Estimating guide
Getting a sharper estimate
We do the slow parts for you. These five habits get you a sharper estimate back, and a number you'd put your name on.
Start with a clean plan set
The takeoff is only as good as what we can read. Send the full, current plan set as a crisp PDF rather than a phone photo of a printout. If sheets are split across files, include the ones that carry the real scope: architectural, structural, and the relevant MEP pages.
Tell us where you're building
We price by place, because material and labor don't cost the same in every market. The job's location is the single biggest lever on an accurate number, so give us the city rather than just the state.
Describe the scope in your words
Add a short note about what's actually included. A gut renovation prices very differently from a cosmetic refresh of the same square footage, and a sentence of context steers the estimate toward the job you're really bidding.
Send the addenda too
Spec sections, addenda, and revised sheets change the number. Send what you have and tell us the bid date. If something is missing or a sheet didn't scan, we'll ask before we price it rather than guess.
Review what comes back
Read it the way you'd check a junior's takeoff. Confirm the big quantities, check the unit prices against your market, and add anything site-specific the plans don't show: access, phasing, temporary conditions. Disagree with a line? Tell your estimator in the workspace.
Habits of a good estimate
- Bid the scope you can see, and flag the scope you can't. Assumptions belong in writing, not in your head.
- Give us the city, not just the state, so pricing tracks the market you're actually building in.
- Read the clarifications before the totals. That's where the risk in a bid usually hides.
- Reprice when a job stalls; material costs move, and a three-month-old number is a guess.
What comes back
A full estimate with quantity, unit cost, and extended amount on every line, organized by CSI division. A clean, owner-facing proposal you can sign and send. Anything ambiguous on the plans written up as a clarification or exclusion. And a direct line to the estimator who built the number, in your project workspace.
Ready to price your next job?
Send us your plans and our estimators price the job for you. A bid-ready estimate comes back, usually within one business day.
Not ready to upload? Talk to us first.