# help bidding job



## bobbyg (Nov 7, 2006)

relatively new to business...starting out w/ small jobs...and this will be a bigger job (for me)..i'll try and post a pic tomorrow

anyways, i have a job to bid...its 25X35...an above ground pool used to be there...its covered in a few inches of gravel and underneath is unknown...access is not a problem

customer wants the area to be even with her driveway, which is about 2.5 feet lower...so im estimating its about 80-100 yards of earth to be excavated and hauled away...i have someone already willing to take the fill for a small delivery fee...i will be subbing out the hauling, my dump is only a 4 yarder

questions:
1) what do you guys charge per yard of excavated earth?...is there any rough estimates
2)what will it cost to sub out the hauling, any estimates?...im hoping i can get it done in 1 day...i will be loading with my bobcat

any help appreciated...thanks


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## ELW1 (Jan 11, 2007)

unless you are looking to dump somewhere extremely close there is no way your going to pull this off in one day with a 4 yd truck. but for now we'll just assume that you can. in most instances we get $3.25 a yd labor for cut weather it can be used onsite (mostly in residential situations) or loaded in a truck. most of the time we run trucks both ways to and from the pit meaning we bring a load of fill then haul out a load of cut. when working the trucks in this fashion we charge $3 to $3.50 a yd to haul cut but in your case we would charge $6 a yd since you would only be running your truck in a single direction. i dont know how much this will help being that we're so far away but perhaps it can give you some direction.


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## bobbyg (Nov 7, 2006)

ELW,

I realize there is no way to do it w/ my truck, thats why my plan is to sub out the hauling...the site where where we'll be taking it is about 10 miles away...about 45 min roundtrip...so im hoping i can hire someone to do say 5 trips for the day...5 trips @ 18 yards, should do it hopefully

i will be making calls tomorrow... your estimates will help...thanks


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## MC Excavating (Jan 26, 2006)

This is how I would do it. I'm from California, this isn't gonna be cheap.

963 bobcat : 9 hours x $100 per hour ===== $900

End dump Truck : 10 hours x $95 per hour = $950

Dump Fees ; 5 x $120 =============== $600

Total ============================ $2,450

Mark Up : 20% ==================== $ 490

Grand Total ======================= $2,940

Unit price is : $36.75 per cubic yard.

Clarification: To remove and haul away dirt and gravel. All extras will be per time and material rate plus dump fees.

Exclusions: Removal of grass, trash, concrete, asphalt, brick, and rock.
Removal of any unknown obstruction.
Repair or relocation of irrigation heads and lines.
Repair and relocation of any utilities.

Don't forget to call dig alert 48 hours before you begin.

I hope this gives you a rough idea.


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## bobbyg (Nov 7, 2006)

thanks mc...thats good info for me...


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## dayexco (Mar 4, 2006)

right out of the chute here, i am NOT trying to be a smart arse. but i see many threads on this message board where new contractors are asking how much it costs to do a job. again, i am NOT trying to be a smart arse here.
although we are able to give you pointers on what you need to include to cover the costs of a job, you as a contractor need to put the actual numbers with those costs, you need to decide how long the job will take you, the difficulty of that job. you need to determine the % of profit you want off of the job. i am guilty of it myself, when first starting out, was unsure of our bidding procedure. sometimes i still scratch my head. i came to the conclusion long ago, that i no longer worry about what my competition's pricing structure is. i bid them so i hopefully will make money. again, there are many variables. my competition's overhead might be greater or less than mine. he might want to make more or less money on that particular job than i do, his equipment and crew might or might not be more conducive to being more productive on that project than we are. his work load may alter his bidding procedure whether he's high or low. all of us reading these posts are probably sitting probably 1000's of miles of your jobsite and have no clue as to how difficult it will be.

again, please don't think i'm trying to be a jerk here, it's not my intent. i think you need to sit down right away, and determine what your overhead is, what profit margin you want, and bid accordingly.


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## PipeGuy (Oct 8, 2004)

bobbyg said:


> ...5 trips @ 18 yards, should do it


You can get 18 yards of dirt in a truck?


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## denick (Feb 13, 2006)

bbb,

What size Bobcat do you have?

Have you worked in the neighbor hood and know what type of soil you'll be working in?

Have you ever loaded 100 cy onto tri-axle dumps before with your bobcat?

You come from Boston? What is the hourly rate for 18cy trucks? do they work for less than 8 hours?

Did you read dayexco's post? Do you know what it cost you to operate your equipment? Do you have an overhead and profit figure ready to add to the cost of doing the work? day's no jerk! He cares!

In 38 years that I have been exposed to estimating excavation I have never figured work by the CY. We never have even 2 jobs that are anywhere near the same. Jobs that are 80 CY usually have a much higher cost per unit than a job that is large in volume.

bb, I'm glad to have you aboard. We can help you with technical and production but we shouldn't steer you to much with price ( my opinion only).


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## Bob Kovacs (May 4, 2005)

I'm with the rest of these guys regarding unit prices per CY on such a small job. The projects I estimate are typically 30,000 CY+ projects, and even on those, there's a lot of factors that go into figuring out a price per CY. On an 80 CY job, it's almost easier- figure out whether it's one day or two, how much/day for the Bobcat, operator, trucking, etc., and add for OH&P- the cost/CY is irrelevant.

Ohh, and dont forget to exclude any damage from those full tandems driving over the driveway- you'll quickly end up spending more to repair the driveway than you billed for the job. That piece of advice alone is worth the price of admission to this place.....lol.

Bob


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## dayexco (Mar 4, 2006)

first and foremost bobbyg...it is not my intent to scare you away from this site, i enjoy seeing young people involved in construction and the fresh ideas they bring. i'm 53 yrs old, and i learn stuff here everyday. but you'll find out real quick, that it is SO very important for you to know your costs. for me to tell you do to the job for "x" dollars, would be a real disservice to you. my son is 28 yrs old, he's working with me, and when he bids jobs, i refuse to give him numbers. he's made us some money, he's lost us very little. "he's been working with me since he was 14" 
you need to find that "magic" number where you make some bucks.


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## tgeb (Feb 9, 2006)

Just to help you along here Bobby, I would figure closer to 8 truck loads of material that you will be hauling.

I know, when you run the numbers you'll get 81 cu. yds. But by the time you dig it out and get some air in it, you'll only get about 10 of those on the truck. Especially loading with a skidsteer.

I have figured 10 yards per truck, of soil in place for years and I am usually pretty close. You don't want to be hauling any loads for free.

And all the advice above is right on the money! Your money.

Good luck, let us know how your makin' out.


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## rino1494 (Jan 31, 2006)

dayexco said:


> my son is 28 yrs old, he's working with me, and when he bids jobs, i refuse to give him numbers. he's made us some money, he's lost us very little. "he's been working with me since he was 14"



Tell me this Day, do you feel that he is prolly the best thing that has happened to your company ?? I am 25 and have been working with my dad since I was 14 also. I do extra work and care more about the business than any other "typical" employee would. My dad won't come out and say it, but I know that he feels that way about me. My dad is pretty much old school. He would rather run a old D8H than a new dozer. Lay in the grease tearing out a transmission in the middle of winter without one complaint. I am slowly helping him to learn to work like a gentleman. It isn't worth it to work 7 days a week. Charge more and work less. :thumbup:


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## dayexco (Mar 4, 2006)

rino, without a doubt he's the best thing that's happened to me... he's the 3rd generation in our business. sad thing is, my dad died when he was 3, so he doesn't remember him much. but my son has helped me so much, brought so many good ideas into the company, and been a mouthpiece for me when i want to tell a customer "fugoff"...i really admire young people with the fire to jump into this biz. and i'm serious when i say this. i don't think there is any const. biz that is any harder, or more hazardous than ours. you can be knee deep in sheet fixing a sewer, gonads deep fixing a water main, (with my luck it's about 10 degrees outside). but, i've got to the point that i let my son do most of the PR work with customers, he's far more patient than i am. i don't know if it's age, but i apparently have lost most of mine hahahaha


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## bobbyg (Nov 7, 2006)

thanks all lot of help here...so far i haven't moved any earth jobs more than 30 cy...and ive done that w/ my dump truck

so this job will be a step for me which requires add'l help of a larger truck...

what i now know from the post: no avg. cy estimate(thanks den&day); i'll need to raise total # of trips for job (thanks TG); watch out for driveway(thanks BK)...

i have hauling estimates already per day...i have not loaded tri axles before with my bobcat...i will need to make sure i can reach w/ my bobcat or i'll have to build a ramp (more time $)


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## denick (Feb 13, 2006)

Bo,

Would you consider doing this job with your own equipment? If you are not experienced it could be a good way to learn. You would need patience. 

If you do the math you may come close in cost.

If you could find a place a little closer to dump you would be in a real good position.

If the guys here told stories of things done in their early days you would be amazed at what got done with what and how they did it.


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## rino1494 (Jan 31, 2006)

PipeGuy said:


> You can get 18 yards of dirt in a truck?



We figure 15yds for our tri-axles.


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## denick (Feb 13, 2006)

b,

my thoughts were that if you get $ 80.00 an hour for you truck and $ 80.00 an hour for your Bobcat and you run them yourself. 

Well 80 x 8= 640. X's 2 days? 1280. x's 3 days $ 1,920. ???
I don't think it could take you more than three days. Your cost of triaxles would probably be at least $1,000.00 if you hire out the hauling.

You could learn, job setup, where to position the truck for fastest loading. The capacity of your machine to dig and load that much soil.
How to keep your excavation level and clean so as to make good time loading. How much you really like this business.

If you have problems your not paying some trucker to sit and watch you. You probably won't wreck the driveway.


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## Dirtguy (Dec 17, 2006)

I posted a our standard default bid items list that we use on 90% of our commercial projects. It is in the gallery/e&sw called "Bid items".


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## bobbyg (Nov 7, 2006)

den, thanks...im very close to your #'s, i found a tri for $450 a day...

but i actually found a neighbor to take some of the fill (hopefull half), directly across the street...so depending on how much he takes, i probably will not hire out the hauling...i just now need to decide if i should run the bobcat to the spot or load my dump truck and dump...its probably 125-150 feet run...im thinking just run the bobcat, its pretty straight shot... no biggie

dirt, i'll look for your post thanks


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## denick (Feb 13, 2006)

bbb,

Your near Boston and you can hire tri-axles for 450 a day? 56.25 an hour?

Can I have their phone numbers? The lowest I've paid in three years is $ 600.00, $ 75.00 an hour and I paid $ 760.00, $ 95.00 an hour this year.

Use your truck for the 125' run. Just my opinion.


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