After moving over a million yards of dirt across the DFW metroplex and Denver metro, the single most common question we get is some version of: "Can I just use the cheap stuff?" The answer depends entirely on what you are building, where the fill is going, and what sits on top of it. Here is the honest breakdown of clean fill versus unscreened fill so you can make the right call for your project.
What Is Clean Fill Dirt?
Clean fill dirt is native soil that has been screened through a grizzly or vibrating screen to remove rocks larger than about 2 inches, root balls, concrete chunks, rebar, and general construction debris. What comes out the other side is a consistent, uniform material with a predictable composition. In the DFW area, that typically means a screened sandy clay or clay loam. In Denver, it leans toward a screened clay or sandy material depending on the source site.
The screening process matters because consistency is what gives you reliable compaction. When every yard that comes off the truck has roughly the same particle size distribution, you can compact it in 6-inch lifts and hit 95% standard Proctor density without surprises. A 6-inch rock buried in your third lift creates a void underneath it. That void settles later, and whatever is sitting on top of it moves with it.
Clean fill also means the material has been visually inspected and sourced from known excavation sites, not demolition jobs, old industrial lots, or unknown stockpiles. There is no buried drywall, no rotten wood, no old pipe insulation, and no mystery chemicals leaching into the soil around your foundation.
What Is Unscreened Fill?
Unscreened fill is raw excavation material hauled straight from a dig site to your property with no processing in between. A contractor digs a foundation or a swimming pool, loads the spoils into a truck, and dumps it wherever someone will take it. The composition varies wildly, not just from load to load, but within the same load. One scoop from the excavator might be pure clay. The next might have a 40-pound limestone rock, a tree root the size of your arm, and a chunk of old sidewalk.
Unscreened fill is sometimes available for $5 to $8 per yard, and occasionally free if a contractor needs to get rid of spoils quickly and your site is closer than the landfill. That price difference is real. On a 200-yard project, the savings could be $1,000 or more. But that savings comes with tradeoffs you need to understand before you commit.
What You Might Find in Unscreened Fill
We have seen all of it over the past decade. Rocks ranging from fist-sized to basketball-sized. Root balls that decompose underground over 2 to 3 years, leaving voids that cause sinkholes in your yard. Pieces of concrete, broken pipe, rebar stubs, wire mesh. In DFW, the expansive clay soil already moves 1 to 3 inches seasonally. Add decomposing organic material into your fill, and that movement gets worse and less predictable. In Denver, freeze-thaw cycles amplify the problem further since water collects in voids around debris, freezes, expands, and shifts the soil above it every winter.
When Clean Fill Is Required
Use clean fill for any application where compaction performance matters, where the fill will be visible, or where settling creates a real problem. That list covers most residential and commercial projects.
Under structures and slabs. Any fill supporting a foundation, driveway, patio, retaining wall, or concrete slab needs to be clean. Building codes in most DFW and Denver municipalities require engineered fill with verified compaction for structural applications. An inspector will not sign off on compaction tests run over material full of 8-inch rocks and root wads.
Next to existing foundations. If you are filling against a house foundation to correct drainage or re-grade after construction, clean fill is mandatory. Debris against a foundation wall creates pathways for water. In DFW, where the clay expands and contracts with moisture changes, inconsistent material next to your foundation accelerates differential movement.
Residential yards and visible areas. Anywhere you plan to put sod, plant landscaping, or walk regularly needs clean fill topped with topsoil. Rocks and debris work their way to the surface over time as rain and irrigation wash finer particles downward. Two years after grading with unscreened fill, you will be picking concrete chunks out of your lawn.
Compaction-tested applications. If a geotechnical engineer is involved and compaction testing is required, the testing assumes uniform material. Mixed debris creates inconsistent density readings and will fail tests, costing you time and re-work.
When Unscreened Fill Is Acceptable
Unscreened fill has legitimate uses when the material will be buried deep enough that its inconsistency does not matter at the surface.
Deep fills buried more than 2 feet. If you are filling a ravine, old pond, or low area and the unscreened material will sit 2 or more feet below finished grade, with clean fill on top, the debris and inconsistency are less of a concern. The clean fill cap gives you a uniform surface to compact and build on.
Rural property grading. Large acreage where you are raising an area by several feet and the final surface will be pasture or natural ground. No structures, no foot traffic, no compaction requirements.
Temporary construction roads. Access roads on active job sites that will be torn up and removed at the end of the project. Rocks in the fill actually help with traction in mud.
Non-structural bulk volume. Filling behind a large retaining wall where the structural backfill zone (the first 3 to 4 feet behind the wall) uses clean material, and the remaining volume farther back is less critical.
The Contamination Risk Nobody Mentions
The biggest risk with unscreened fill is not the rocks. It is not knowing where the material came from. Free fill offered on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace could be excavated from a former gas station, dry cleaner, auto shop, or industrial site. Soil from these locations can contain petroleum hydrocarbons, heavy metals, solvents, or other contaminants that you are now legally responsible for once it sits on your property.
In Texas, the property owner bears liability for contaminated soil regardless of who put it there. Remediation costs start at $10,000 and climb fast. We have seen homeowners accept free fill to save $2,000, then spend $25,000 cleaning it up when the contamination was discovered during a later property sale. The savings are not worth the risk unless you know exactly where the material was excavated and what the site history is.
How to Inspect Fill Quality
If you are evaluating fill dirt from any source, here is what to look for. Grab a handful from several spots in the pile, not just the top. Consistent color and texture across samples is good. Variations in color, especially dark streaks or chemical odors, are red flags. Break apart any clumps. Clean fill should crumble into relatively uniform particles without revealing hidden debris. Look at the base of the stockpile where rain has washed fines away since rocks and debris concentrate there and tell you what is hiding inside.
For large projects, a simple proctor test on a sample costs $150 to $300 and tells you exactly how the material will perform under compaction. That test cost is insignificant compared to ripping out and replacing 100 yards of fill that would not compact.
What We Deliver
Every load of fill dirt from Fill Dirt Near Me is screened clean fill. We source from known excavation sites in the DFW metroplex and Denver metro area, and we screen to remove rocks, roots, and debris. Our fill dirt runs $10 per yard in DFW and $15 per yard in Denver, delivered. No hidden fees. We also carry topsoil at $17 per yard in DFW and $22 per yard in Denver, structural fill at $20 per yard in DFW and $25 per yard in Denver, and select fill at $20 per yard in DFW.
Minimum order is 10 yards. We run tandem trucks carrying 10 yards, tri-axle trucks at 16 yards, and end dump or side dump trailers at 18 yards. If you order before 10 AM, same-day delivery is available. Need help figuring out how many yards your project requires? Use our fill dirt calculator for a quick estimate.
Text or call us at (469) 523-6420 or email support@filldirtnearme.net. We are available Monday through Saturday, 7 AM to 5 PM. We accept Zelle and Venmo. Tell us what you are building, and we will tell you exactly what material and how many yards you need.