Excavation · Commercial · Residential

Excavation contractors, and the work they bid

Excavation is the trade where the bid and the final invoice diverge most, because everything under the surface is an assumption until someone digs. The bids worth comparing are the ones that price the unknowns as unit rates instead of pretending they aren't there. Post your sitework scope with the geotech report, or find open sitework packages near you.

Post excavation work Bid on excavation work

Free to open an account on either side. No card required.

What gets bid

Scopes excavation bids usually cover

A posted scope can be any part of this. The more of it the drawings settle up front, the closer the bids come back to each other.

Clearing, grubbing and demolition of site features
Mass excavation, cut and fill, and haul
Building pad preparation and fine grading
Utility trenching, bedding and backfill
Shoring, benching and dewatering
Erosion control, SWPPP measures and site stabilisation

Hiring excavation crews

What to check before you award

A competent person for trenching: OSHA requires a designated competent person to inspect excavations and protective systems. Trench collapse is the fatality risk on this trade — ask who that person is by name.
Rock and unsuitable soils, priced as unit rates: A lump sum that quietly assumes clean soil is a change order waiting for a geotech surprise. A bid with per-cubic-yard rates for rock, unsuitables and import is one you can actually manage.
Erosion control compliance: SWPPP violations are fined against the permit holder, and inspections happen while the site is still open. Confirm who installs, inspects and maintains the measures.

Post excavation work

Bidding excavation work

What makes a bid win this trade

Quote unit rates alongside the lump sum: Rock, unsuitables, import and export with stated rates and haul distances. The GC can price their own risk, which is exactly why they'll pick your bid.
State your import and export assumptions: Quantities, source, dump site and fees. Haul distance moves an earthwork number more than almost anything else in it.
Say whether compaction testing is included: Testing and reports are often the GC's or owner's cost. Naming it either way prevents the most common sitework billing dispute.

Find excavation work

Where excavation scopes show up

Commercial site developmentBuilding pads and foundationsUtility trenchingGrading and drainage corrections

Whichever side you’re on, the record stays on the job — scope, bids, award, progress, invoices and the review at the end. See how a job runs, or what the plans cost.

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