Construction Cost Estimating and BIM Services for the USA and Canada

A good estimate is one your team can check, adjust and defend. Every estimate we deliver is built so you can trace each number back to the drawings.

• Summary: totals by CSI division or trade, with general conditions, overhead, profit and contingency on separate lines you can change.
• Quantity detail: every item with its quantity, unit and the sheet it came from.
• Pricing detail: material, labor and equipment costs for each line, priced for your project location.
• Clarifications and exclusions: a written list of what is included, what is not and what we assumed, ready to use in your proposal.
• Formats: an Excel workbook you can edit and a PDF summary to share.

• Budget and conceptual estimates: early numbers from concept or schematic drawings, used to decide whether a project is feasible.
• Design development estimates: updated costs as the design grows, so owners and architects can keep the project on budget.
• Bid estimates: detailed, line-item estimates from construction documents, used by contractors to submit a price.
• Trade estimates: one trade only, such as electrical or drywall, for subcontractors bidding their own scope.
• Change order pricing: the cost of added or changed work, built from the same quantities as the original estimate.

General contractors use our estimates to bid more projects and to check subcontractor quotes. Subcontractors send us their own trade, such as electrical, mechanical, drywall or concrete, when bid volume is high. Homebuilders and remodelers use our takeoffs to price house plans and order material. Developers and owners use our budgets to test a project before they commit. Architects and engineers use our BIM and drafting services to produce and update drawings.

The quality of an estimate depends on the documents behind it. These steps help us deliver sooner and with fewer assumptions:

• Send the full drawing set, including all disciplines, not just the sheets for one trade.
• Include the specifications and every addendum issued so far.
• Tell us your bid date, the project location and whether the job is union, open shop or prevailing wage.
• Say which format you need: CSI divisions, trade by trade or your own template.
• List anything you already have quotes for, so we do not price it twice.

If something is missing or unclear, we contact you before we start pricing, so questions are answered early instead of becoming assumptions in your bid. Once the estimate is delivered, we can update it for addenda or answer questions about any line item.