Subdivision takeoffs & estimating
Earthworks takeoffs and cut and fill reports for subdivision work
Bulk earthworks quantities measured from your drawings and surfaces, with the limits, sources and assumptions written down. Understand the quantities before work reaches site.
Service overview
Earthworks take-offs for tenders and quantity checks
Subdivision takeoffs can help contractors and estimators understand bulk earthworks quantities and other agreed drawing-based items before pricing or planning a job.
Where suitable existing and proposed surface information is available, we can compare surfaces and prepare agreed area or volume breakdowns. Queries and gaps in the source information are identified during the review.
What to send
What to send for an earthworks takeoff
Send the current tender or project information and describe the quantities you need reviewed.
Current drawings
The relevant subdivision plans, schedules and revision information.
Surface data
Available existing and proposed surface or level information for comparisons.
Measurement scope
The areas, stages and items that should be included or separated.
Pricing context
The project location, required date and any assumptions already being used.
See it built
Bulk earthworks files and quantities, step by step.
How a bulk earthworks job comes together: design levels checked against the drawings, then cut, fill and net balance by stage. Illustrative example.
Our process
How a takeoff runs, from drawings to quantities
The scope, source information and assumptions stay visible throughout the work.
Review inputs
We check the drawings, data, revisions and requested measurement limits.
Confirm scope
We agree the inclusions, exclusions, breakdowns and key assumptions.
Measure and compare
The agreed items and available surfaces are assessed against the defined limits.
Summarise
You receive the agreed quantity information with notes and identified queries.
Agreed deliverables
What comes back: quantity schedules and the cut and fill report
Depending on the available files and agreed scope, the delivery package may include:
- Drawing-based quantity schedules for the agreed subdivision scope
- Cut and fill surface comparisons where the supplied data supports them
- Area or volume breakdowns organised by agreed limits or stages
- Notes covering source information, assumptions, exclusions and queries
Cut and fill report
What the cut and fill report shows
What each report includes is confirmed in the scope for each job, before any measuring starts. Where existing and proposed surfaces are available, the report can set out:
- The two surfaces compared, with the source files and drawing revisions each was built from.
- Cut volume, fill volume and the net balance, for the whole site and for each agreed stage or area.
- Topsoil strip as its own line, at a depth you give us or agree with us before measuring.
- Bulking and compaction factors, applied only when you supply them and listed in the notes.
- A colour-shaded cut and fill plan showing where the site is in cut and where it is in fill, when it is part of the agreed scope.
- The measurement limits used.
- Every assumption and exclusion, and any queries found in the drawings.
Other drawing-based items, such as pavement areas and kerb lengths, can be measured as separate schedules where they are agreed in the scope. Quantities are issued as schedules your estimator can price from or carry into your own bill of quantities. Rates and pricing stay with you. See Packages for the Tender Quantities package.
Illustrative example: how the quantities are set out
Illustrative layout with made-up figures, not a real project.
| Stage | Cut (m³) | Fill (m³) | Net (m³) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | 4,200 | 3,100 | 1,100 surplus |
| Stage 2 | 2,650 | 3,900 | 1,250 shortfall |
| Total | 6,850 | 7,000 | 150 shortfall |
Surplus means more cut than fill; shortfall means more fill than cut.
Example notes (illustrative):
Surfaces compared: existing surface from the supplied feature and level survey; design surface from the bulk earthworks drawings at Revision C.
Limits: inside the stage boundaries on the supplied marked-up plan.
Assumptions: volumes as measured between the two surfaces; no topsoil strip, bulking or compaction factors applied.
Frequently asked questions
Earthworks takeoff: common questions
What is included in an earthworks takeoff?
The scope can include earthworks quantities and other agreed drawing-based items, organised around defined areas, limits or project stages.
Can you produce a cut and fill report from existing and proposed surfaces?
Yes, where suitable surface or level information is available. The agreed output may include cut and fill comparisons and area or volume breakdowns.
What do I need to send?
Send the relevant plans, schedules and revisions, available surface data, the areas or items to be measured, and any assumptions already being used.
Can you work from PDF drawings only?
CAD files and digital surfaces are better if the designer will release them. PDF drawings alone can sometimes work. For earthworks quantities we need, at minimum, the design levels, the limits of the work and the existing levels, for example from a feature and level survey. Send what you have. At review we list what can be measured from it and what would have to be assumed, and you decide before any measuring starts.
Do you allow for topsoil strip, bulking and compaction?
Topsoil strip can be shown as its own line, at a depth you give us or agree with us before measuring. Bulking and compaction factors are applied only when you supply them. We do not assume a strip depth or any factor: whatever is used is listed in the report notes, and if none is applied the notes say so.
Do you prepare a bill of quantities?
We supply measured quantities as schedules, broken down as agreed at scope, for your estimator to price or carry into your own bill of quantities. If the tender uses a set item list or bill format, send it with the drawings and we will confirm at review whether the quantities can be set out to match it. Rates and pricing stay with you.
Can the same model be used for machine control later?
It can be. Surfaces built for a takeoff can be the starting point for a machine control model once the job is won, if the design is still current. Whether they suit the machine and the site workflow is confirmed when the machine control scope is agreed.
How much does an earthworks takeoff cost?
Every takeoff is quoted from the drawings and data you send. Send them and we will confirm the scope and the quote before any work starts.
How are assumptions and exclusions recorded?
The issued quantity information can include notes covering the source files, agreed assumptions, exclusions and identified queries.
Does a takeoff replace reviewing the full tender documentation?
No. The results reflect the agreed drawings, data, limits and assumptions and should be reviewed alongside the complete tender and project documentation.
Is this a remote service?
Yes. Takeoffs are prepared remotely from the files you supply, for projects in Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. UK groundworks teams may know the cut and fill report as a cut and fill analysis. Onsite set-out and pickups are a separate service, in Melbourne only.
Related services
Move from estimating into coordinated delivery.
Pricing a subdivision project?
Send the project location, required date and available drawings or surfaces. We will review the information and confirm a practical takeoff scope.