PRICING
If you are interested in contracting earthwork services, we realize you probably have some questions and concerns when it comes to what it may cost you to make your “dirt dream” a reality. While exact pricing for our services is very specific to each unique project and can only be accurately determined after we accumulate specific data about that project, our goal with this page is to provide you with the information you need to better understand the world of earthwork and the options available to you.
What Factors Shape the Price of an Earthwork Project?
- Do trees/vegetation need to be cleared away before earthwork ensues?
- What type of equipment is needed to perform a project?
- Some projects require certain pieces of equipment while others offer a choice between a couple different options. For example, some types of structures could be excavated with a dozer or a tractor and scraper. A dozer will have a lower per hour rate to run than the tractor and scraper, but the tractor and scraper will have a much higher production rate. *See chart below.
- Job location
- How far will team members need to travel to get to the job location? Will they have to stay out of town?
- Mobilizing/Demobilizing equipment
- How far is the project from the company yard(s)? How many different pieces of equipment need to be moved?
- Amount of material to be excavated, moved, etc.
- Will material need to be brought in? If so, what quality of material do you wish to have?
- You can build an all-weather road with caliche for a cheaper price than limestone, but the limestone will likely require less repairs/maintenance in the long run.
- Will fencing, culverts, etc. need to be added?
*When comparing the production capability and the price per hour of a tractor and scraper with a D6 dozer to excavate material, you will notice on the chart above that the tractor & scraper is almost twice the price per hour. However, the tractor and scraper can yield over 3X the production. While there is a higher price per hour, you can get the job done in much less time.
Pricing in the Construction Industry as a Whole
To really understand the pricing for our services, it’s important to look at pricing in the market as a whole. Since we service several different industries – oil and gas, commercial, renewable energy, ranching, etc – we will talk about the construction industry generally so that it applies to all those other sub-industries.
Overall, the construction industry in Texas has been steady and/or growing for several years as new industry, jobs, and people pour into the state. There is an abundance of contractors available, which creates more competition in the market. Generally, pricing for the industry has increased in recent years from pre-pandemic levels due to the increase in overhead costs (such as parts, fuel, and insurance) as well as increases in the price of materials. Unfortunately, this means that contracting earthwork services is more costly than it used to be because it’s more costly for businesses to run. It’s difficult to determine at this time if any these prices will decrease significantly from their current levels.
Why Are Some Companies So Much More Expensive Than Others?
You may be asking, “What makes some construction companies so expensive and others so cheap?” While all construction companies are facing the issues/situations discussed above, you will still find some variations in pricing between businesses. Oftentimes, there are specific reasons for this such as:
- Differences in overhead costs to a company
- Does a company pay competitive wages and/or provide robust benefits programs to employees?
- Do they own, rent, or are financing their equipment?
- What type/amount of business insurance do they have (or are required to have by certain customers)?
- Technology
- Do they utilize GPS-initiated machine control systems in their equipment?
- Do they conduct in-house take-offs?
- Location
- Are they performing their work locally or must they travel for work?
- Quality of materials used
- Do they utilize higher-quality, more expensive materials or lower-quality, less expensive materials?
Some companies are more expensive than others for valid reasons such as offering better equipment, employing better operators that are paid accordingly, and providing an overall higher quality end product that will hold up better. While some companies price gouge, some are more costly because they themselves have invested business funds into offering more to their team and customers.
When considering which provider you want to perform your earthwork, do not forget the factors that may play a role in the price they are offering you. Ask yourself what is really important to you to have in a contractor, then do your research to ensure the contractor you choose provides the end product, ethics, and customer service you expect at the price you can afford.
Where Does Cenizo Fall in the Market?
You are now probably wondering, “What about Cenizo? Where do you fall in the industry when it comes to pricing?” We’re glad you asked!
Cenizo Services is an intimate, family-owned and operated company that provides premiere earthwork services. We offer cutting-edge technology with GPS-enabled equipment and an in-house 4D modeling system. We also greatly value our employees and strive to be a workplace of choice for them with great pay, benefits, and other incentives and rewards. It’s important to us to offer an amazing product and service experience, but at an affordable price. While we have some overhead costs that some of our competitors may not have, we are strategic in balancing those business costs with reasonable pricing to ensure we remain true to our values but also can service a wide range of customers. Therefore our pricing ends up in the middle tier of the industry for the majority of our projects (see chart below). Sure, you can find cheaper providers, but they likely do not produce the quality we do or provide the business relationship we do. You can also find providers with higher pricing, likely due to some of the factors listed in the previous section (such as unideal geographic location, higher overhead costs, etc.).
In summary, if you are looking for a contractor that you can build a relationship with and trust; if uncompromised quality is important to you; if you take pride in supporting local, small businesses, we’d love to have the opportunity to perform earthwork services beyond expectations for you!
Is The Price for Earthwork Worth It?
To us at Cenizo, we think improvements to your property are always worth it as they either increase the value of your property or enable you to complete certain tasks you could not do before (or both)! Constructing, maintaining, or upgrading earthwork structures could give you brand new or improved access to different areas (roads), enable you to build a new structure (foundations, pad sites), increase your yield or improve your herd (ponds, brush clearing/management, pasture/grassland improvement), access natural resources (excavation), preserve native habitat and/or wildlife (water sources, land restoration), and more!
Another thing that, in our eyes, is always worth it is choosing QUALITY, every time! High-quality materials can positively impact the overall project cost and schedule by decreasing maintenance and repairs along with the number of changes future trades may endure (after the earthwork is complete). For example, using a high-quality aggregate fill for a building pad will create fewer voids for cement contractors later on (see comparison photos below). Therefore, higher quality material may cost more upfront, but will likely save you money in the long run by reducing repairs and/or redos on your project. Quality is one of our core values at Cenizo and we always recommend the highest-quality option to our customers. However, we are also aware that each customers’ needs and wants are different, so we are sure to make different options at different prices available, when possible.
Example of a building pad ditch with jagged edges caused by low-quality rock that was not properly crushed and therefore created voids when the ditch was cut.
Example of a building pad ditch with clean, straight edges due to high-quality, well-crushed rock that ensured minimal voids.
Example of a building pad ditch with jagged edges caused by low-quality rock that was not properly crushed and therefore created voids when the ditch was cut (top photo) vs a building pad ditch with clean, straight edges due to high-quality, well-crushed rock that ensured minimal voids (bottom photo).
We hope the information you found here was helpful and addressed your questions and concerns.
If you are interested in receiving a quote for your project, please give us a call by clicking the button below!