The figures below are an illustrative example to show the method — not a price quote. Your local material prices, equipment rates and labor will differ, which is exactly why a workbook you can change beats a number someone else picked.
Step 1 — The takeoff: measure and list the scope
Start from the measurement that drives everything else: a 320 sq ft paver patio. From that one number you can quantify pavers, base gravel, sand and edging, then list the non-material lines — excavation, equipment, and hauling the dug-out spoil away. The takeoff is the checklist the rest of the bid hangs on.
We’ll build each number by hand below so the method is clear; the Contractor & Trades Estimating Workbook does the same in one linked file if you’d rather not start from a blank sheet.
Step 2 — Materials, with a waste allowance
Pavers and aggregate always over-order — cuts, breakage, and a base you don’t want to run short on. A 10% waste allowance on the bulk material is a sensible starting point for hardscape — adjust it to your own history.
| Material | Cost |
|---|---|
| Pavers (320 sq ft @ $4.50) | $1,440 |
| Base gravel & bedding sand | $480 |
| Edging, fabric & polymeric sand | $260 |
| Materials subtotal | $2,180 |
| Waste allowance (~10% on bulk) | $190 |
| Materials with waste | $2,370 |
Step 3 — Equipment
Hardscape needs gear a remodel doesn’t. Rentals are a direct job cost — price them on their own line so they don’t disappear into overhead: a plate compactor and a mini-excavator for the day come to $350.
Step 4 — Loaded labor
Excavate, lay and compact the base, set and cut the pavers, sand and seal. A three-person crew at a loaded rate of $45/hour for roughly 40 crew-hours is $1,800 of labor.
Step 5 — Disposal, direct cost and a contingency
Hauling the excavated spoil is its own line. Add it, total the direct cost, and put a small contingency on top for the grade surprises every dig hides:
| Direct cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Materials (with waste) | $2,370 |
| Equipment rental | $350 |
| Loaded labor | $1,800 |
| Spoil disposal & haul-away | $300 |
| Contingency (~5%) | $240 |
| Total direct cost | $5,060 |
Step 6 — Overhead and margin: the step that sets the price
Direct cost is what the job costs you. The price has to cover overhead and leave a profit on top — both come out of your gross margin. For this example, say you set a higher 35% gross margin to absorb the weather and equipment risk hardscape carries. Price isn’t cost × 1.35 — that’s the markup-vs-margin trap. The right math:
- Price = cost ÷ (1 − margin) = $5,060 ÷ 0.65 = $7,785
- That’s a 53.8% markup on cost, not 35%.
- Gross profit on the job = $7,785 − $5,060 = $2,725 to cover overhead and net profit.
Round to a clean client number — $7,800 — and that’s your bid. You can sanity-check any single job’s markup and margin with the free bid-markup & job-cost calculator before you send it.
Step 7 — The change order (where margin usually leaks)
Mid-job the client wants the patio extended by 40 sq ft to seat a fire pit. Don’t fold it in as a favor — price it as the small job it is, at the same margin:
| Change order: 40 sq ft extension | Amount |
|---|---|
| Added pavers, base & sand (materials) | $320 |
| Added labor (8 hrs @ $45) | $360 |
| Added direct cost | $680 |
| Change-order price (35% margin) | $1,046 |
Logged against the original bid, the change order keeps the job’s margin intact instead of quietly eating it.
Build the whole estimate in one connected file
Bulk materials, equipment, loaded labor, disposal, overhead and a change order — that’s a lot of numbers to keep straight on scratch sheets, and a single un-marked-up rental or forgotten waste line is how a 35% margin becomes 18%. The Contractor & Trades Estimating Workbook runs this exact flow in one linked workbook, so changing a paver price re-prices the bid and the client summary in one move. It ships with a bathroom-remodel example already built, and the method fits every trade — see the remodeling bid tutorial for the same flow on a bathroom remodel, or browse the contractor & trades hub.
