Earthwork estimating and takeoff services

Cut and fill volumes, net import or export, topsoil stripping, rough and fine grading areas, building pad preparation, subgrade compaction, soil stabilization, rock allowances, detention ponds, and erosion and sediment control such as silt fence, inlet protection and construction entrances.

Earthwork is the whole of the ground preparation: grading the site, building the pad, compaction, stabilization and erosion control. Excavation is the digging part of it, such as mass cut, trenches and footing excavation. The two are estimated from the same drawings and usually bid together; our excavation estimating page covers the cut and fill modeling in more detail.

The existing ground and the proposed ground are each built as a surface from contours and spot elevations, and the volume between them is calculated. Where the proposed surface is lower the difference is cut; where it is higher it is fill. On one fuel station site that came to 195 cubic yards of cut and 664 of fill.

Yes, where factors are given or requested. Excavated soil swells when loosened and shrinks when compacted, so truck volumes and required fill differ from bank volumes. The factor used is stated on the estimate so it can be changed.

Yes. Compaction requirements, subgrade treatment, undercut of unsuitable soil, topsoil depth and rock are taken from the soils report, and each line that comes from it carries the report page reference.

Yes. Silt fence and erosion logs are measured in linear feet, blankets by area, and inlet filters, construction entrances and washouts are counted. On one site, erosion control was $27,910 of a $97,492 earthwork estimate.

It varies widely with how much the grade changes and what the soils report requires. On one 96,700 square foot fuel station site we estimated, earthwork trade cost was about $1.01 per square foot of site before markups.

Yes. This page shows a full sample from a finished job (earthwork, for a childcare center site in Texas), which you can open full screen and read page by page. It was built to that client's own specification, so the wage rates, pricing and overhead and profit are theirs. Ask us for a current sample in your own trade.

From our own pricing database, built with local vendors across the United States. An estimator enters the project's ZIP code and gets current material prices for that market, and vendors update their prices as they change. Labor is priced as union or open shop, or at Davis-Bacon rates with fringes on government work.

Yes. The estimate is delivered as an editable Excel workbook with the formulas built in. Change any quantity, rate or markup and the whole estimate recalculates. If overhead and profit was set at 25% and you want 30%, change that one cell and every total updates, so you can adjust your number minutes before the bid is due without sending it back to us.

As many as you need. Every revision is free, including addenda, scope changes and pricing updates, however many times you come back, and there is no time limit. Revisions are handled on priority and are typically returned within an hour to a few hours, depending on the size of the change.

A single site starts at $199, and simple scopes typically run $100 to $250. Larger sites typically run $200 to $500, and large or multi-phase sites are quoted individually. The quote is free and usually comes back in about 20 minutes.

Yes. Every estimate is built to the client's own specification. Send your unit prices, equipment rates or template and the package is returned that way, or order quantities and the cut and fill report alone.