Hi, 

I'm trying to find out how much it would cost for filling/raising land for a surface of 120 sq metres (including compacting). We'd like to raise it by about 50cm as we will build on tilt.. we'd need the dirt/filling to be delivered by truck (we are not thinking of digging a pond).

 

Thank you 😊 

Probably between 600 and 1000 baht per m3, depending on how far they have to carry it. Excavator (back hoe to Thais) 1000+ per hour for compaction unless there is a roller in your area.

7 hours ago, tezzaaa said:

(including compacting)

 

Never yet seen Thais compacting landfill. They landfill, and then, after leveling allowing time to compact it. About 2 years or so. In the meantime farm it.

I cannot give you an accurate answer, but maybe this may help a little.

 

About 8 years ago I "helped" my now ex-gf buy 2 rai of flat land just outside of Pran Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khan.  About one-quarter of the land area consisted of a very large pond that was about 5 metres deep.  My ex obtained some quotations on filling in the pond - for memory the quotations were in the range of Baht 300,000 - 400,000, which seemed rather expensive to me.

 

I hope someone can give you a more reliable estimate.

Soil to fill land is normally bought by the truckload.  You would need to work out how many loads you need. For your small plot, I would think not many. The contractor could advise on this.  The cost depends on many factors,

Factors such as your location, are you in a rural rice growing area, or a town.  Is someone in your area digging, or planning to dig, a rice paddy or pond.The quality of the soil required - clay, sand or rich dark soil.  Is there a contractor with an excavator, tractor to spread the loads, and dump truck in the vicinity. Are you related in some way to this person.  How far from the dig to your plot - fuel costs and travel time play a big part.

My experiences probably have little in common with your small job. I've bought over 100 truckloads at a time to renovate large firlds and have been pleasantly surprised at how cheap it was. A friend in the earth moving business in Australia couldn't believe how little I've paid for soil in Thailand. I think I have paid as little as 450 a load for for soil from a very close dig. 

I've never seen a roller here.

Recommendation. If buying soil for garden etc then only buy soil from the rice feels.

Thanks guys

23 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

 

Never yet seen Thais compacting landfill. They landfill, and then, after leveling allowing time to compact it. About 2 years or so. In the meantime farm it.

Sadly not always the case.

 

There is a block, about 25 rai in area, behind where I live which was filled up to a depth of about 2.5-3 metres in places over a 6 month period.  No compacting!!!  Construction of the first house started about 3-4 months after filling completed.

20 minutes ago, JimHuaHin said:

Construction of the first house started about 3-4 months after filling completed.

 Then problems will arise in the future.

 

 

Quote

 

How long does backfill take to settle?

 

 

On average, it takes between 5 to 10 years for disturbed or loosened soil to naturally settle and compact. However, consistent water exposure can expedite this settling process.

 

 

There's always a local that can give you an idea and contacts for doing this. Like another mentioned, the longer you wait before you build the better, as the ground, especially in a dry and rainy season country, needs time to settle. You can compact it with some of the same people who bring the dirt, as they usually have contacts with tractors. Now is a good time to start this as it's rainy season, and occasional tractors coming in to flatten the soil more is a good idea. I had my house built soon after the soil was flattened, with piers installed, but there was still shrinkage which caused cracks. This happens a lot where I;m from in Texas because of the same reasons, no rain for awhile then a lot, and many have cracked walls there. Oldcroc's advice was good also.This video shows a little...........

 

3 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

There's always a local that can give you an idea and contacts for doing this. Like another mentioned, the longer you wait before you build the better, as the ground, especially in a dry and rainy season country, needs time to settle. You can compact it with some of the same people who bring the dirt, as they usually have contacts with tractors. Now is a good time to start this as it's rainy season, and occasional tractors coming in to flatten the soil more is a good idea. I had my house built soon after the soil was flattened, with piers installed, but there was still shrinkage which caused cracks. This happens a lot where I;m from in Texas because of the same reasons, no rain for awhile then a lot, and many have cracked walls there. Oldcroc's advice was good also.This video shows a little...........

Backfilling in TH isn't for the same reason as USA, as TH uses 'beam / column' construction, for support, not the walls on home construction.  So waiting for ground to settle, unless very deep, isn't necessary.

 

Backfilling here, TH, is for flood avoidance mainly.  Keep the house sitting higher than road surface or surrounding land.  Water flows down hill, so best to avoid being at the bottom 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walls don't normally support anything, just filler except windows & doors 

 

21 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Backfilling in TH isn't for the same reason as USA, as TH uses 'beam / column' construction, for support, not the walls on home construction.  So waiting for ground to settle, unless very deep, isn't necessary.

 

Backfilling here, TH, is for flood avoidance mainly.  Keep the house sitting higher than road surface or surrounding land.  Water flows down hill, so best to avoid being at the bottom 

The longer you let the soil settle, with occasional tractor flattening, the less chance for damage to walls, as this ground, like where I lived before, moves from extreme conditions. Many houses built here are built on rice farms, where the soil is soft, even if trucked in from another farm close by. They need to be above the flood line which is usually 2 meters. That much soil , unless packed down to settle, will sink in time,especially with any rain.

 

The reason I do have cracks in the walls is because they started building too soon, right after the soil was trucked in. The soil should have a few good rainstorms to settle, as piers put into the ground won't stop walls from cracking due to the slab moving in certain areas. You can put a lot of piers in but that ups the cost a lot. All houses use a slab and this is what's subjected to movement if there aren't enough piers put in place. Beams put on the slab won't stop the slab from shifting without those piers.

 

Homes built in areas that haven't been farmed have harder , settled ground, which is totally different than when truckloads need to be brought in. They don't need soil brought in as they're already high enough being not around surrounding rice and other farm fields.He needs soil as he's building in the country, guessing next to or on a field that has been farmed, and it needs to be above the surrounding area.

13 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

The longer you let the soil settle, with occasional tractor flattening, the less chance for damage to walls, as this ground, like where I lived before, moves from extreme conditions. Many houses built here are built on rice farms, where the soil is soft, even if trucked in from another farm close by. They need to be above the flood line which is usually 2 meters. That much soil , unless packed down to settle, will sink in time,especially with any rain.

 

The reason I do have cracks in the walls is because they started building too soon, right after the soil was trucked in. The soil should have a few good rainstorms to settle, as piers put into the ground won't stop walls from cracking due to the slab moving in certain areas. You can put a lot of piers in but that ups the cost a lot. All houses use a slab and this is what's subjected to movement if there aren't enough piers put in place. Beams put on the slab won't stop the slab from shifting without those piers.

 

Homes built in areas that haven't been farmed have harder , settled ground, which is totally different than when truckloads need to be brought in. They don't need soil brought in as they're already high enough being not around surrounding rice and other farm fields.

Unless you backfill with clay, nothing is going to stop the water from going down into the ground.

 

You had cracks because the go deep enough or wasn't level.   Just poor construction.  None of my house have, had crack walls due to foundation issues.   Just the first house, and only at the add on points, which actually was expected, and easy cosmetic fix.  Probably could have been avoided, but too expensive and unnecessary. 

 

Waterproofing, moisture barrier, and raised flooring will avoid any water damage.  

 

Building home on rice land, never.  Fool's folly as too expensive to do it right.  That's why rice land sells cheap, but very expensive in the long run.

Just now, KhunLA said:

Unless you backfill with clay, nothing is going to stop the water from going down into the ground.

 

You had cracks because the go deep enough or wasn't level.   Just poor construction.  None of my house have, had crack walls due to foundation issues.   Just the first house, and only at the add on points, which actually was expected, and easy cosmetic fix.  Probably could have been avoided, but too expensive and unnecessary. 

 

Waterproofing, moisture barrier, and raised flooring will avoid any water damage.  

When I lived in Texas, I saw cracks in many, many homes, from many different builders, an many of my friends and family's homes. Hard ground, a lot more rocky than here.  The soil matters a lot.

 

Here they put piers down into the original soil, 2 meters for my house. He needs soil, which means they're building on a farm , where the house needs to be above the flood plain. That soil usually comes from the same area, meaning farm soil, which is the same as where he's building. Unless they go down below that filled soil, that house can shift in certain areas, depending on how many piers are put in. I see the same construction on all houses in farm areas by different builders here. 2 meters above the surrounding area. If not a farm area, soil isn't needed but leveling of soil there already.

 

Yes, leveling the soil is as important as how deep piers are put in, but I watched them leveling the land for my house. My builder wasn't too swift in some things, but the slab was put in right, along with the piers. That the soil wasn't there long enough made a difference in the land settling, which happens a lot in extreme conditions, like Thailand and Texas has. The concrete walls they have here are also a problem, prone to cracking with movement, as they use wood in the states, along with brick, and wood will give a little, but you'll notice some bricks outside will have cracks while the inside sheet rock will be okay.

 

Yes, it takes an all around competent builder to ensure less problems, but they're hard to come by here, a shortcuts and cheap materials cause many problems.

34 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

When I lived in Texas, I saw cracks in many, many homes, from many different builders, an many of my friends and family's homes. Hard ground, a lot more rocky than here.  The soil matters a lot.

 

Here they put piers down into the original soil, 2 meters for my house. He needs soil, which means they're building on a farm , where the house needs to be above the flood plain. That soil usually comes from the same area, meaning farm soil, which is the same as where he's building. Unless they go down below that filled soil, that house can shift in certain areas, depending on how many piers are put in. I see the same construction on all houses in farm areas by different builders here. 2 meters above the surrounding area. If not a farm area, soil isn't needed but leveling of soil there already.

 

Yes, leveling the soil is as important as how deep piers are put in, but I watched them leveling the land for my house. My builder wasn't too swift in some things, but the slab was put in right, along with the piers. That the soil wasn't there long enough made a difference in the land settling, which happens a lot in extreme conditions, like Thailand and Texas has. The concrete walls they have here are also a problem, prone to cracking with movement, as they use wood in the states, along with brick, and wood will give a little, but you'll notice some bricks outside will have cracks while the inside sheet rock will be okay.

 

Yes, it takes an all around competent builder to ensure less problems, but they're hard to come by here, a shortcuts and cheap materials cause many problems.

You need to choose better builders in the future.  No reason for cracks in walls.  Just poor construction, material use.

 

I like how people assess houses here somethings ... 'good house 👍 not too many cracks'

On 7/5/2025 at 7:24 PM, tezzaaa said:

Hi, 

I'm trying to find out how much it would cost for filling/raising land for a surface of 120 sq metres (including compacting). We'd like to raise it by about 50cm as we will build on tilt.. we'd need the dirt/filling to be delivered by truck (we are not thinking of digging a pond).

 

Thank you 😊 

You need 60m3

 

10 truck loads a 6m3 around 300,- baht each, but I do not understand why only 120m2, how big is your land? You will need to shape your land so water drains off it, as well make space for outside area at least as big as your house you intend to building+ outside kitchen 30-40m2, car parking etc

40 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

You need to choose better builders in the future.  No reason for cracks in walls.  Just poor construction, material use.

 

I like how people assess houses here somethings ... 'good house 👍 not too many cracks'

 

40 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

You need to choose better builders in the future.  No reason for cracks in walls.  Just poor construction, material use.

 

I like how people assess houses here somethings ... 'good house 👍 not too many cracks'

It's the soil and fluctuating temperatures that make cracks. I know builders in Texas.......https://foundationrepairs.com/why-texas-homes-are-susceptible-to-foundation-problems/. and New Jersey,......https://www.groundworks.com/resources/new-jersey-foundation-damage-causes/. both places with extreme conditions and soils that expand. Same story. It happens to good builders also. Clay soils expand. Texas is number 1 in foundation problems. My house had to have extra piers installed just before I moved here because of the soil, and many houses in my subdivision, built by various builders, also had the problems. Some here are just lucky, as this isn't known as a good building country. The US is. This is also the reason most homes in Texas don't have basements, and why many in New Jersey have cracks in the basement walls. All over the state. They can be prevented to a degree in areas if measures are taken, both by professionals before the build, and after by using a soaker hose.............https://wafflemat.com/blogs/news/why-is-texas-1-in-foundation-failures