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Civil Engineering & Construction vocabulary · Foundations and Soil

Backfill

Meaning in civil engineering & construction, with examples

/ˈbækfɪl/nounCommon term

In civil engineering & construction, backfill means: Soil or granular material placed back into an excavation around foundations, pipes or walls after they have been built; also the act of filling it.

In Turkish: geri dolgu, dolgu

How it is used

Used as a noun and a verb: you backfill a trench, and the backfill is placed and compacted in layers. Specifications say which materials can be used as backfill and how thick each layer may be.

Example sentences

  1. Don't backfill the trench until the pipe has been pressure tested.

  2. The backfill behind the retaining wall must be free-draining gravel.

Common collocations

  • backfill material
  • granular backfill
  • backfill in layers
  • compacted backfill
  • excavationThe process of digging out and removing soil or rock to make space for foundations, basements, trenches or tunnels; also the hole that is dug.
  • compactionPressing soil or fill together, usually with rollers or plate compactors, to remove air, make it denser and stronger, and reduce later settlement.
  • retaining wallA wall built to hold back soil or water where the ground level changes suddenly, for example beside a road cutting or around a basement.
  • earthworksAll the work of moving soil on a site: excavating, transporting, filling, compacting and shaping the ground to the required levels.

More terms: Foundations and Soil

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