1. Pricing Excavation and Backfill
Chapter 10
Pricing Excavation and Backfill

2. Objectives Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to:
Describe the job factors and the labor and management factors that influence the price of excavation and backfill operations
Use historic productivity rates to calculate the unit price of labor and equipment for excavation and backfill work

3. Objectives (cont’d.)
Calculate the price of gravels and other backfill materials
Calculate trucking requirements for hauling excavated material and gravels
Complete the recap and pricing of excavation and backfill work using manual methods
Use Excel spreadsheets to price excavation and backfill work

4. Excavation Equipment and Methods
Specialized excavation contractors
Concentrate on a single construction type:
Vast array of excavation equipment
Wide scope of work
Common activities:
Site cut and fill operations
Basement-type excavations
Trench excavations
Pit and sump excavations

5. Excavation Equipment and Methods (cont’d.)
Equipment transportation expenses:
Priced on an item-by-item basis
Site cut and fill operations:
Equipment depends on project scale
Basement excavations:
Often performed with a track backhoe
Large basements: one or more track loaders

6. Excavation Equipment and Methods (cont’d.)
Trench excavations:
Smaller trenches: trenching machines
Larger trenches: backhoes
Pit and sump excavations:
Mostly performed using backhoes
Hand excavation:
Rarely used

7. Excavation Productivity
Job factors:
Type of material excavated or backfilled
Moisture condition of materials
Weather conditions expected
Site access and project size/complexity
Distance to haul materials for disposal
Availability of gravels and fill materials
Wage and price levels at the job location

8. Excavation Productivity (cont’d.)
Labor and management factors
Quality of job supervision
Quality of job labor
Motivation and morale of workers
Type and quality of tools and equipment
Experience and records of similar past projects

9. Excavation Work Crews Labor price per unit of excavation work
Elements to consider:
Number of workers that comprise the work crew and their trades
Wage rates of trades involved
Probable productivity rate of crew or equipment they are operating
Productivity time factor

10. Productivity Rates Sources:
Provided in publications (e.g., Means Building Construction Cost Data)
Use with caution: general reflect ideal conditions
Also available from manufacturers
May be compiled from contractor’s own projects

11. Figure 10.3 Productivity of Hydraulic Excavators
(Delmar/Cengage Learning)

12. Figure 10.4
Sample Data Record (Delmar/Cengage Learning)

13. Excavation Materials Mostly comprise gravels and fill materials:
Required to meet designer’s specifications
Backfilling
Base courses under slabs and paving
Pricing components:
Supplying material to the site
Spreading and compacting

14. Swell and Compaction Factors
Excavated soil or gravel:
Less dense
Swell factor:
Occupies more volume
Compaction factor:
Allowance for extra material required to fill volumes with compacted material

15. Calculating Trucking Requirements
Determine optimum number of trucks required to transport materials
Formula:
Number of Trucks Required = Unloading Time/ Loading Time + One
Example: Gravel Supply Pricing
Refer to Pages 234 and 235

16. Additional Examples Excavation and Backfill Recap and Pricing Notes
Example 1—House
Refer to Pages 235 through 240
Excavation and Backfill Pricing Notes
Example 2—Office/Warehouse Building
Refer to Pages 240 through 244

17. Summary Many subcontractors perform excavation and backfill work
Most specialize in some aspect
Common methods:
Site cut and fill operations
Basement-type excavations
Trench excavations
Pit and sump excavations