YARDARIS • EARTHWORK & QUANTITY

Excavation Swell & Shrink Calculator: BCY, LCY & CCY

Convert earthwork quantities between bank, loose and compacted cubic yards while keeping swell, shrink and waste/overrun separate.

BCYLCYCCYSWELLSHRINKEARTHWORK

Enter your earthwork quantity

Choose the condition of the quantity you already know, then enter the project's swell and shrink assumptions.

Bank = in-place. Loose = excavated/loaded. Compacted = placed and compacted.
BCY → LCY
BCY → CCY
Applied separately after condition conversion. Waste/overrun is not swell.

Results

Bank, loose and compacted quantities remain explicitly separated.

BANK CUBIC YARDS
0.00
BCY
LOOSE CUBIC YARDS
0.00 LCY
COMPACTED CUBIC YARDS
0.00 CCY
ADJUSTED BANK QTY
0.00 BCY
ADJUSTED LOOSE QTY
0.00 LCY

Formula audit

Enter a quantity to see the conversion path.

BCY, LCY and CCY stay separate

BCY is material in its natural in-place condition. LCY is excavated material after swell. CCY is the placed compacted quantity after shrink/compaction. Yardaris converts through BCY so swell is not silently applied twice.

Planning note: Swell and shrink vary by material and job conditions. Project geotechnical data or measured field values should override planning assumptions. Waste/overrun remains a separate allowance.

Excavation swell and shrink: converting BCY, LCY and CCY

Earthwork quantities change with material condition. Bank cubic yards (BCY) describe material in place, loose cubic yards (LCY) describe excavated material after swell, and compacted cubic yards (CCY) describe material after placement and compaction.

Example: Using the calculator's planning defaults of 25% swell and 10% shrink, 100 BCY becomes 125 LCY and 90 CCY. The calculator keeps these condition conversions separate from any waste or overrun allowance.

Swell and shrink assumptions vary by material and job conditions, so project geotechnical data or measured field values should replace planning assumptions when available.

For example, if a cut contains 400 BCY with 25% swell, excavated loose volume is 500 LCY. With 10% shrink, the corresponding compacted volume is 360 CCY. A separate 5% overrun would make adjusted loose volume 525 LCY. These are planning estimates, not a substitute for material testing.

Contractor estimating and job planning tools

After converting earthwork volumes, explore these partner tools for estimating and project workflows.

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