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SITEWORK - CSI DIVISION 31TRADE - SITEWORK + EARTHWORK

CY cut/fill, pipe LF, pavement SF, inlets EA - by the grading plan.

PlanSwift averages elevation across a polygon and calls it cut/fill. BuildBid reads the grading plan and the spot elevations together.

Sitework takeoff (CSI Division 31) is a cubic-yard-plus-linear-feet problem. Earthwork ships by CY: cut, fill, structural fill, topsoil strip-and-respread, unsuitable material removal, and rock excavation each priced separately because hauling, compaction, and disposal labor diverge by 2-10x. BuildBid reads the existing-grade contours, the proposed-grade contours, and the spot elevations together to compute net cut/fill by grid cell, not by polygon-average heuristic.

Utilities ship by LF and EA. Storm pipe by size (12-inch, 18-inch, 24-inch, etc. RCP / HDPE / PVC), sanitary pipe by size and material, water main by size and class, force main by size. Each LF carries pipe + bedding + backfill + compaction labor. Structures ship by EA: storm inlets (yard / curb / area drain), manholes (storm + sanitary, by depth and diameter), valves, cleanouts, hydrants. Each EA tagged to the structure schedule for fabrication / vendor pricing.

Pavement ships by SF and SY with section call-outs. Asphalt is asphalt-base-course + asphalt-binder + asphalt-surface, each at a thickness from the pavement section detail. Concrete pavement (rigid) is SF of section + thickness + reinforcement. Aggregate base course (ABC) by CY, geotextile by SF, curb-and-gutter by LF (with profile call-out for type B-6, type 2, vertical, rolled, etc.).

Erosion + sediment control surfaces separately. Silt fence LF, inlet protection EA, construction entrance EA, sediment basin CY (storage volume), seeding + mulching SF by zone. SWPPP requirements pulled from the spec and tagged to construction sequence.

Try on a sample sitework packageSee sample takeoff
WORKFLOW · HOW IT ACTUALLY RUNS5 STEPS
  1. STEP 01

    Upload grading plan + utility plan + pavement detail

    Civil grading plan (C-2xx), utility plan (C-3xx storm, C-4xx sanitary, C-5xx water), pavement plan + section detail (C-6xx), erosion control plan (C-7xx). Spec sections 31 22 (grading), 31 23 (excavation + fill), 32 11 (base courses), 32 12 (asphalt), 32 13 (concrete pavement), 32 16 (curb + gutter), 33 41 (storm sewer), 33 31 (sanitary), 33 11 (water main) cross-read.

  2. STEP 02

    Earthwork: net CY by grid cell

    Existing-grade contours + proposed-grade contours overlaid; spot elevations resolved by triangulation. Net cut/fill computed by grid cell (typically 10 ft x 10 ft), aggregated to total CY by zone. Strip topsoil 6-inch typical times site area equals topsoil CY (with respread allowance). Unsuitable material flagged by geotechnical-report call-out; rock excavation by depth-to-rock contour.

  3. STEP 03

    Utilities: LF + EA by sheet and station

    Each utility run: pipe size + material + LF by station from-to. Bedding + backfill computed from pipe size + trench width per typical detail. Structures EA by type with rim and invert elevations from the schedule. Service connections (storm laterals, sanitary laterals, water services) by EA + LF.

  4. STEP 04

    Pavement: SF + SY + section components

    Each pavement zone tagged to a section detail: asphalt base CY (SF times thickness), binder course CY, surface course CY. Concrete pavement SF + thickness + rebar lbs. ABC by CY. Curb + gutter LF by profile. Sidewalk SF + thickness. Striping LF (4-inch / 6-inch / 8-inch white / yellow / blue) per striping plan. Pavement markings EA (arrows, handicap symbols, stop bars).

  5. STEP 05

    Erosion control + landscaping

    Silt fence LF along disturbed perimeter. Inlet protection EA per drainage structure during construction. Construction entrance EA (typically one per access point). Seeding + mulching SF by zone with seed mix from spec. Landscaping (separate trade) flagged for hand-off if specified.

PAIN · WHAT THIS REPLACES

Where the hours actually go today

  • Cut/fill averaged across a polygon instead of computed by grid cell - large sites come in 30-50% off because the average doesn't capture the volume of high spots vs low spots.
  • Pipe LF priced at uniform rate without bedding + backfill + compaction broken out; the trench labor swings 2x by depth-to-bottom and 3x in rock.
  • Pavement priced as a single SF rate without section components broken out; base course and binder course alone are 40-60% of the total cost.
  • Erosion control missed because it lives on a separate plan sheet - the SWPPP fines + reinspection cycle is real money on disturbed sites > 1 acre.
  • Unsuitable material excavation skipped because it's only called out in the geotechnical report, not the grading plan - shows up as a change order 2 weeks into mobilization.
LIMITS · WHAT BUILDBID IS NOT YET

Honest gaps — read before you buy

  • Geotechnical interpretation: BuildBid extracts spot elevations and contours but does NOT interpret bearing capacity, frost depth, or groundwater impact - those come from the geotechnical engineer report and require expert review.
  • Rock excavation quantification: depth-to-rock contour is extracted from the geotechnical report when provided, but probabilistic rock pockets between borings cannot be parameterized - flagged for a contingency.
  • Heavy civil scope (bridges, retaining walls > 10 ft, dewatering systems): out of scope for the standard Division 31 baseline - separate civil trade.
  • Landscaping (CSI Division 32 9x): in scope for seeding + mulching only; planting beds, trees, irrigation systems are out of scope.
REVIEW FOCUS · WHAT TO CHECK4 AREAS
CHECK 01

Earthwork view: net cut/fill CY by grid cell with proposed-vs-existing-grade overlay; strip topsoil and unsuitable material broken out separately.

CHECK 02

Utilities table: pipe LF by size + material + station, structures EA by type with rim/invert elevations from the schedule.

CHECK 03

Pavement section breakdown: base course CY + binder CY + surface CY + ABC + curb LF per zone tagged to section detail call-out.

CHECK 04

Erosion control plan overlay: silt fence LF, inlet protection EA, construction entrance EA with SWPPP-required inspection cadence flagged.

NEXT · TRY ON A SAMPLE

Sample plans, zero setup. The draft comes back with quantities, confidence flags, and the source rows we used. You review before you send.

Try on a sample sitework package