ᐅ Cost Planning for Earthworks

Hello everyone!

This is my first post since we started planning to become homeowners.

It’s about the cost estimation—specifically for our earthworks. Here’s what we know about the plot:

- It is 374 sqm (4029 sq ft) in size
- The house has external dimensions of 9.27 m x 11.07 m (30.4 ft x 36.3 ft) and will be built without a basement on a concrete slab
- A garage and a parking space in front of it are planned
- Currently, there is a height difference of 1.30 m (4.3 ft) between the ground level and the underside of the slab, so about 90 cm (35 in) to the bottom edge of the slab
- Our builder will supply 40 cm (16 in) of capillary-breaking material for backfilling (free of charge or included in the house price)
- According to the soil report for the building site (attached, starting on page 33 Baufeld WA 4a*), an average of 40 cm (16 in) of topsoil has to be excavated
- If I understand the above report correctly, no soil replacement is necessary

I wanted to ask for a realistic estimate of the costs involved (excluding utility connections, which I will calculate separately). We are currently estimating around 30,000 euros. Online, I find anywhere between 5,000 and 80,000 euros, which doesn’t really help. The soil conditions are probably not ideal due to the significant amount of fill material.

Looking forward to your advice, and thanks in advance to everyone involved!

For 30,000 Euros, I would buy an excavator and host bachelor parties on the property 🙂 But seriously: you seem to know pretty well what you need. Why don’t you get quotes from three local companies (which you need to do anyway)? That way, you’ll have the exact costs instead of a range or hearing “I paid xyz here in Unterschnufingen.”

Good idea, but there is a building obligation 😀

That's true, but we are not quite there yet and still need to start calculating, so my "preliminary inquiry" about experiences. A rounded figure of 5,000 would be enough for me...

I can share our figures. We had to remove some soil in the house area (70 cm (28 inches)) and fill it with sand. However, this was not necessary across the entire building area. Part of it was already included in the contract.
For a house measuring 9.2 x 12.1 m (30.2 x 39.7 ft). Invoice from 12/21; all prices are net. Lower Saxony.

Additional topsoil removal approx. 20 cm (8 inches) (303 m² (3,260 sq ft))	€290
Additional fill sand delivery and installation (210 m³ (7,417 cu ft) / 400 tons)	€3,500
Construction access road (77 m² (830 sq ft))	€900

The sand is therefore the expensive part. Or the disposal if something has to be taken to a landfill.

@MaxiFrett your costs are very low. I paid 4800 for about 200 cubic meters (cbm) of fill sand. And that price could not be undercut by any of the three offers I received.

Since our first invoice for the earthworks is now available, I can perhaps contribute some information. I will type it out. Please ask for details if interested; otherwise, I might write too much unnecessary information. For reasons of anonymity and fairness, I will not name the civil engineering company here in the forum or in private inquiries. And the work was carried out with excellent quality and on schedule. 🙂

If it is not allowed to mention such specific figures or activities here, please just issue a warning instead of removing me from the forum. I do not intentionally violate any rules. Thank you.

Site setup, ... 1x at €380.00
Load-bearing capacity verification using a light plate load test including report creation 2x at €125.00 each
Excavate foundation pit on average 1.0m (3.3 ft) deep for stepped foundation bedding in accordance with the profile; excavated material stored on-site laterally; topsoil stored separately; disposal of excavated material itemized separately 109.33 m³ (143.1 yd³) at €14.80 per m³
Supply and install geotextile free on site 128.62 m² (1384 sq ft) at €2.45 per m²
Certified concrete recycling 0/45, free on site, installed and compacted in layers as stepped foundation bedding, average height 1.0 m (3.3 ft) 102.90 m³ (134.6 yd³) at €28.50 per m³
Excavate ground for crane parking space/garage/carport and driveway, up to a depth of 40 cm (16 in), excavated material stored laterally; supply concrete recycling 0/45 free on site, installed and compacted in layers, usable as substructure for future paved surfaces/driveway 60.12 m² (647.3 sq ft) at €27.50 per m²
Create scaffold strip, excavate soil up to 20 cm (8 in) depth, excavated material stored laterally; supply concrete recycling 0/45 free on site, installed and compacted in layers 32.60 m² (351 sq ft) at €18.50 per m²
Load, transport, and dispose of excess soil/displacement masses as chosen by the contractor; soils classified >Z0 only after client analysis; quantity refers only to foundation bedding excavation; billing based on weighbridge/delivery note 212.94 tons (234.8 US tons) at €18.80 per ton
Stainless steel foundation earth electrode, ... 44.60 m (146 ft) at €8.70 per meter
Connection tails for foundation earth electrode made of round steel, ... 3x at €75.00 each
Connection to existing shaft 1x at €165.00

So far, the total cost is €14,914.91 minus 2% discount. However, at least one more invoice is expected for additional items.

Dear Hampshire, YPG, and Pagoni2020, please come back. You are really needed and missed here.