding — disposal is often the biggest cost line in a clearing bid.

In North Florida, the rainy season (roughly June–September) changes everything about dirt work.

• Wet dirt won't compact to spec. Pushing it anyway means failed density tests and redone work.
• Pits get wet too. Material availability and moisture content shift after big rain events.
• Hurricane season: book site prep and fill early. After a storm, every truck in the region is spoken for.

Sixty-five years in, the trucks look similar — the precision doesn't.

• GPS machine control puts the engineered plan in the cab. Blades cut to design grade directly, with the smallest possible margin of error and fewer survey stakes to knock down.
• Drone surveying gives accurate stockpile volumes and progress maps in hours instead of days — you see exactly how much dirt moved and what's left.
• What it means for owners: tighter quantities, fewer change orders, and documentation of the work as it happens.