ᐅ Fill the garden area with topsoil

Hello fellow home builders and garden designers.

I am currently planning to spread topsoil in our garden area.
We are looking at more than 60 tons to be applied over an area of about 300 sqm (3,230 sq ft) to a depth of around 20 cm (8 inches).

I have received several quotes from landscaping contractors, but they all charge around 25-30 € per ton including leveling, which seems quite expensive to me.
If I have the soil delivered directly from the topsoil supplier myself, it costs 17 € per ton.
The question is whether I am taking on too much as a beginner by trying to spread that much soil using a mini excavator? Or what is the best method to distribute it on the property?
How much time should I roughly plan to spend on this task?

Calculate the rental cost for a bulldozer. Then consider how long it will take to level the ground and your working hours.

If you are using a rented excavator, please remember not to compact the topsoil too much.
The price is within the normal range.

Hi,

Vega82 schrieb:
Hello dear home builders and garden designers.

I am currently planning to build up our garden area with topsoil.
We are talking about more than 60 tons to be spread over more than 300 sqm (about 3230 sq ft) with a thickness of around 20cm (8 inches).

Now I have several offers from landscaping companies, but they all want about 25-30 € per ton including leveling, which I find quite expensive.
If I have the soil delivered myself from the topsoil supplier, it costs me 17 € per ton.
The question is whether I am taking on too much as an amateur to spread so much soil with a mini excavator?? Or what is the best equipment to use?? to distribute it on the property.
How much time should I plan for something like this?

Two of my neighbors have done a similar project of roughly the same size themselves with a mini excavator. Specifically, one used a mini excavator, the other a Bobcat.
Both methods worked; they each took about one day for approximately 300 sqm (about 3230 sq ft).
However, they only spread existing material or mixed it with compost. You can get the compost delivered here for about 200 € per truckload.
You would only save about 8 € per ton, which comes to around 500 €. And you still have to deduct the rental and fuel costs for the excavator.

Is it still worth it?

Best regards,

Andreas

Yes, that's why I'm asking how much effort the spreading will take.
I can rent the excavator for 200€ including fuel for the weekend. The working time doesn't matter to me in this case, so I won't include it in the cost. The only question is whether it’s manageable for a layperson to complete it within 2 days.

Vega82 schrieb:
Hello fellow home builders and garden designers.

I’m currently planning to build up our garden area with topsoil.
We’re talking about over 60 tons to be spread over more than 300 sq m (approximately 3,230 sq ft) with a thickness of about 20 cm (8 inches).

I’ve received several quotes from landscaping contractors, but on average they want around 25-30€ per ton including leveling, which I find quite expensive.
If I have the soil delivered directly from the humus supplier, it costs me 17€ per ton.
The question is whether I’m taking on too much as a novice trying to spread this much soil using a mini excavator?? Or what’s the best way to do this on the property?
How much time should I realistically plan for this?

Wow. I got lucky, then? I had a bit more soil. For about 300 sq m (approximately 3,230 sq ft) I had 200 tons of fill soil (that stuff costs nothing except for transport) and 250 tons of topsoil brought in (had to). The piles that first sat here were breathtaking. And suddenly: it was all gone and level. The neighbors doubted my sanity at that time. But you can quickly calculate the required amounts, so it made sense (to be precise, I was short by 7 tons, which I had delivered a few weeks ago).

Well – we basically had bare rocky ground underneath, and the experts said it would be better to put some fill soil underneath (they were right, it works perfectly).

The price you mentioned: standard market rate. OK.
(Many people get a shock at least on a per square meter basis, including me back then with what it costs!!! My favorite topic again: additional construction costs.)

The soil was spread roughly with an excavator, then four people finished leveling with shovels and rakes. They were totally exhausted after (I believe) four days...
So – I had better things to do than do it myself.

Best regards
Thorsten