Outsourced construction estimating · All 50 states
Construction Estimating Services for Contractors
Send us your plans and get a clear, itemized estimate with quantities, local labor and material costs, and marked-up drawings.
| Div | Description | Qty | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08 11 00 | Hollow metal doors & frames | 62 | EA |
| 08 14 00 | Wood doors | 38 | EA |
| 08 41 13 | Aluminum-framed storefront | 214 | LF |
| 08 71 00 | Door hardware, by set | 27 | SET |
| 08 80 00 | Glazing, IGU 1" clear | 1,140 | SF |
| Division 08 subtotal | — | ||
| GC & GR | — | ||
| Markup | — | ||
| Total | — | ||
Sample deliverable — division rollup · basis and pricing withheld until confirmed · localized to ZIP
Trusted by general contractors & developers nationwide
What Our Construction Estimating Services Cover
Most contractors come to us with one of two problems: more bids than estimating capacity, or a scope they don’t price in-house. We handle both, and you only pay per project.
Who We Work With
General contractors
bidding multi-trade work who need a complete number with general conditions, general requirements and markup carried properly — not a takeoff with a percentage added.
Subcontractors
pricing their own scope, who need depth in one division and clear exclusions that keep a GC from absorbing work you didn't price.
Developers and owners
testing feasibility before design is finished, or validating a number a contractor has already given them. Owner-side estimate validation is quieter work than bidding, and it changes more outcomes.
Material suppliers and distributors
using an independent takeoff to verify a customer's order before it ships.
What You Receive
Every estimate is delivered as an editable Excel workbook, not a locked PDF. You can change a rate, swap an assumption, or strip out a division without asking us to redo it.
- Itemized quantities organized by CSI MasterFormat division
- Labor, material and equipment split out separately, not bundled
- Waste and overage factors shown as line items, so you can see and change them
- General conditions and general requirements priced, where the scope calls for it
- A marked-up drawing set showing what was measured — every quantity traces back to a location on the plans
- An assumptions and exclusions schedule listing every judgment call we made and everything deliberately not included
That last document matters more than it looks. Most estimate disputes are not arithmetic — they are two people assuming different scope. Writing the assumptions down where you can read them before you bid is the cheapest protection available.
- ASSUMEDFrame type taken as knock-down where schedule is silent
- ASSUMEDHardware sets priced per Division 08 schedule, not per door count
- EXCLUDEDGlazing beyond storefront line — see Division 08 84 00
- EXCLUDEDTemporary protection and final cleaning
- FLAGGEDOpenings 118–124 carry no rating on the life-safety plan
Sample schedule — every judgment call written down before you bid, not after
How It Works
- 1
Send your plans. Upload the set — PDF, DWG, DOC, images or a ZIP, up to 100MB per file. Tell us the trades you need, the level of detail, and when you need it.
- 2
Get your quote. We review the set and send a flat price for the scope, with a delivery date.
- 3
Approve. Nothing starts until you confirm the price and the date.
- 4
We estimate. Quantities taken off the drawings, priced and localized to your market.
- 5
Delivery. The workbook, the marked-up set and the assumptions schedule. If something doesn't look right, tell us and we'll walk you through how we got there.
Trades We Estimate
Forty-one trades, organized the way the specification is. Each page lists exactly what we quantify for that division.
Projects and Sectors We Estimate
A hospital estimate and a warehouse estimate are not the same exercise. One carries OR suites, med-gas, shielding and infection-control phasing; the other lives or dies on slab flatness spec, dock equipment and clear height.
How Pricing and Turnaround Work
Every project is priced individually from your drawings. There is no rate card, because there is no such thing as a standard project.
- 01Size and scopesquare footage, and how many divisions you need
- 02Trade counta single-trade takeoff costs a fraction of a full multi-trade estimate
- 03Drawing qualitya complete, scaled, current set is faster than a partial one with three addenda
- 04Level of detaila conceptual budget and a bid-ready estimate are different products
- 05Turnarounda compressed deadline costs more, and we'll tell you before you commit
Turnaround depends on the size of the package and how many trades are in scope — which is why you get a firm delivery date with your quote rather than a generic promise.
- Project type
- Commercial fit-out
- Divisions in scope
- 6 of 41
- Level of detail
- Bid-ready
- Drawing set
- Complete · 2 addenda
- Turnaround
- Standard
- Flat price
- Quoted from your plans
- Delivery date
- Confirmed in writing
Every field above changes the number — which is why there is no rate card
Tools and Standards We Work To
Every estimate states its pricing basis and the date it was priced. Material costs move. An estimate without a date on its pricing is a number you cannot defend three months later.
Why Contractors Work With Us
We tell you what we assumed.
Every estimate ships with the assumptions and exclusions written down. You should not have to reverse-engineer a spreadsheet to find out we allowed for something you were going to carry yourself.
We don't claim an accuracy percentage.
You will see “99% accurate” and “100% accurate” on other estimating websites. An estimate is a projection made from incomplete information — it cannot be 100% accurate. What we can tell you is the method, the cost basis, the date, and every assumption behind the number.
You get an editable file.
Your estimate is your working document, not our deliverable. Change what you want.
We say no when the answer is no.
If your drawings aren't complete enough to price the way you need, we'll tell you that at quote stage rather than after you've paid for it.
Guides and Resources
- How to Estimate Construction Costs
- Free Construction Estimate Template
- Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) Explained
- How to Plan a Construction Project
- RSMeans Cost Data Explained
- What Is a Quantity Surveyor?
- Construction Procurement Methods Compared
- What Is a Takeoff in Construction?
- How to Bid a Construction Job
- How to Estimate Drywall
- Quantity Takeoff Example, Step by Step
- The 5 Types of Construction Estimates
- Construction Takeoff Example
- How to Hire a Construction Estimator
- Quantity Takeoff vs Material Takeoff
- Construction Estimating Glossary
- CSI MasterFormat Divisions Explained
- General Conditions in Construction Estimates
- How to Read Construction Plans
- Estimating Software vs Outsourced Estimating
- Casework vs Millwork Explained
- How to Estimate Insulation
What Makes an Estimate Worth Paying For
Any estimating firm can send you a spreadsheet with a total at the bottom. Five things separate a number you can bid from a number you have to take on trust.
Every quantity traces to a drawing. The marked-up set comes with the workbook, color-coded by division. If a quantity looks wrong you can find the exact area it came from in seconds, rather than rebuilding the takeoff yourself or accepting it because it looks plausible.
Quantities are in the unit the trade buys in. Ductwork in pounds. Asphalt in tons per course. Formwork in square feet of contact area. Masonry in unit counts. Converting everything into one convenient unit makes a tidier spreadsheet and destroys the information that carried the cost.
Assumptions are visible, not buried. Every judgment call and every allowance is listed on its own schedule with its basis. This is what tells you which lines are firm and which are exposed — and it is the sheet most estimating firms do not send at all.
The workbook is editable. Rates, markup and contingency are live cells with the formulas intact. You can change a rate on bid day and watch the total move. A locked PDF is a document; a working file is a tool.
Contradictions in your drawings are reported. A hardware set assigned to no opening. A circuit on a panel schedule that appears nowhere on a plan. A door schedule that disagrees with the floor plan. These are findings, and they are worth more to you before you bid than after you have won.
The pricing basis and its date are on the estimate. Cost data ages, and an estimate priced today for material bought next year carries exposure nobody can see unless the pricing date is recorded. Ours is, on every estimate, along with what the rates were built from — so you can judge for yourself how current the number is instead of assuming.
Start With One Project
There is no retainer, no monthly minimum and no volume commitment. Send one plan set and see what comes back — the quote is free, it carries no obligation, and nothing starts until you approve both the price and the date.
If a cheaper service would serve you better, we will say so at quote stage. If your bid volume means hiring an estimator would cost you less than outsourcing, we will say that too. Both answers lose us revenue on the project in front of us, and both are the reason contractors send us the next one.
And if your drawings will not support the estimate you asked for, you will hear it before you pay rather than after — including when the honest answer is that the set is not worth buying a takeoff for.
Most contractors start with a single bid they are short on time for, then send the divisions their own estimator does not cover, and settle into a format and a set of scope boundaries agreed once. None of that requires a contract, and you can stop sending work without a conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a construction estimating service actually do?
We take your drawings and produce the numbers you bid from — measured quantities for every trade in scope, priced with localized labor and material rates, organized by CSI division, with the assumptions written down. You keep control of the bid; we do the quantification and pricing work behind it.
How much do construction estimating services cost?
It depends on project size, how many trades you need, how complete the drawings are, and how fast you need it. We quote flat per project after reviewing the plan set, and the price is fixed before you approve.
How long does a construction estimate take?
Your specific delivery date is confirmed in writing with your quote, before you commit.
What file formats do you accept?
PDF, DWG, DOC, image files and ZIP archives, up to 100MB per file. If you only have photographs of a printed set, send them — we'll tell you honestly whether we can work from them.
What do I get back?
An editable Excel workbook with quantities and pricing by division, a marked-up drawing set showing what was measured, and an assumptions and exclusions schedule.
How accurate are your estimates?
Accurately enough to bid from, and we'll tell you what the number depends on. We don't publish an accuracy percentage, because any firm that does is quoting a number it cannot support.
Do you work with subcontractors or only general contractors?
Both. GCs typically want multi-trade estimates with general conditions and markup. Subcontractors want depth in one division with clear scope boundaries.
Which states do you cover?
All fifty. We work remotely and price to your local market — labor rates, prevailing wage where it applies, and regional material costs.
Do you use RSMeans or your own cost data?
Pricing is built on RSMeans cost data localized to your project's market, then reconciled against current supplier quotes and our own completed project costs. Every estimate states its pricing basis and the date it was priced.
Can you help with the bid itself, not just the numbers?
Yes. Bid estimating covers scope-gap analysis against the invitation to bid, subcontractor quote leveling, alternates and unit prices, and bid form completion.
Send your plans. Get a flat quote.
Upload your plans or tell us what you need. We’ll reply with pricing and a delivery date.
Need to add trades, ZIP code, target date or project state? Use the full quote form ↗