The cost guide — how the number is built
What civil work costs.
Civil work is priced against the drawings and the ground, not a phone guess. What follows is what actually decides the number on an Adelaide job — the factors we price against, and why each one moves the quote.
What moves the price
- Priced against your drawingsSend the civil drawings with the pricing request and the scope comes back priced against them line by line.
- The site is walked before it is pricedAdelaide's soils move from sand over limestone to high-plasticity clays inside a single council area, so machine selection, batter angles and compaction follow the ground — which is why we walk the site before pricing it.
- Variations priced in writing, before they happenWhen rock or reactive clay changes the ground truth mid-dig, it is priced as a variation with evidence and only proceeded on approval — never absorbed into a mystery invoice.
- Cart-off priced per load, tip fees statedSpoil is priced per load with tip fees stated up front, so the cart-off cost is known before the trucks arrive — never discovered at invoice time.
- The cut-fill balanceOn sloped sites the cut-fill balance decides the earthworks budget: cart-off you did not need, or fill you did not have. We model the balance before the first bucket so the bill is a plan, not a surprise.
- The machine is namedAccess decides the plant — a small machine through a tight gate, or a larger one where the access allows it — and the quote names the machine so you know what is turning up.
Scope by scope
Excavation & Site Clearing
Cuts, strips, bulk dig and cart-off — certified levels.
Earthworks & Drainage
Pads, benching, stormwater and ag — water first.
Civil Retaining
Engineered walls at commercial scale.
Civil Fencing
Security, rural and site boundary lines.
Straight answers on price
How is a civil construction quote worked out?
Against your drawings and the ground conditions. Send the drawings with the pricing request and the scope comes back priced against them line by line — then the site is walked, because machine selection, batter angles and compaction all follow what is actually under the surface.
What happens if you hit rock?
We stop, price the change with you in writing, and only proceed on approval. Rock is priced as a variation with evidence, never absorbed into a mystery invoice.
How is cart-off and spoil priced?
Per load, with tip fees stated up front. Cart-off is priced before the trucks arrive, so it is a known line on the quote rather than something discovered at invoice time.
Why does the cut-fill balance matter to the price?
On sloped sites it decides the earthworks bill: cart-off you did not need, or fill you did not have. We model the balance before the first bucket, so the earthworks bill is a plan rather than a surprise.
Why is there no price per cubic metre up front?
Because the same volume can be two very different jobs. Ground conditions, access, the cut-fill balance, rock and the machine the access allows all move the number. A rate given before the site is walked and the drawings are priced would be a guess dressed up as a price.
Does retaining wall drainage affect the price?
It is built in, not an extra. The commonest failure in this state is water trapped behind a wall that was never drained, so ag-pipe, free-draining backfill and a path for water to leave are part of every wall we build to the engineering documentation.
How is fencing priced on a development?
By the line, not by the panel — post depths matched to the wind zone and soils, concreted and strung before any panel hangs, and on retaining-integrated lines the posts sleeve into the wall so fence and wall are priced as one assembly rather than two trades.