Shelby County
Fill dirt delivery in Pelham, AL
Revised October 2026
Raise a low spot, build a pad, fill a hole or bring a lot to grade. Delivered to Ballantrae, Chandalar, Oak Mountain and the rest of Pelham.
Most fill orders in Pelham are about water and grade: a low spot that stays soft, a pad that needs building up, a slope that needs holding. Red clay fill is what gets delivered most around here, because it packs hard and sheds water. If the job is a pad or backfill, ask for clay. If you will be spreading it by hand around Ballantrae, screened fill is easier to work.
Fill dirt jobs in Pelham
Pelham occupies the Cahaba Valley between Shades Mountain to the northwest and Oak Mountain (Double Oak Mountain) to the southeast, which is sandstone with steep, rocky slopes. The valley floor is shale and limestone with red clay, and Buck Creek and the Cahaba River run through the low ground, so lots along Highway 31 and Cahaba Valley Road can sit in or near floodplain. Subdivisions on the mountain flanks, like Ballantrae, have thin soil over rock and fast runoff that gullies new grading.
What it is for
- Raising a low spot that holds water
- Building up a pad for a shed, pool or driveway
- Backfilling a trench, a stump hole or an old pool
- Filling behind a retaining wall or a new foundation
Fill dirt is not for growing anything. Grass and plants need topsoil on top of it, usually four to six inches.
Getting the truck in
Mixed: HOA subdivisions with narrow streets and no staging room, plus older lots off Highway 31 and Cahaba Valley Road with long driveways; mountain-side lots can be too steep for a loaded truck to back in.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between fill dirt and topsoil?
Fill dirt is subsoil: clay, sand and rock with almost no organic matter. It is for structure, raising grade and filling holes. Topsoil is the dark upper layer with organic matter that grass and plants grow in. If you are building something, you want fill. If you are growing something, you want topsoil on top of it.
How many yards of fill dirt are in a dump truck?
A single-axle dump truck carries about 8 cubic yards. A tandem, the most common delivery truck around Birmingham, carries 10 to 14 yards. A tri-axle carries 14 to 18 yards. Dirt is heavy, so a truck often carries fewer yards of wet clay than of dry fill.
Can a dump truck reach my spot in Pelham?
Mixed: HOA subdivisions with narrow streets and no staging room, plus older lots off Highway 31 and Cahaba Valley Road with long driveways; mountain-side lots can be too steep for a loaded truck to back in. Say what the access is like on the quote form and the price will allow for the right size truck.
What does fill dirt cost delivered to Pelham?
Typical fill dirt prices for Pelham are in Table 1 above: $150 to $350 a truckload. The delivered price depends on how far the yard or quarry is from your address, so ask for a quote with your zip.
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