=8.= In order that an idea may be formed of the actual cost of
excavating various kinds of soils, figures based on work actually
performed are here given. On this work, for a day of 8 hours, a laborer
was paid $2, and a driver with a two-horse team, $4.
As a rule, one laborer can excavate about 7 cubic yards of sandy
soil in 8 hours. Thus, at the rate of 25 cents per hour, the cost
of excavating this kind of soil is about 28½ cents per cubic yard,
provided the material is wasted around the building. To this figure,
however, must be added 4 or 5 cents to cover the foreman’s wages, the
exact amount depending on the number of men under the foreman. This
brings the total cost per cubic yard to about 33 cents.
When the material has to be carted away, the cost is further increased.
A team with a driver can haul away about 20 cubic yards of soil in a
day if the haul is only about ½ mile. In order to do this, however,
an extra wagon must be at hand so that the laborers can be loading
one wagon while the team is hauling away the other. Thus, the cost of
hauling 1 cubic yard of excavated material ½ mile is 20 cents. The
total cost, therefore, of excavating 1 cubic yard of sandy soil and
hauling it ½ mile is 33 + 20 = 53 cents.
=9.= If the soil is compact gravel, the cost of excavating, including
the foreman’s time, will be from 34 to 65 cents per cubic yard,
depending on its hardness. It costs about the same to haul compact
gravel as it does to haul sandy soil.
The exact cost of excavating wet soil cannot be given, as the
conditions encountered may vary in each case. In a stated time, a
laborer will excavate nearly as much wet material as dry material, but
the conditions of sheet piling and pumping out water makes the price
uncertain.
Such excavation is usually carried on at a cost of from 75 cents to
$1.25 per cubic yard.
In excavating rock, three men—one rockman and two laborers—usually
work together. For a day of 8 hours, the rockman receives $3 and each
laborer gets $2. Together, therefore, the wages of the three amounts to
$7 a day. These men will excavate about 6 cubic yards of rock in 1 day,
making the rock excavation cost $1.17 per cubic yard. To this must be
added the cost of explosives, which is about 10 cents per cubic yard,
and the wear on tools. This latter expense can hardly be estimated,
but may also be considered as 10 cents per cubic yard, thus bringing
the total cost of rock excavation up to $1.37 per cubic yard for rock
wasted at the building.
=10.= To sum up, excavation in sandy soil wasted around the building
costs 33 cents per cubic yard; if hauled ½ mile, it costs 53 cents
per cubic yard. If the soil is compact gravel and is wasted around
the building, excavation costs from 34 to 65 cents per cubic yard;
if hauled ½ mile, from 54 to 85 cents per cubic yard. Wet excavation
with no piling or pumping costs about the same as dry; with piling and
pumping, it costs from 75 cents to $1.25 per cubic yard. Rock work
costs $1.37 per cubic yard if wasted around the building. These figures
do not include the contractor’s profit.