How to price utility trenching per foot (and check it against your hourly cost)

Utility customers think in feet. A power company, a developer, or a homeowner running service to a garage will ask what you charge per foot, and a per-foot price is easy to compare, so it is how most trenching and pipe work gets quoted. The risk is that a per-foot number looks simple and hides everything that decides whether you make money on it. This article shows how to build the number from your own costs, and how to check it against hours before you send it.

Start with the day, not the foot

A per-foot price is just a day's cost divided by a day's production. So build the day first.

1. Crew cost per day. Every person on the job at their loaded rate (wages plus payroll taxes, workers' comp, and benefits), for the hours they will actually be on site.
2. Machine cost per day. Each machine at a real cost per hour: payment or depreciation, fuel, maintenance, tires or tracks, insurance. Include the trencher or mini excavator, the loader or skid steer, the compactor, and the truck.
3. Daily overhead. Your office, insurance, software, yard, and owner time, spread over the hours you bill. Our article on overhead and markup walks through how to get that number.

Add those up and you have what a day costs whether the crew lays 40 feet or 400.

Be honest about production

The production rate is the most important number in the quote and the one most often guessed. Do not use a spec sheet or a number from a YouTube video. Use what your own crew did on your last similar job in similar soil.

Production swings with things you can see before you bid:

• Soil. Clay, sand, cobbles, and rock behave differently. Ask for any soil logs or test pits, and look at what the neighbors' work turned up.
• Depth and width. A deeper trench is slower, and once it is deep enough you need a trench box or sloping. Our guide to trench safety covers when. Safety setup takes time that belongs in the price.
• Other utilities. Every crossing means hand digging, slowing down, and sometimes waiting on a locator. See markouts and the 811 clock.
• Access. Tight yards, steep slopes, and hauling pipe a long way all cut feet per day.
• Surface. Lawn, gravel, asphalt, and concrete each add cutting, hauling, and patching.

If you are unsure, price a range and carry the slower number into the quote. A day you finish early is profit. A day you finish late is a loss you cannot get back.

Add what is not in the day rate

The crew and machines get the ditch dug. A per-foot price also has to cover:

• Material. Pipe, conduit, fittings, warning tape, tracer wire, and bedding stone or sand. Price it at what you will actually pay, with a little for waste and for a price change before you order.
• Spoil and backfill. If the dirt can go back in, say so. If it cannot, you are hauling it off and bringing in fill. Our spoil vs fill page explains the difference, and the dirt calculator converts trench size to yards.
• Restoration. Seed and straw, sod, gravel, or a saw cut and asphalt patch. Restoration is where a lot of per-foot jobs quietly lose money, because it gets treated as an afterthought.
• Mobilization. Moving machines on and off site costs real money on a short run. See what mobilization is.
• Permits, inspections, and traffic control where the job needs them.

A worked example, with made-up numbers

These numbers are only to show the arithmetic. Use your own.

• Crew of three, loaded: $210 per hour combined
• Mini excavator and loader: $95 per hour combined
• Compactor and truck: $55 per hour combined
• Overhead: $30 per hour
• Production: 120 feet of trench, lay, and backfill in an 8-hour day

The day costs 8 x ($210 + $95 + $55 + $30) = $3,120. Divided by 120 feet, that is $26 per foot before material, restoration, and profit. Add $9 per foot of material and $6 of restoration and you are at $41 per foot at cost. A markup then goes on top, based on your overhead and the profit you need.

Now see what happens if the soil is rockier than you assumed and production falls to 80 feet. The same day cost spreads over fewer feet: $39 per foot before material and restoration, not $26. That one change added $13 per foot, and on a 1,000-foot run that is $13,000 you did not charge for. This is why the production assumption belongs in writing on the quote.

Put your assumptions on the quote

A per-foot price is only fair for the conditions it was built on. Say what they are:

• Depth and width of the trench.
• Soil type, and that rock, ledge, boulders, or groundwater are not included, or are priced separately per yard or per hour. A rock clause turns a surprise into a price you already agreed on.
• Who handles locates and who pays for crossings that need hand digging.
• What restoration is included and what is not.
• A minimum charge for short runs, because mobilization does not shrink with the footage.

Our article on exclusions and assumptions goes deeper on how to word these without scaring the customer off.

Check the per-foot price against hours

Before you send it, flip the math. Take your per-foot price times the footage, divide by the days you expect, and ask whether that revenue per day covers the day's cost with room left over. If the answer depends on a production rate you have never hit, you do not have a price, you have a hope.

After the job, do it again with the real numbers. How many feet did the crew actually lay each day? What did restoration really take? Feed the answers back into your rates. Our piece on job costing shows a simple way to keep that record.

Where TrackOver fits

TrackOver lets you save your per-foot, per-yard, and per-hour rates and build them into estimates and invoices, then logs crew hours against the job so you can see feet per day afterward. See pricing or start the 7-day free trial, no card needed.

Common questions

How much should I charge per foot for trenching? There is no honest single number, because soil, depth, access, and restoration change it so much. Build it from your crew and machine cost per day, divided by the feet your crew really lays per day, then add material, restoration, overhead, and profit.

Is it better to quote per foot or per hour? Per foot is easier for customers to compare, but it puts the risk of bad ground on you. Per hour moves that risk to the customer. Many contractors quote per foot for known conditions and add per-hour or per-yard pricing for rock and other surprises.

What should I put on a minimum charge? Enough to cover moving machines, setup, and cleanup for a short run, since those costs are the same for 30 feet as for 300.

How do I know my production rate? Track it. Log the feet completed and the crew hours for every similar job, and use your own average, not a published one.