Earthworks Takeoff Spreadsheet: Cut/Fill Grid and Average End Area, Swell and Shrink, Trenching, Granular and Haul Loads (Excel)

Free cut/fill calculators stop at a volume. The bid needs more than that: bank, loose and compacted volumes, what has to be hauled off or brought in, tonnes, loads and truck-days. This takeoff takes you from topsoil strip and grades through to the haul, with Alberta details built in.

Work out cut and fill with a grid of up to 30 × 30 cells or by average end area from your cross sections. Apply swell and shrink by soil type, size trenches with Alberta OHS Code s.451 slope profiles, take off granular layers, and count truckloads by weight or by volume, whichever runs out first, with a road-ban derate. In the example acreage pad near Red Deer, that comes to about 306 m³ bank cut, 256 m³ export, 315 m³ of compacted granular (about 599 t), 88 loads and about 5.5 truck-days.

What's in the zip

- EXAMPLE takeoff (.xlsx), filled in for a made-up Alberta acreage pad, driveway and utility trench

- BLANK takeoff (.xlsx)

- Print preview PDF showing sample printed pages

- README quick start

- 18 tabs: Instructions · Inputs · Topsoil Strip · Cut Fill Grid · Cut Fill AEA · Balance · Trenching · Granular · Haul · Summary · Client Summary · To Estimate · Labour Drivers · Print - Cut Fill · Print - Trench · Print - Granular · Print - Haul · Reference

Key features

- Soil table with swell (bank → loose) and shrink (bank → compacted) factors and densities. Example factors are from the US Army's public-domain FM 5-434 *Earthmoving Operations*. Replace them with your geotech report or local experience.

- Topsoil strip: bank and stockpile volumes, respread and surplus. An option lowers the existing grade by the strip depth before cut/fill is worked out.

- Cut/fill grid (4-corner average per cell, up to 30 × 30) with cut and fill cells shaded, and a structure depth so you work to subgrade, not finished grade.

- Average end area between stations, with a prism helper for simple roads and pads.

- Balance: usable cut after unsuitable %, compacted fill needed, and import or export in bank, loose, compacted and tonnes.

- Trenching: vertical/shored, OHS s.451 cut-back profiles (paraphrased) or a custom slope. It gives excavation, bedding, pipe displacement, select and native backfill and surplus, with a safety banner: a competent person classifies the soil, over 3 m needs an engineered protective structure, and locates come before digging.

- Granular layers by Alberta Transportation designation name, compacted m³ to tonnes and loose m³.

- Haul: your trucks' payload and box volume, loads = the larger of weight or volume, road-ban derate (100 / 90 / 75%), cycle time to truck-days, and tipping fees as tonnes × your $/t (the $8/t in the example is an EXAMPLE rate only). Topsoil gets its own density (EXAMPLE 1.5 t/m³ in the example file).

- Exports: To Estimate (Materials columns, plus tipping fees as tonnes × $/t for your Subs tab so they stay out of freight) and Labour Drivers (bank m³ by activity, truck-days), with your own production rates.

- Client Summary (1 page, no checks or notes) and 4 green Print tabs.

Who it's for

Site-work and gravel outfits, excavation contractors, acreage pad and driveway builders, and GCs pricing site prep.

FAQ (plus the shared takeoff FAQ)

Does it read survey files or make a surface model? No. You type grid elevations or cross-section areas. It isn't surface-modelling (TIN) software.

Does it design trench protection? No. It calculates volumes for the slope profile you pick. Soil classification has to be done by a competent person, and excavations over 3 m need an engineered protective structure under the OHS Code.

Where do the swell and shrink factors come from? The examples are from US Army FM 5-434 (public domain). Use your geotechnical report or local experience for real jobs.

Does it know current road bans? No. Check the provincial and county ban lists and pick the derate. The sheet scales your payload by that %.

How accurate is the grid? Cells with both cut and fill net out, so a finer grid is more accurate. The sheet notes this.

Disclaimer: Takeoff disclaimer above, plus: "Trench and excavation numbers are volumes only. Protective systems must meet the OHS Code and be set by a competent person. Call for utility locates before you dig. Not affiliated with Alberta Transportation, Alberta OHS or any supplier."

FAQ (takeoffs, shared)

Does it read my PDF drawings? No. You measure from your drawings and type the quantities in. The takeoff does the counting, weights, volumes and roll-ups.

Does it design anything? No. It doesn't size members, check connections, design laps, design trench protection or do stress analysis. Those come from your drawings, specs, engineer and the code.

Does it include labour hours or production rates? No. Hours per unit are always yours. The Labour Drivers tab gives you the quantities crews get priced on, and you enter your own rates.

Does it price the job? It gives quantities. The "To Estimate" tab uses the same columns as the Alberta Estimating Workbook's Materials tab, so you can paste values in and price them there, or use your own pricing.

Metric or imperial? Both. Lengths can go in as feet and inches in two columns (23 | 6 for 23'-6") or in metric, and results show both where it matters.

Can I send it to my client? Yes. Each takeoff has a one-page Client Summary with no checks, notes or brand footer, and white scope and exclusions boxes.

Can I get a refund? It's a digital download, so there are no refunds once it's delivered. Try the free Bid Go/No-Go Scorer first to make sure the files work on your computer.

Disclaimer (takeoffs)

These takeoff templates are estimating aids. They count and calculate what you enter from your drawings. They don't read drawings, design anything, or replace an engineer, a geotechnical report, a supplier's catalogue, or the job specification. Check weights, laps, spacing, slopes and truck payloads against the governing documents and your suppliers before you order or bid. Example numbers are made up.

About the maker

Built by a tradesperson with 35 years in fabrication and construction across Western Canada.

Compatibility (spreadsheets)

- Made for Microsoft Excel 2016 or newer, Windows or Mac. Plain .xlsx with no macros.

- LibreOffice Calc (free): every workbook recalculates with no formula errors.

- Does it work in Google Sheets? You can upload the .xlsx and open it in Google Sheets, but Sheets drops the sheet protection (so grey formula cells can be typed over) and ignores the print layouts. For printing, Excel is recommended.

- Not tested in Apple Numbers.

- Type in the yellow cells. Grey formula cells are locked (no password), so you can't break a formula by accident.

- Grab the free Bid Go/No-Go Scorer first. It's built the same way, so if it opens and works on your computer, the paid sheets will too.

Licence

One-business licence: use it across your business (all its sites and crews) on as many jobs as you like. Please don't resell, share or publish the blank templates outside your business. Completed job files and filled-in forms can go to your clients, prime contractors, auditors and regulators.

Refund policy

Because these are digital downloads, I don't offer refunds once a file has been delivered. Please check the compatibility list above before you buy, and grab the free Bid Go/No-Go Scorer to test on your computer first. If a file won't open or something isn't working, email me at support@bidsheets.ca and I'll help you sort it out.

Updates

Buyers get the 2027 update free. I'll email you the new version when it's ready. Each January I refresh the payroll rates (CPP, EI, WCB) in the estimating workbook and fab calculator, re-check the Alberta OHS and prompt-payment references in the safety and billing products, and re-check the standards references in the takeoffs.

Support

Questions? Email support@bidsheets.ca. I usually answer within 2 business days.