Earthwork Estimating and Takeoff Services

We quantify earthwork from your civil drawings and surface models — cut and fill volumes by area, adjusted for shrink and swell, with stripping, subgrade preparation, import and export quantities and haul — and deliver an itemized Excel workbook with a marked-up plan set. Flat-quoted from your plan set before we start.

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What We Take Off

Earthwork is the one trade where the quantity and the cost live in different units. Soil is measured in place, hauled loose, and paid for compacted, and the same material can occupy three different volumes in a single day. An earthwork number that reports one cubic-yard figure has already lost the information that decides whether the site balances.

Existing and proposed surface comparisoncut and fill volumes computed between surfaces, reported by area and by phase rather than as a single site-wide net

Topsoil stripping and stockpileCY stripped at the specified depth, stockpile volume and footprint, and respread quantity with the difference between the two reported as surplus or deficit

Mass excavationCY of cut by material type, separating common earth, granular material, unsuitable material and rock where the geotechnical report distinguishes them

Structural excavationfoundation, footing and pit excavation as separate quantities from mass grading, with working space and side-slope allowances stated

Rock excavationCY where rock is identified, separating rippable from blasted, with the trigger condition and the basis for the classification stated

Engineered and structural fillCY placed and compacted by fill type, against the compaction requirement specified for each zone

BackfillCY around foundations, walls and utilities, distinguishing select granular backfill from suitable on-site material

Subgrade preparationproof-rolling, scarifying, moisture conditioning, over-excavation and undercut of unsuitable material, with the replacement quantity carried alongside

Shrink and swell adjustmentbank, loose and compacted volumes reported separately so the truck count and the pay quantity are both correct

Import and exportCY of borrow to be imported and spoil to be exported, with haul distance, round-trip time and the assumed disposal or borrow site stated

Haul and truck countsloads by truck capacity for both import and export, derived from loose volume rather than from bank or compacted volume

Aggregate base and subbaseCY and tonnage by course and depth, kept separate from structural fill because the material and the test requirements differ

Site dewateringpumping, sumps, well points and discharge, quantified where the groundwater elevation in the geotechnical report intersects the excavation

Excavation supportshoring, trench boxes, sheet piling, soldier piles and benching, with the choice tied to depth, soil type and property-line constraints

Erosion and sediment controlsilt fence LF, inlet protection, construction entrances, check dams, sediment basins, temporary seeding and the maintenance duration required by the permit

Fine gradingSF or SY of finished subgrade to tolerance, separated from mass grading because it is a different operation at a different rate

Site clearing and grubbingacreage, tree removal by size, stump disposal and demolition of existing surfaces where they precede the earthwork

Compaction testing interfacethe number of tests implied by the specification's frequency, and whose contract they sit in

How Earthwork Quantities Are Measured

Every quantity below is reported in the unit the scope is actually bought and bid in — not converted into a single convenient unit that hides where the cost sits.

Cut and fillCY bankBank cubic yards — material measured in place, undisturbed. This is the volume the drawings describe and the basis every other figure derives from.

Hauled materialCY looseLoose volume after excavation, typically larger than bank. This is what fills trucks, so it is the only correct basis for a load count.

Placed fillCY compactedCompacted volume in place. Usually less than bank for cohesive soils, which is why fill demand and cut supply never match one-for-one.

Topsoil strip and respreadCY and SFBoth — depth times area gives volume, but the stockpile footprint is a site-logistics constraint that only area shows.

Aggregate baseCY and TONCubic yards for placement, tons for purchase and delivery. The conversion depends on the material's compacted density, so both are reported.

Rock excavationCYSeparated from common excavation and from each other by method — rippable versus blasted — because the unit costs are not comparable.

Fine gradingSY or SFAn area operation to a tolerance, not a volume. Reporting it inside mass excavation loses it entirely.

Erosion controlLF and EASilt fence and check dams by linear foot; inlet protection and construction entrances by count, with the permit's maintenance duration noted.

Excavation supportSF of faceShoring and sheeting by the square footage of face retained, which is what governs both material and installation.

HaulLoads and CY-milesTruck loads from loose volume, with haul distance carried so the cost can be recalculated if the disposal site changes.

DewateringDays / system EAPriced by system and duration rather than volume, since the cost is mobilization and time, not gallons.

Who This Is For

General contractors carrying this trade directly, or checking a subcontractor's number before it goes into the bid.

Subcontractors pricing their own scope in this division.

Developers and owners validating a number they've already been given.

Material suppliers and distributors verifying a customer's order.

What You Receive

An itemized Excel takeoff, organized by division
A marked-up plan set — every quantity traces back to a location on the drawings
Labor, material and equipment split out separately
Waste and overage factors shown as visible line items
An assumptions and exclusions schedule

Marked-up earthwork plan crop

What Moves the Number on Earthwork

Shrink and swell, and whether the site balances. Excavated soil swells; placed and compacted soil shrinks. Granular materials, common earth and clay each behave differently, and the project's own geotechnical report is the only reliable source for the factors. Get this wrong and a site that appears balanced on paper needs imported borrow or paid export — the single largest swing in most earthwork estimates.

Compaction requirement by zone. Structural fill beneath a building and fill under landscaping are not the same work. Specifications commonly require a percentage of Modified Proctor under structures and Standard Proctor elsewhere. A higher requirement means thinner lifts, more passes, tighter moisture control and more testing.

Haul distance and disposal cost. Export volume is only half the cost; where it goes is the other half. Round-trip haul time sets the truck count, and tipping or disposal fees can rival the excavation itself. Because both are site-specific and often unknown at bid, we state the distance and disposal basis we assumed.

Unsuitable material and undercut. Encountering unsuitable soil means excavating it, disposing of it, and replacing it with engineered fill — three costs where the drawings showed one. The geotechnical report indicates the risk; the specification says who carries it.

Rock, groundwater and excavation support. Rock changes the method. Groundwater above the excavation elevation brings dewatering. Depth and property lines bring shoring or sheeting under OSHA's excavation requirements. All three come from the geotechnical report and the site constraints, not from the grading plan.

Erosion control duration. Silt fence, inlet protection and construction entrances are cheap to install and are then maintained, inspected and eventually removed for the whole permit period. Priced as an installation quantity only, the maintenance obligation goes missing.

What We Need From You

A complete set is ideal, but rarely what exists. Send what you have — we will tell you at quote stage what can be quantified firm and what has to be an allowance.

Civil drawings — existing conditions, grading plan and proposed contours
Digital surface models or point files, where they exist — they produce a materially better volume than contour interpolation
Geotechnical report — the governing document for soil classification, shrink and swell, groundwater and compaction
Specification sections for Division 31, especially fill classification and compaction requirements
Site and utility plans, so utility trench excavation is not double-counted with mass grading
Erosion and sediment control plan, plus the applicable permit conditions
Structural foundation plan, for structural excavation and backfill quantities
Survey or topographic data, and any known constraints such as easements or property-line setbacks

How It Works

1 Send your plans — PDF, DWG, DOC, images or ZIP, up to 100MB per file.
2 Get your quote — a flat price for the scope with a delivery date, confirmed in writing.
3 Approve — nothing starts until you confirm.
4 We take it off — quantities from the drawings and schedules.
5 Delivery — workbook, marked-up set, assumptions schedule.

How Pricing and Turnaround Work

Every project is priced individually from your drawings. Send the plan set and you get a flat quote for the scope before any work starts — no hourly billing, no open-ended engagement.

Turnaround depends on the size of the package and how many trades are in scope — which is why you get a firm delivery date with your quote rather than a generic promise.

Tools and Standards

Takeoffs are produced in Bluebeam, PlanSwift, Trimble, STACK, organized against CSI MasterFormat divisions — this scope is specified under Division 31 — Earthwork.

Quantities and assemblies are read against the published standards that govern this trade, because the standard is what decides whether two apparently identical items are actually the same line item:

ASTM D698 — Standard Proctor moisture-density relationship
ASTM D1557 — Modified Proctor moisture-density relationship
ASTM D6938 — in-place density and water content by nuclear methods
ASTM D2487 / D2488 — Unified Soil Classification System
AASHTO soil classification and state DOT earthwork specifications
OSHA 29 CFR 1926 Subpart P — excavation and trench protection requirements
EPA NPDES construction general permit — erosion and sediment control obligations

Pricing is built on RSMeans cost data localized to your project's market, then reconciled against current supplier quotes and our own completed project costs. Every estimate states its pricing basis and the date it was priced.

Why Earthwork Is Estimated Wrong

Cut and fill netted to a single number. A site reported as net zero can still require substantial import and export once shrink and swell are applied, once unsuitable material is removed, and once the phasing means cut in one area is not available when fill is needed in another. The net figure conceals every one of those.

One volume state used throughout. Bank, loose and compacted volumes are all different, and each has its own correct use — bank for the drawings, loose for truck counts, compacted for pay quantities. Using a single figure for all three guarantees the haul count or the fill demand is wrong.

Compaction requirement read as one number for the site. Different zones carry different requirements, and the difference between a Standard and a Modified Proctor requirement is real production loss — thinner lifts, more passes, tighter moisture control. The specification sets it zone by zone.

Topsoil stripped but never respread. Stripping is usually estimated; respreading at the specified landscape depth is frequently forgotten, along with the fact that stripped volume and respread demand rarely match. The difference is either surplus to haul away or topsoil to buy.

Utility trench excavation double-counted. When mass grading and site utilities are taken off independently, trench volume within the graded area often appears in both. It is a genuine coordination error rather than a rounding one, and it moves the number in the expensive direction.

Related Estimating Services

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you apply shrink and swell factors?

Yes, and they are shown as visible line items with the factor used stated. Where the geotechnical report gives factors for the actual soils we use those; where it does not, we state the assumption explicitly, because this is the largest single variable in an earthwork estimate.

Can you work from a surface model rather than contours?

Yes, and it is better. A digital surface or point file produces volumes computed between real surfaces rather than interpolated between contour lines. If you only have PDF contours we can still do the work, and we will tell you what precision to expect.

Do you report import and export separately?

Always. Borrow to be imported and spoil to be exported are separate line items with haul distance and the assumed disposal or borrow source stated, because the same volume costs very differently depending on where it goes.

Is topsoil stripping and respreading included?

Yes, as two quantities rather than one. Stripped volume, stockpile footprint and respread demand are reported separately, and any surplus or deficit between them is carried through to the haul figures.

How do you handle rock and unsuitable material?

We quantify them where the geotechnical report identifies them, separating rippable from blasted rock and carrying undercut with its replacement fill. Where the report is silent, we state that the risk is unquantified rather than burying an allowance in a unit rate.

Do you include erosion and sediment control?

Yes — silt fence, inlet protection, construction entrances, check dams and basins, with the maintenance and inspection duration the permit requires, since that duration is often a larger cost than the initial installation.

Does the takeoff include utility trench excavation?

It can, but it is reported separately and flagged, precisely so it is not counted twice when the site utilities package is priced. Double-counted trench volume is one of the most common errors when earthwork and utilities are estimated independently.

What if there is no geotechnical report?

We quantify from the civil drawings and state every soil assumption in the assumptions schedule — classification, shrink and swell, groundwater and compaction. On earthwork, a missing geotechnical report is the difference between a firm number and an educated one, and you should know which you are holding.

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