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Earthwork & Grading Estimating Services
Cut, fill, over-ex, import, export, and haul, priced the way a grading contractor actually builds it. Every earthwork estimate starts with the geotech report and ends with a number you'd put your own equipment behind.
Scope
What an Earthwork Estimate Covers
- Mass grading: cut and fill volumes from existing and proposed surfaces, site balance, and phasing of the move.
- Shrink and swell: bank, loose, and compacted volumes carried through so the balance you bid is the balance you build.
- Over-excavation and recompaction: depths and lateral limits under building pads, footings, and pavements, straight from the geotechnical recommendations.
- Import and export: borrow sources, fill material specs, export haul routes, and dump or pit fees.
- Topsoil strip and clear & grub: strip depths, stockpile, respread, or haul-off.
- Subgrade preparation: scarify, moisture condition, and recompact for pavements, flatwork, and pads.
- Fine grade: building pads, paving subgrade, and landscape areas.
- Rock and caliche: excavatability from the boring logs and what it means for equipment, production, and risk.
- Dust control, water, and SWPPP: water trucks, track-out, and erosion control that go with the dirt.
Priced by Production, Not by the Yard
A cubic yard has no fixed price. It depends on the haul distance, the equipment spread, the material, the compaction spec, and the schedule. We build earthwork pricing from the operation: scraper cycles vs. excavator and truck loading, dozer push distances, compaction passes, water, and the operator hours to get it done. Then we check the unit cost against what the work actually runs in the field, because we've run it.
The Geotech Is Where Grading Bids Are Won or Lost
Most earthwork misses come from the soils report: a 24-inch over-ex instead of 12, a limit of 5 feet beyond the footprint, a moisture window on expansive clay, or fill that has to be imported because the on-site material won't meet spec. We read the whole report, carry every requirement into the quantities, and flag anything unclear for an RFI. See How to Read a Geotech Report for Over-Excavation.
Deliverables
A cut/fill map and 3D rendering of the site, marked-up plans, and an Excel workbook with quantities and production calcs. On a full bid, you also get trucking and supplier quotes, a scope letter, and a filled-out bid form. Need quantities only? See sitework takeoffs.
Common Questions
How do you calculate cut and fill?
We build existing and proposed surfaces from the grading plan and survey, calculate cut and fill volumes to subgrade, not just finish grade, then carry shrink and swell factors and over-excavation from the geotechnical report to arrive at the real site balance and import or export.
What do you need to estimate earthwork?
The civil grading plans, the geotechnical report, the bid form, and ideally a topographic survey or CAD surfaces. Site photos or a job-walk video help when existing grades may not match current conditions.
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