Excavation Removal Rates

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Excavation Removal Rates

Civil Engineering and Design
Strength of Materials Basics and Equations | Mechanics of Materials

Excavation Removal Capacity Volume Rates vs Methods

The cost of excavation depends on many factors, including the volume and nature of the material to be excavated, the method used, the distance moved and disposition of the excavated material, and backfill considerations. Contractors will add overhead and profit to their direct cost estimates. Labor and rental equipment costs vary with location and season. Materials (e.g., explosives), traffic control, dust mitigation, permits, worksite safety, and environmental protection costs must be considered. Excavation costs may be preceded by test borings. Many unforeseen conditions can affect the actual expenses once work begins.

Excavation is often priced by the cubic yard (cubic meter). Finding the excavation volume starts with the topographic map of the job site. The area whose soil is to remain undisturbed is bounded by a neat line (also known as a net line). When the ground is irregular, the work area should be divided into areas with similar elevations.

When calculating estimates, trenching (whether by hand or with equipment) should be kept separate from large areas of excavation due to difficulty in maneuvering in trenches. Excavations for walls and footings should include an allowance (e.g., a minimum of 1 ft (0.3 m)) on all sides for working room. For manual excavation, costs for picking (i.e., loosening the soil), throwing out, and wheeling away should be separated.

Considerable judgment is required to produce original estimates of excavation costs. For that reason, it is common to rely on “standard” values, such as Building Construction Cost Data, Standard Site Work Cost Data, and Heavy Construction Cost Data, all from R.S. Means, for costs and production capacities.

Typical Capacities of Earth-Handling Methods Table

equipment	approximate capacity per cycle or load
Manual Method
shovel (no. 2 square point shovel)^a manual shoveling	0.2–0.3 ft³ per shovel
wheelbarrow standard contractor’s	6 ft³ (fully loaded capacity) 3 ft³ (soil loading)
mechanized methods
bucket, clamshell	1–71=2 yd³
crane, truck-mounted	12–30 tons
crane, self-propelled	7–100 tons
dozer (bulldozer, crawler) (D6)	17.7 yd³ (9 SU blade) 21.4 yd³ (9 U blade) (varies widely)
excavator, self-propelled	0.5–12 yd³
loader, backhoe	0.1–1.0 yd³ typical (depends on scoop size and design)
loader (front-end loader, bucket loader)	1/2–1 to 1-1/2 yd³ typical (depends on bucket width and design)
loader, wheeled	1/2–8 yd³ 9–32 yd³ (struck) 11–44 yd³ (heaped)
shovel, drag	2–14 yd³
trailer, dump	20–30 yd³
trailer, standard semitrailer (fifth wheel, single-axle group)^b	10–15 yd³
trailer, standard towed (aggregate trailer, B box)^{b, c}	11 yd³ (without bang boards)
trailer, water	2500–14,000 gal
truck, dump, single-axle^b	5 yd³
truck, dump, 10-wheel, double-axle^b	10 yd³ (12 tons)
truck, dump, triple-axle^b	15–18 yd³
truck, off-highway	28 yd³ (struck) 40–100 tons (varies widely)
truck, pickup	3 yd³ (heaping) 2 yd³ (typical, full-size truck) 1-1/2 yd³ (typical, compact truck)

(Multiply ft³ by 0.0283 to obtain m³.)
(Multiply yd³ by 0.765 to obtain m³.)
(Multiply tons by 0.907 to obtain metric tons.)

^aA common rule of thumb is that a cubic yard contains about 150 standard (no. 2) shovels of material.
^bTypically limited by highway agencies to 20–40 tons loading on paved roads.
^cA transfer dump truck, also known as a slam-bang, consists of a standard dump truck pulling a separate trailer.

Costs vary with location and season. Materials (e.g., explosives), traffic control, dust mitigation, permits, worksite safety, and environmental protection costs must be considered. Excavation costs should always be preceded by test borings. Many unforeseen conditions can affect the actual expenses once work begins.

Excavation is usually priced by the cubic yard (cubic meter). Finding the excavation volume starts with the topographic map of the job site. The area whose soil is to remain undisturbed is bounded by a neat line (also known as a net line). When the ground is irregular, the work area should be divided into areas with similar elevations.

Reference

ACI 318 Building Code Requirements for Structural Steel, paragraph 10.5 Minimum reinforcement of flexural members
Civil Engineering Reference Manual, Fifteenth Edition, Chapter 48, p. 50.7, Paragraph 16 (Long-Term Deflections), Michael R. Lindeburg, PE