Structures sit inside most civil jobs, and they're easy to under-price because a line on a plan hides the formwork, the steel, the pour and the crane. We price them element by element, including the excavation, drainage and backfill around them.
What's included
Retaining walls
- Concrete cantilever walls
- Block, sleeper, crib and gabion walls
- Drainage and backfill behind the wall
- Height priced along the length
Drainage structures
- Headwalls and wingwalls
- Box culverts, precast or cast in situ
- Cast-in-situ pits
- Detention tanks
Concrete works
- Footpaths and shared paths
- Kerb, dish drains, channels
- Driveways and crossings
- Stairs and ramps
The one we see most often is a wall that runs from one metre high to three being priced as a two-metre wall. The footing, the steel and the formwork all change with height, so we price the length in bands. The other is the drainage behind the wall, which usually lives in the notes rather than on the plan.
We don't price building slabs and cores. If your job has them, the civil side can still come to us.
Common questions
Can you price a wall from a typical section?
Yes. Give us the typical section and the height along the wall and we'll price it in height bands.
Do you compare precast and cast in situ?
Where the drawings allow either, we can price both so you can see which suits your site and programme.