I am for the first time figuring out the pricing for staking sanitary, storm and waterlines in a subdivision. I was wondering if anyone has an efficient way of calculating what it takes to setup and stake. Do you figure it out from how many manholes or by how long the runs are. The biggest problem on this job is we do not have a cad file and will be recreating the wheel so I am expecting this to be a little heavy on the office side for setup.
Thanks
The estimate will be controlled by your business model. If your chief can stake from plans efficiently go that route. If the site can be pre-calculated reliably run the numbers that way. If you have both options go with the best figure.
We have several excel templates for different work flows. Combined with experience we can get close with a little effort.
Figure out how long it will take you to do the work (calculate them, stake them, check the fieldwork and generate a cut sheet, etc.) and how much of it will be asked for at a time. Break it up into groups that way, and then do a price per structure. I usually find myself rounding up throughout the process. You don't want to assume you could layout all the sanitary in a day and then they call you 5 different times to stake it out in sections.
Dan Patterson, post: 332230, member: 1179 wrote: Figure out how long it will take you to do the work (calculate them, stake them, check the fieldwork and generate a cut sheet, etc.) and how much of it will be asked for at a time. Break it up into groups that way, and then do a price per structure. I usually find myself rounding up throughout the process. You don't want to assume you could layout all the sanitary in a day and then they call you 5 different times to stake it out in sections.
I was just telling my boss (engineer) that if we could stake all the storm or sanitary at the same time it would be cheaper. I told him its the return trips that the cost adds up. I was thinking about price per structure, I had been a field surveyor for years but have not had much experience in subdivision layout in the last 10 years so I kind of forgot how it worked. This job will probably be quite a learning experience for me again. Thanks
Very few contractors can deal with multiple utilities staked all at once in the same roadway. Your Sanitary stakes will be under the spoil piles from the Storm excavation, or vice versa. I would plan to stake each one separately, and if you can combine things then it's a little extra in your pocket. Often you'll be staking storm along one run, then going to another part of the site to mark out waterline or whatever. It all depends on how the contractor is organizing the project.
Storm and Sanitary is mainly staking offsets for the manholes, and line stakes with a cut at intervals along the pipe runs. If the contractor has a good grademan in the trench with a pipe laser then you don't have to do much except spot and orient the precast manhole bases so that everything lines up.
Water pipes add a little more complexity, since you have to account for horizontal and vertical bends, plus tees and valves etc. The advantage is that you're not as worried about grade, so a paint line on the dirt may be enough to keep the excavator going in the right direction.