Estimating services
From a quantities-only takeoff to a priced bid package, start with the output you need. Define the drawings, the scope, and the stage of the project; the estimating approach follows.
CHOOSE THE OUTPUT
Start with what your team needs to do next. Both services begin with a defined drawing issue and scope.
| Service | What it answers | Typical output | Useful for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quantity takeoff | How much work is shown? | Measured scope, units and drawing references | Internal pricing and quantity review |
| Material takeoff | Which materials and sizes are needed? | Material schedules and stated allowances | Supplier review and procurement planning |
| Cost estimate | What is the requested scope expected to cost? | Priced quantities, trade summaries and assumptions | Budgeting, bidding and cost planning |
CORE ESTIMATING
SERVICE SCOPE
A complete construction estimate brings measured scope, requested pricing, and project-wide assumptions into one reviewable structure. Organize work by trade; keep allowances and exclusions visible; identify interfaces that need a decision. The exact contents depend on the documents and the agreed assignment.
SERVICE SCOPE
Move from measured scope to a cost picture you can interrogate. Organize unit costs, labor assumptions, equipment, subcontractor quotations, allowances, and general conditions separately. The pricing basis and exclusions travel with the estimate.
SERVICE SCOPE
Measure areas, lengths, volumes, and counts against the drawing issue provided. Quantities can be grouped by building, floor, area, assembly, or trade. Document references help a reviewer trace the scope and identify changes between issues.
SERVICE SCOPE
Translate the agreed scope into material schedules with sizes, types, specification references, and units. Separate net measured quantities from waste or purchasing allowances. Final ordering quantities remain subject to supplier sizes, field conditions, and approved submittals.
SERVICE SCOPE
Review the tender documents, identify issued addenda, and organize inclusions, exclusions, alternates, and allowances around the bid requirements. Clearly distinguish measured scope from vendor pricing and items that need clarification before submission.
PRECONSTRUCTION
SERVICE SCOPE
Establish a documented cost basis at a defined design milestone. As drawings develop, reconcile scope changes and separate design development from pricing changes. Make uncertain scope visible so the project team can decide what to investigate next.
SERVICE SCOPE
Organize the available design information into a usable project budget. Identify known quantities, allowances for incomplete scope, and cost items awaiting quotations. The level of detail follows the information supplied; a budget is not a substitute for a fully documented bid estimate.
SERVICE SCOPE
Describe the concept before asking it to support a detailed price. Record area, use, quality expectations and assumed systems; compare supported scenarios and identify the information needed for a more developed estimate.
SERVICE SCOPE
Review the actual maturity of each discipline, replace suitable allowances with measured scope and explain movement from the previous budget. Keep system changes, quantity changes and pricing updates distinguishable.
SERVICE SCOPE
Compare the changed scope with the agreed baseline. Quantify additions and deletions, identify credits, and document material, labor, equipment, and other agreed cost components. Note schedule or productivity assumptions rather than treating them as automatic entitlements.
SERVICE SCOPE
Compare the cost implications of alternatives proposed by the project team. Keep performance, life-cycle, design, and installation assumptions explicit. Design approval and code compliance remain with the responsible professionals.
CLIENT / PROJECT SERVICES
SERVICE SCOPE
Compare package boundaries, identify gaps and overlaps, and distinguish quoted prices from estimating adjustments. Organize general conditions, allowances and alternates around the contractor’s document issue and execution assumptions.
SERVICE SCOPE
Review the invitation, drawings, details and specifications for the package you intend to perform. Keep material quantities, installation assumptions, exclusions and addendum changes traceable through the trade proposal.
SERVICE SCOPE
Organize commercial MEP, finishes and construction support around the issued scope. Identify occupied phasing, equipment connections and owner-supplied items so the estimate reflects the actual work split.
SERVICE SCOPE
Separate retained, removed and new construction across structure, framing, services and finishes. Coordinate sitework and owner purchases with the building scope, keeping incomplete selections visible.
SERVICE SCOPE
Trace pads, structural work, utilities and connections to defined responsibilities. Keep equipment supply, specialist quotations and operational assumptions separate from measured building and civil work.
SERVICE SCOPE
Map the estimate to base items, alternates, allowances and unit prices. Record the official labor-schedule basis where applicable, track amendments and identify contractor cost inputs for review.
GENERAL CONTRACTORS
Coordinate measured trade scope with subcontractor quotations, general conditions, alternates, and the overall bid summary. Identify duplicated scope and work that falls between packages. For a GC estimate, the boundaries matter as much as the quantities.
Review GC estimatingSUBCONTRACTORS
Focus a takeoff on the systems, areas, and installation scope your trade is bidding. Separate owner-supplied or other-trade work, clarify drawing references, and record the inclusions and exclusions you want carried into the quotation.
Review subcontractor estimatingYOUR NEXT PROJECT STARTS HERE
Send the drawings, the scope, and the deadline.
Let’s establish what your estimate needs to cover.