How do shrink and swell differ?

Shrink: a cubic yard excavated compacts to less when placed. Swell: the same yard occupies more in the truck. Both change how much material you actually move or need.

Do I need software for earthwork?

Sections and grids can be measured on calibrated PDFs; large corridors benefit from surface modeling, but the quantities still start from the same drawings.

Takeoff Guides

Earthwork Takeoff Guide

Short answer

An earthwork takeoff computes cut and fill volumes in cubic yards — from cross sections (average end area), a grid, or a surface comparison — then applies shrink and swell factors so excavated volume hauled equals the fill volume placed correctly.

Earthwork is the takeoff where a percentage error is a fleet of trucks. Cut and fill are computed from surfaces — existing versus proposed — using cross sections or a grid of elevations, and the shrink/swell factors translate between bank, loose, and compacted yards.

On DOT work, cross sections every 50 or 100 feet drive the average-end-area math. On site work, a grading plan and a grid do the same job.

What to measure

Cut and fill separately — they price and haul differently.
Shrink and swell factors applied in the right direction.
Topsoil strip before section volumes — it is not excavation.
Unsuitable material and muck removal areas.
Clearing limits — the disturbed area boundary.
Haul distance for borrow or disposal — volume is not the only cost.

Earthwork takeoff units

Item	Unit	How measured
Excavation (cut)	CY	End areas × station spacing, or grid volumes
Embankment (fill)	CY	Same, on fill areas — compacted measure
Borrow / disposal	CY	Cut minus fill, adjusted for shrink/swell
Topsoil strip and respread	CY or SY	Depth × area, or surface area
Clearing and grubbing	AC	Disturbed area
Unsuitable removal / subsoil excavation	CY	Area × depth where shown

End areas and grids

Average end area multiplies the mean of adjacent cut/fill areas by the station spacing. Grid methods divide the site into cells and compare existing to proposed at each corner. Both answer the same question — how much dirt moves — and both fail the same way: when the proposed surface in the plans does not match the sections.

Shrink and swell are the silent killers

A bank cubic yard cut does not equal a cubic yard of compacted fill. Earth shrinks in compaction and swells in the haul truck — balance calculations that ignore the factors produce borrow shortages or disposal surpluses nobody budgeted.