Excavation Scope of Work Checklist: Dirt, Rock, and Risk (CSI 31 00 00)

For a General Contractor, the “Site Work” bid is often the murkiest number in the budget. Unlike framing (where you can count the studs), excavation deals with what lies beneath the surface.

If your Invitation to Bid (ITB) for the excavator is vague, you are setting yourself up for a $20,000 Change Order the moment the bucket hits a boulder.

To ensure you are buying a complete “Hole in the Ground,” use this Excavation Scope of Work Checklist (aligned with CSI Division 31) to vet your subcontractors.

The Standard Inclusions (The “Must Haves”)

Your contract should explicitly state that the bid includes the following:

• Clearing & Grubbing: Removal of all trees, stumps, and vegetation within the building footprint.
• Strip & Stockpile: Removal of topsoil to a designated area on site (or export if not needed).
• Mass Excavation: Digging to the elevations shown on the civil plans.
• Over-Excavation & Re-Compaction: If the engineer requires over-digging by 12” and compacting, this must be in the base bid.
• Backfill: Backfilling against foundations (verify if they include the material or just the labor).
• Rough Grade: Establishing the final sub-grade for the slab and driveway (+/- 0.1 ft).
• Erosion Control (Initial Install): Silt fences, construction entrances, and tracking pads.

The “Scope Gaps” (Where You Lose Money)

When you receive an excavation bid that is 20% lower than the others, check for these specific exclusions. These are the most common items excavators leave out:

1. Rock Removal (The “Refusal” Clause)

Does the bid define “Rock”? Standard bids usually include digging “standard soil.”

• The Trap: If they hit rock, they stop and charge you an hourly rate for a breaker.
• The Fix: Ask for a “Unit Price” for rock removal (e.g., “$150 per cubic yard”) in the contract so you aren’t held hostage later.

2. Export of Excess Soil

If the house has a basement, that dirt has to go somewhere.

• The Trap: The bid says “On-site spoil.” But your lot is too small to keep the dirt.
• The Fix: Ensure the bid includes “Load, Haul, and Dispose” of excess spoils to an off-site legal dump.

3. Dewatering

What happens if it rains and the hole fills with water?

• The Trap: The excavator says, “I dig holes, I don’t pump water.”
• The Fix: Scope should include “Maintenance of excavation, including pumping of surface water.”

4. Import Fill

If the site is low, you need to buy dirt to bring it up to grade.

• The Trap: The bid is for “Labor only.” You get a bill for 50 truckloads of fill dirt.
• The Fix: Require a “Balanced Site” bid or a specific allowance for imported structural fill.

The Liability of the “Unknown”: Utilities and Marked Lines

Digging into the earth always carries the risk of hitting existing infrastructure. One of the most common disputes between GCs and Excavators is: Who pays for the repair when a pipe is broken?

To protect yourself, your scope of work must address:

1. 811 / Dig-Safe: Explicitly state that the subcontractor is responsible for calling in utility locates before breaking ground.
2. Private Utilities: Public locates (811) only mark lines from the street to the meter. Any lines behind the meter (like a gas line to a pool or a private septic line) are the GC’s responsibility to identify.
3. Repair Responsibility: Define that the subcontractor is liable for damage to properly marked lines, while the GC provides an allowance for repairing “unmarked” or inaccurately marked private utilities.

Clearing up these “Rules of Engagement” before the excavator arrives prevents a high-stress confrontation on site.

Interface Points (Coordination)

The excavator hits two other trades hard. Define who does what:

• vs. Plumber/Electrician: Who digs the utility trenches? Usually, the excavator digs the “Main” trench to the street, but the Plumber digs the interior under-slab trenches. Define this line.
• vs. Concrete: Who places the gravel under the slab? The excavator usually brings it to the site, but the concrete guys usually spread it for fine grading.

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Don’t Miss a Cubic Yard

Reviewing excavation bids is difficult because every contractor uses different terminology for “dirt.”

Bid Bench simplifies this process with AI.

1. Upload: Drag your excavation PDF bids into the system.
2. Parse: Our AI extracts the inclusions and highlights “Rock Clauses” or “Export Exclusions” in red.
3. Level: View the bids side-by-side to see who included the gravel and who didn’t.

Get your site work under control.
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