What Is Shoring in Construction?
Shoring is the temporary support installed to hold back the walls of an excavation, or brace an existing building, so the ground or structure cannot collapse, slip or move while work is carried out nearby. It becomes necessary once an excavation is too deep, too close to a boundary, or the ground too unstable to cut back at a safe angle. Because it is temporary works engineered for one job, shoring is priced specifically for the site rather than picked from a catalogue.
Key takeaways
- Shoring is a temporary, engineered support system that holds back an excavation face or braces an existing structure so it cannot collapse or move.
- Battering — cutting the excavation back at a stable angle — is the cheaper default; shoring is used where space or ground conditions rule battering out.
- A geotechnical or structural engineer typically designs the shoring system based on depth, ground conditions and what sits nearby.
- Shoring cost is driven by depth, system type and ground conditions, so it is priced job by job, not off a standard rate.
What is shoring?
Shoring is a temporary retaining system — piles, sheets, walings, props or anchors — installed to hold back an excavation face or support an existing structure while work happens around or below it. It is usually removed once the permanent structure can carry the load itself, and the method varies with depth and ground conditions.
Battering vs shoring
Battering is the simpler alternative: instead of supporting the excavation face, you cut it back at a stable angle so it cannot collapse under its own weight, and it is almost always cheaper than shoring because it needs no engineered system. Shoring becomes necessary once battering is not an option — a boundary, footpath, existing building or services sits too close, or the ground is not stable enough to hold a battered face.
- Battering — cut back at a stable angle; cheap, but needs space.
- Shoring — an engineered support system; needed where space or ground conditions rule out battering.
When shoring is required
Work health and safety regulations across Australia require excavations to be supported, battered or benched wherever there is a collapse risk, and a geotechnical engineer generally specifies the design based on the ground and what sits nearby.
- Basement excavations close to a boundary or existing building.
- Excavations next to roads, footpaths or underground services.
- Unstable, sandy or waterlogged ground.
- Deep excavations where an unsupported face is a genuine risk.
What drives the cost of shoring
Shoring is priced job by job because it is engineered for the specific site. The main drivers are excavation depth, the system used — sheet piling, piled walls, or soldier piles and lagging — ground conditions, and whether anchors or props are needed. Certification, rig access, and whether the system is removed afterward add further cost.
How My Trade Hub helps you price shoring
My Trade Hub does not design your shoring — that stays with your engineer — but it takes the manual work out of turning a shoring design into a priced tender line. The automated quantity takeoff measures excavation depths and shoring lengths from your plans, and you apply your own labour, plant and subcontractor rates through the editable rates library, so estimators typically prepare a tender 60-75% faster than manual estimation. Estimating and takeoff sit on the paid Starter, Scale and Professional plans (AUD, no lock-in contracts); creating an account is free.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between shoring and battering?
Battering cuts the excavation back at a stable angle and needs no engineered system, but needs room to spread the dig out. Shoring is an engineered system used where there is no room to batter, or the ground will not hold a battered face.
When is shoring required on a construction site?
Wherever an excavation cannot be safely battered — typically boundary-line basements, digs next to roads or services, unstable ground, or excavations deep enough that an unsupported face is a collapse risk.
Who designs a shoring system?
A geotechnical or structural engineer designs the shoring system, specifying the method and materials based on excavation depth, ground conditions and what sits nearby.
Is shoring removed after construction?
Sometimes. Shoring is often extracted once the permanent structure can carry the load itself, but in other cases — particularly sheet or piled walls near a boundary — it is left in the ground permanently.
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