Well, maybe not completely sad but ....
At final builder interview they said they had a note on file to say "you have a LOT of soil to remove".
eek
Now we knew we had a bit but it's no hill. The block slopes 1.5 from back to front.
Makes sense to talk to the site guys before they start but I hate being at their mercy without some decent background like 'how much soil is it, how long would it take, where would it be dumped etc.
soooooo
I divided my site drainage plan into 4m2 blocks as it also has contours
I then knocked up an excel spreadsheet and noted the slope at each 4m2 block
I then took that value from the 'Bench level' as that told me the depth
and that multiplied x 4m2 gave me Cu Metres for each 4m2 section of the block
Then I rode down to the estate, found a guy in a truck and found out his truck took approx 24 tonne.
He said very rough guide of 2 tonne per Cu metre.
So that gave me total tonnage.
Early estimate is approx 500 tonne but not allowed for the fill component of my block down the front. prefer to estimate worst case.
I also found out for SA, Torrens Island site fill site is free during the week, $5/tonne on weekend.
Is this sad?
What it gives me is an 'idea' of what I have, what a truck takes. I can estimate say 4 truck trips per day to the fill site, I can estimate hourly rate so when the builder's contractor offers me a knockout cash price I can at least compare it against something.
as an aside to this ramble, I'll probably engage my building inspector and/or a landscape consultant to come onsite before they start and give me some written advice on what to do with the fill, early guidance on retaining (e.g. to terrace or not terrace).
Have fun