Starter price list
Foundations, drainage runs, soakaways, manholes and site strip. 15 priced lines.
InstaQuote
getinstaquote.com
Our estimates, Sep 2026
Read this first. These are starting points, not a rate card. Our own starting estimates, checked September 2026. Your area, your costs and your diary decide the real number, so mark them up or down before you quote off them.
Pick the work, put the sizes in, and see a ballpark. Free, nothing to sign up for.
Suggested starting rates
The rates InstaQuote sets a groundworks & drainage business up on.
Groundworks
| Job | Unit | From |
|---|
| Dig & cart away site strip (300mm) | m² | £32 |
| Strip foundation dig & concrete fill | m | £145 |
| Concrete oversite slab (150mm, mesh) | m² | £95 |
| Land drain / French drain | m | £85 |
| Retaining sleeper wall | m | £210 |
Drainage
| Job | Unit | From |
|---|
| New foul drainage run (110mm, bedded) | m | £120 |
| Surface water run to soakaway | m | £105 |
| Soakaway crate installation | each | £950 |
| New inspection chamber (450mm) | each | £480 |
| Linear channel drain (ACO type) | m | £95 |
| Gully replacement / repair | each | £240 |
| CCTV drain survey | each | £180 |
| Drain jetting / blockage clear | each | £160 |
Plant
| Job | Unit | From |
|---|
| Mini digger & driver day rate | day | £350 |
Day rates
| Groundworker day rate | day | £260 |
Prices are sell prices including labour, exclude VAT, and are starting points only. Check your own material costs before you quote. InstaQuote Ltd, Coventry, company no. 17224118.
How much does groundworks & drainage work cost in the UK?
There is no one price: it moves with your area, the size of the job and what the materials cost that week. As a starting point, this list puts groundworks & drainage at about £260 a day (groundworker day rate), and the jobs below at the prices shown. A trade using InstaQuote changes every one of these to their own numbers, and the quote prices off those.
- Dig & cart away site strip (300mm)£32/m²
- Strip foundation dig & concrete fill£145 a metre
- Concrete oversite slab (150mm, mesh)£95/m²
- Land drain / French drain£85 a metre
- What is a typical groundworks & drainage day rate?
- This list starts at £260 a day (groundworker day rate). Day rates move a lot by area and by how busy the week is, so treat it as a ballpark and price the job, not the day, wherever you can.
- Should a groundworks & drainage quote be priced per job or per day?
- Per job, wherever you can measure it. A priced line per bit of work is easier for the customer to say yes to, and it protects you if the job grows. Keep the day rate for call outs and work you cannot measure up front.
- Do these prices include VAT?
- No. They are the price before VAT. If you are VAT registered you add VAT on top, and InstaQuote works it out on every quote and invoice, along with CIS and the reverse charge where they apply.
- Are these prices reliable?
- These are starting points, not a rate card. Our own starting estimates, checked September 2026. Your area, your costs and your diary decide the real number, so mark them up or down before you quote off them.
InstaQuote sets a groundworks & drainage account up with this list already in it. Snap your notes or type the job in, it builds the quote off your rates, then it takes the deposit, books the job, drafts the invoice and chases it.
7 days free. No card to start. Then from £49/month.
See how it runs a job for groundworkers