Units of measure for sitework
Each piece of sitework work has its own unit, and keeping them apart is what makes the estimate checkable. These are the units estimators use and how each is measured.
| Item | Unit | How it's measured |
|---|---|---|
| Excavation and fill | CY | Cut and fill volumes from existing and proposed grades, by grid or cross-section. |
| Trenching | LF | Utility runs by depth and width, with bedding and backfill. |
| Aggregate base | SY or tons | Area × thickness, converted to tons where the supplier sells by weight. |
| Asphalt paving | SY or tons | Area by lift thickness, converted to tons. |
| Haul | CY loose or loads | Excavated volume × swell, ÷ truck capacity. |
| Erosion control | LF / each | Silt fence, inlet protection and construction entrances. |
How estimators take off sitework
- Compute cut and fill. Compare existing and proposed surfaces by grid or cross-section to get bank cubic yards of cut and compacted yards of fill.
- Balance the site. Apply swell and shrink to see what must be imported or exported.
- Measure utilities and paving. Trench LF by depth; base and paving by area and thickness.
- Match equipment to quantities. Pick the fleet and use production per crew-day to get equipment days.
- Add trucking, dewatering and testing. Haul distance, dump fees, dewatering, compaction testing and erosion control are separate lines.
Waste factors and order quantities
Waste covers cut-offs, breakage, laps and spillage, and it's added to the net quantity before rounding up to what the supplier sells. These are typical planning figures; your own job history is the better number.
| Item | Factor | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Swell (common earth) | 20 to 30% | Typical planning figure for bank to loose volume when hauling. |
| Shrink (compacted fill) | 10 to 20% | Typical planning figure for bank to compacted volume; soils vary widely. |
Crew production rates
Labor is quantity divided by production. These rates are per 8-hour crew-day for commercial work, from the same library as the crew-day production estimator: typical mid-range planning values with a low-to-high range, not a promise of output. Crew skill, layout, access and weather move them, and your own crews' records beat any library.
| Activity | Crew | Low | Typical | High | Labor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulk excavation, load trucks | 1 operator, 1 laborer | 400 | 600 CY | 900 | 2.7 hrs per 100 CY |
| Utility trench, 4 ft deep, backfill | 1 operator, 2 laborers | 150 | 220 LF | 320 | 10.9 hrs per 100 LF |
| Aggregate base, spread and compact 6 in | 1 operator, 2 laborers | 600 | 900 SY | 1,300 | 2.7 hrs per 100 SY |
| Asphalt paving, 2 in lift | Paving crew of 6 | 1,500 | 2,200 SY | 3,000 | 2.2 hrs per 100 SY |
- Bulk excavation, load trucks 400 to 900 CY, typical 600
- Utility trench, 4 ft deep, backfill 150 to 320 LF, typical 220
- Aggregate base, spread and compact 6 in 600 to 1,300 SY, typical 900
- Asphalt paving, 2 in lift 1,500 to 3,000 SY, typical 2,200
Worked example: 15,000 CY of bulk excavation loaded to trucks
The activity is bulk excavation, load trucks, with a crew of 1 operator, 1 laborer at the typical rate of 600 CY per crew-day:
- Crew-days: 15,000 CY ÷ 600 = 25 crew-days.
- Labor hours: 25 crew-days × 2 workers × 8 hours = 400 hours.
- Range: 16.7 crew-days at the high rate to 37.5 at the low rate, a spread of 20.8 crew-days on the same quantity.
- Equipment: Excavator (30 to 40 ton), about 25 equipment-days.
Multiply the labor hours by your burdened hourly cost to price the labor. The spread between the low and high rate is why production is the assumption to check first on a sitework bid: the same takeoff can carry very different labor. Run your own quantities in the crew-day production estimator, and get the burdened rate from the labor burden calculator.
What drives the cost
- Soil conditions. Rock, water and unsuitable soils are the biggest risks; state what's assumed.
- Haul distance. Truck cycle times and dump fees can outweigh the excavation itself.
- Equipment fleet. Matching machines to quantities decides production; owning versus renting changes the hourly cost.
- Weather. Wet seasons stop earthwork and can require drying or replacing soils.
Common exclusions and clarifications
A sitework price is only as good as the scope it describes. These exclusions come from our scope library for sitework and excavation (CSI 31 00 00); list the ones that apply so the GC levels your number fairly.
- Rock excavation, blasting and removal of unsuitable soils.
- Import or export of material beyond the quantities stated.
- Dewatering.
- Survey and layout.
- Testing and inspection.
- Erosion control maintenance after substantial completion of our work.
Clarifications that often go with them:
- Quantities based on the grading plan; import or export beyond the stated quantities is extra.
- Rock and unsuitable soils excluded unless listed.
Pick, edit and export these in the scope inclusions and exclusions library, or load them straight into a proposal with the bid proposal builder.
Free tools for sitework estimating
- Crew-day production estimator: turn sitework quantities into crew-days, duration and labor hours with the rates on this page.
- Labor burden calculator: find the true cost of a crew hour, with taxes, insurance and benefits.
- Scope inclusions and exclusions library: pick proposal-ready sitework exclusions and clarifications.
- Bid proposal builder: send a branded sitework proposal with the scope language loaded.
- Equipment own vs rent calculator: compare the hourly cost of owning a machine with renting it.