Cost Guide
How much do groundworks cost?
What's included, and what moves the price — so you can budget before you build.
Groundworks is the work below and around a build — and because every site and every build is different, there's no single price. What it costs depends on how much ground has to be moved, what's found once digging starts, and the specification of the concrete and drainage. This guide explains what's included and what moves the price, so you can budget with your eyes open.
GSM Contracting delivers groundwork packages for farms, estates, developers and commercial sites, with our own plant and operators. We're based in Norfolk and work locally and further afield. We plan the sequence properly, turn up when we say we will, and you speak to the person doing the work.
What's included in groundworks?
On most jobs groundworks covers everything from a cleared site up to the point the building goes on top:
- Clearing and stripping the site, and setting levels.
- Excavation and earthworks — digging out, cut and fill, and moving material around the site.
- Foundations and footings — yes, groundworkers do the foundations: trenches, footings and the concrete that goes in them.
- Drainage — foul and surface-water runs, soakaways and connections.
- Concrete works — floor slabs, oversites and finishing.
- Kerbing and site clearance where the job needs it.
On most jobs we cover the whole package with our own plant and operators, rather than you coordinating separate firms.
What affects the cost?
The things that move a groundworks price most.
The size of the dig and the volumes moved.
More excavation and more material to move means more plant time. A level site with little to cart is quicker than a sloping one that needs cut and fill.
Ground conditions — and what's found once digging starts.
Soft ground, rock, a high water table or old foundations underground all change the job. Some of this can't be known until the dig opens up, which is why a good quote explains its assumptions.
Concrete specification and areas.
The mix, the depths and the square-meterage of footings and slabs all count.
Drainage runs and depths.
Longer and deeper runs, and the number of connections and manholes, add time and materials.
Access for plant.
Firm, open access lets the right machines work efficiently; tight or soft access slows everything down.
Working around others.
A clear site is quicker than one where you're sequencing around a builder, a live yard or deliveries.
Do groundworkers do the foundations?
Yes. Foundations and footings are part of groundworks — the excavation, the trenches and the concrete that goes in them. We regularly take a site from clearing and stripping, through excavation and foundations, to drainage and the concrete floor, then hand over for the build to go on top.
Working alongside your builder
We regularly work with builders and other contractors — providing the plant, operators and the groundworks package while they get on with the rest. Because we own our machines, the groundworks stage keeps moving instead of waiting on a hire company.
How to get an accurate price
Tell us what's being built or cleared, send drawings if you have them, and describe the ground as you know it. The more we know, the tighter the quote — priced properly, in the order the works will happen, with dates. For the full service, see our groundworks and civils service; where a job includes old concrete, we can crush it on site for reuse rather than buying aggregate in.
Common questions
What's included in groundworks?
Everything below and around the build: clearing and stripping the site, excavation, foundations and footings, drainage, and the concrete works. On most jobs we cover the whole package with our own plant and operators.
Do groundworkers do foundations?
Yes — foundations and footings are part of groundworks: the excavation, the trenches and the concrete that goes in them.
What makes a groundworks job cost more?
The volumes of earth moved, the ground conditions and what's found once digging starts, the concrete and drainage specification, and access for plant. Tell us about the site and you'll get a clear quote.
Can you work alongside our builder?
Yes — we regularly provide the plant, operators and groundworks package while the builder gets on with the rest.