Earthworks takeoff and cut and fill

An earthworks takeoff answers one question: how much material comes out, how much goes back in, and what does moving it cost. Everything else is detail. These guides work through that in the order the job does.

Start with the plan. A PDF has no idea how big it is, so the first job is always calibration — two points a known distance apart, and the sheet is in metres. A DWG or DXF carries its own units and often its own levels, which skips a step. Either way you need existing levels from somewhere: contours, spot heights, or a survey.

Then the surfaces. Cut and fill is the difference between an existing ground surface and a design surface inside a boundary. Getting that boundary and those two surfaces right is most of the accuracy. A 3D view is the fastest way to catch a level typed in as 4.5 when the plan says 45.

Then the price. Geometric volumes are not priced volumes. Bulking, compaction, haul distance and what you do with the surplus are separate lines with their own rates, and they are where the margin lives.

Every guide below is written against SitesAI Estimate, which does this in a browser. The steps are the same whatever you use.