Hello, I'm just starting out bidding bigger earthwork jobs. I can estimate small residential projects easily. Moving dirt is in my blood but I'm having hard time figuring sq ft costs.. General contractor wants estimate for undercutting bad soil by sq foot costs.. any help is appreciated!
We usually do it by the cubic yard. This will help you estimate your haul out charge and how much good soil or rock you will need to haul in. To estimate you really need to know how deep you have to go. Cubic feet is length x width x depth. then convert to cubic yards to determne how many dump truck loads. On some jobs we have had to go as much as 10 feet deep and fill with rock and compact in 1 foot lifts.