Road & sub-base level surveys
Sub-base and binder checked against the road design before the next layer goes on.
Earthworks volume surveys
Earthworks volume surveys: cut and fill you can stand behind
We survey the ground by drone and RTK GNSS, compare it with your design or an earlier survey, and give you cut and fill quantities with a heat-map showing exactly where the ground is high and low.
In short: an earthworks volume survey measures the ground surface and compares it with the design or a previous survey to give cut and fill volumes. We use a drone over the whole site and an RTK GNSS rover for control and checks, and report quantities by area with a colour heat-map.
- Compares with
- Design or earlier survey
- Gives
- Cut, fill and heat-map
- Results
- Typically 2–3 working days
- From
- £595
What an earthworks survey is used for
- Pricing: cut and fill from the existing ground to the design formation, before you quote or order.
- Topsoil strip: depth and volume actually stripped, measured against the ground before the strip.
- Muck-away and import: how much has left site or been brought in, as a check against wagon loads and tickets.
- Platform and formation levels: how close the graded ground is to design before stone goes down.
- Interim valuations and disputes: an independent, repeatable quantity with the data behind it.
Why measure the whole surface
Earthworks quantities built from a handful of levels on a grid are only as good as the points picked up. On a site with humps, hollows and old ground, a 20 m grid can miss thousands of cubic metres. A drone survey measures the whole surface, so every hump and hollow is in the calculation, and the heat-map shows where the volume actually is.
Every surface is fixed to ground control measured with our RTK GNSS rover and checked against points kept out of the processing. When two surveys are compared, the same control is used for both, which is what makes the difference between them reliable.
Built by someone who has run the earthworks
Dimensure was set up by a groundworks project manager with 12 years on UK housing sites. We know the questions that come up at valuation and when the muck-away bill arrives, and the reports are laid out to answer them, area by area, in the same terms as your bill of quantities.
What you get back
- Cut and fill volumes, total and by area
- Colour heat-map over the orthophoto
- Spot differences from design on a grid
- Both surfaces and the point cloud
- A one-page summary for the valuation
Just need the volume of individual heaps? See stockpile volume surveys. For millimetre checks on finished sub-base, see road and sub-base level surveys.
How an earthworks survey works
Drawings and purpose
The site plan, the design surface or levels, and what the numbers are for: pricing, a strip, a valuation.
Control
Control and check points measured with RTK GNSS on your site grid or Ordnance Survey grid.
Fly and level
The site is flown, and any areas the drone can't see are levelled with the rover.
Compare and report
Surfaces compared, volumes split by area, heat-map and summary issued.
What to tell us for the best numbers
The most useful thing you can do is survey before work starts. A survey of the original ground is the baseline every later volume is measured from, and it can't be recreated once the ground has been moved. Beyond that: the design surface in LandXML or 3D DWG, the areas you want quantities split into, and any layer depths (topsoil, stone, formation) you want allowed for. We report in-place surveyed volumes; bulking and compaction factors stay with your engineer or estimator.
Other survey services
See the earthworks survey cost guide for prices.
Tarmac depth surveys
Before-and-after scans that map the thickness actually laid, across the whole road.
Plot & oversite surveys
Slab flatness, brickwork to drawing and drain collar positions, checked plot by plot.
As-built surveys
Finished roads, kerbs, drainage covers and plots recorded, with as-built drawings in DWG and PDF.
Floor flatness surveys
Slabs and screeds scanned edge to edge and checked against SR1-SR3 or your flatness class.
3D measured building surveys
Millimetre-accurate floor plans and elevations for kitchens, extensions and architects.
Topographical surveys
Levels, contours, boundaries, buildings and trees for planning and design, with the full 3D scan.
Dimensure Design Audit
Groundworks and civils drawings reviewed before you dig, on any project: problems found on paper.
Garden surveys
Levels, walls, steps, trees and drains surveyed for garden designers, landscapers and homeowners.
Drone surveys
Aerial mapping tied to RTK GNSS control: scaled orthophotos, levels and contours for whole sites.
Stockpile volume surveys
Every heap of stone, topsoil and spoil measured by drone, in cubic metres and tonnes.
Site progress surveys
Monthly drone records of the whole site, compared with last month, for valuations and reports.
GNSS setting out
Site control on Ordnance Survey grid, and pegs for earthworks, drainage, roads and plots.
As-laid service surveys
Drainage, chambers and ducts recorded in the open trench, with levels and photos, before backfill.
Pre-start condition surveys
Roads, kerbs, walls and neighbouring buildings recorded by scan, drone and photo before work starts.
Drone roof surveys
Close-up roof inspections without scaffold, with measured roof areas and pitches if needed.
Reporting from your survey data
Already have a scan or your engineer's levels? We process your data and report against design, no visit needed.
Earthworks surveys near you
Questions we get asked
What is an earthworks volume survey?
A survey of the ground surface compared with another surface: the design levels, or an earlier survey of the same site. The difference between them gives the volume of cut and fill, area by area, and a colour heat-map shows where ground is high or low. It's how earthworks are priced, tracked and valued.
Can you work out cut and fill against our design?
Yes. Send the design surface (a LandXML or a 3D DWG from your engineer) or the levels drawings, and we compare the surveyed ground with it. You get cut and fill volumes, a heat-map and spot differences, and we can split the site into areas, such as roads, plots and open space, to match your bill of quantities.
Can you check how much topsoil was stripped?
Yes, if the ground was surveyed before stripping. We survey the original ground, survey again after the strip, and the difference shows the depth taken off across the whole area and the total volume. That's the fairest way to settle a topsoil strip, and the same method works for any excavation or fill.
How accurate are drone earthworks volumes?
Over a large area, very consistent. Each surface is tied to RTK GNSS control, and small level errors average out across thousands of square metres, so totals are reliable for valuations and reconciliation. On very shallow strips of 100 mm or so over small areas, the level accuracy becomes a bigger share of the depth, and we tell you when that's the case.
Do the volumes allow for bulking and compaction?
The survey measures in-place volume at the time of each survey. Bulking when material is dug and loaded, and compaction when it's placed, are factors for your earthworks engineer or estimator to apply. We state that our figures are surveyed in-place volumes so they're used the right way.
Can earthworks surveys be used for valuations?
Yes. Regular surveys measured the same way each time give an independent quantity for interim valuations, muck-away reconciliation and disputes between main contractor and groundworker, with the heat-map and data to back the numbers up.
Book a scan or ask a question
Send the drawing, the location and when you need it. We reply the same working day with a fixed price.