What this trade needs you to recognise
Your starting focus is measurement surfaces, excavation classes, haulage and access. Before taking responsibility for an issue, show your reviewer that you can trace quantities to the documents, distinguish measured work from allowances and explain unresolved scope.
Day 1 / Set up a controlled handoff
Agree the project code, work package, delivery date, region, units, time zone and named reviewer. Confirm software access using your own authorised account. Use one shared drawing register and one current estimate folder. Keep working copies separate from issued estimates.
Request civil grading plans, existing surveys, sections, geotechnical information and utility records. Record revisions and addenda individually. If a required document is missing, log it before measuring. Access to a folder does not mean its contents are the current tender set.
Day 2 / Map the scope before the takeoff
Write an inclusion list and a list of interfaces with other trades. Link each material or assembly to its schedule or specification reference. Mark unclear boundaries as questions with an owner and deadline. The reviewer should be able to see what you intend to price before you build a large workbook.
Day 3 / Make the quantities traceable
State the measurement surfaces and method. Separate excavation, fill, stripping, trenching and disposal. Keep in-place quantities distinct from any assumed loose or compacted quantities.
Use consistent item codes and units. Keep the measured quantity separate from waste or other adjustments so another estimator can reproduce the calculation. Save marked plans and identify the drawing reference on each worksheet group.
Day 4 / Price the defined scope
List assumptions for material suitability, bulking, compaction, groundwater, utilities, shoring, haul distance and disposal fees. Unknown ground conditions need qualification and specialist review.
Use current supplier quotes, agreed company rates or another explicitly approved pricing source. Record the source, date, currency, delivery assumptions and expiry. Show labour basis, allowances and unresolved figures separately. Never turn a calculator’s planning range into a supplier quote.
Day 5 / Review a supervised assignment
Practice brief: A small site with existing and proposed levels, a utility trench and a revised grading area.
Use an authorised training or redacted project set. Submit marked plans, quantities, pricing sources, assumptions, exclusions and open RFIs. Reconcile cut and fill by zone, check depth and unit assumptions, and identify where survey or ground information is insufficient. The reviewer records corrections and decides which responsibilities can be delegated next; finishing a checklist alone is not approval to issue a tender.
Choose how the work will be delivered
- App only: use the existing ballpark calculator to explore a planning scenario. Its output is not a completed trade takeoff.
- App plus human: include the app assumptions in a brief for an experienced estimator to review against documents.
- Human only: brief an estimator directly and agree the takeoff method, workbook format, review and issue process.
Compare the three service routes and request scope review. Availability, fees, turnaround and the responsible estimator are confirmed before work is agreed.
Your reusable starter pack
Download the Earthworks & excavation starter pack
Includes a first-week checklist, sample assignment, scope checklist and estimate-review template. Copy it into your own project controls, then adapt it to the agreed documents and scope.
Before registration
Prepare relevant past estimating experience and a redacted example of work you may share. Start your EyeSpyR review, then follow the estimator admission steps. A submitted reference remains unverified until checked. No automatic verification or immediate work allocation is promised.