Earthworks in Glenvale, Toowoomba QLD

Three pieces of work usually make up a pad. Topsoil stripping removes the soft top layer, rubble and rubbish from the building area. Cut and fill takes soil from the high side and builds up the low side. Compaction rolls the fill in layers so the slab does not settle later.

The operator works to the levels on your builder's plans, so the concrete crew can start on a true surface.

A house pad is the flat, firm platform your slab sits on. Getting it right the first time matters because a soft or uneven pad can crack a slab, and a pad that is out of level holds up the trades behind it.

The contractor pegs out the footprint, strips the topsoil, then cuts and fills to level. Fill goes down in layers and is compacted as it goes. Loose, uncompacted fill is the usual reason a pad moves after rain.

Shed pads follow the same steps on a smaller scale. If a shed is ordered and you have nowhere flat to put it, grading and site preparation gives the shed a stable base with good fall for water to run away.

Swimming pool excavation is a precise dig. The hole has to match the shell or the plans, and the soil from it needs somewhere to sit until it is carted off.

Clay digs out as heavy, sticky spoil that adds truckloads, and rock calls for a rock breaker on the excavator, which slows the dig. Both show up in the spoil volume and the price.

Driveways start with the base. Stripping soft topsoil, shaping the fall and compacting a firm base is what lets a driveway carry cars and trucks. A washed-out driveway usually points to poor drainage or a thin base, and the contractor confirms the cause on site.

Spoil removal sounds simple until you count what comes off a block. Old slabs, old fencing, rubble and stockpiled soil all need a place to go. Spoil is the surplus soil and rubble the job produces, and removing it is part of the price.

On a bigger lot, some of that soil can stay on site and be used as fill, which cuts the carting. The price shows whether spoil stays as fill or gets trucked out, because carting is often the line that moves the total.

Rock and buried pipes are what worry owners most about a dig. Service checks before digging show where pipes and cables run, and a look at the site shows how the ground is likely to dig.

A written price sets the agreed scope: the levels, the machine work and the spoil removal. You see that scope on paper before the machines arrive.

Before you sign anything, the QBCC licence register shows whether your contractor holds a licence.