Frequently Asked Questions
What the service is, what it costs, what we need from you and what we will not claim. If your question isn’t here, send your plans and ask it — the quote is free either way.
The Service
What does a construction estimating service do?
We take your drawings and produce the numbers you bid or buy from — measured quantities by CSI division, priced with localized labor and material rates where you want pricing, with every assumption written down. You keep the bidding decisions; we do the quantification and pricing behind them.
Do you work with general contractors or subcontractors?
Both, and they need different products. GCs usually want multi-trade estimates with general conditions and markup carried. Subcontractors want depth in a single division with exclusions that stop a GC absorbing scope they never priced.
Do you work with owners and developers?
Yes — feasibility budgets before design is finished, and independent validation of a contractor's number. Owner-side estimate validation is under-used and it is often the cheapest leverage an owner has.
Which service should I be asking for?
If you have your own cost data, a quantity takeoff. If you are buying material, a material takeoff. If you need a number to bid from, cost estimating. If your drawings are scans or photographs, blueprint takeoff. If you are not sure, tell us what you plan to do with the output and we will say which one fits — including when the cheaper one is enough.
Pricing and Turnaround
How much does it cost?
Quoted flat per project from your plan set. Six things move the price: project size, division count, estimate level, takeoff-versus-estimate, drawing quality and turnaround.
Why don't you publish a rate card?
Because any figure covering both a two-trade fit-out and a fourteen-division podium would be too wide to be useful. A number broad enough to always be true would tell you nothing about your own project.
Do you charge for a quote?
No, and there is no obligation. You get a flat price and a delivery date, and you decide from there.
What happens if we need it faster than you quoted?
Tell us the date. A compressed deadline displaces other work and is priced accordingly, and if a date is not achievable at a quality we would stand behind we will say so rather than accept it and deliver late.
Files and Process
What file formats do you accept?
PDF, DWG, DOC, image files and ZIP archives, up to 100MB per file, and multiple files per submission.
Can you work from scanned or photographed drawings?
Often. Scale verification matters more on a scan and some things become unreadable, so we tell you at quote stage what your set can support — including when the answer is that it cannot support a takeoff worth buying.
What if our drawings are incomplete?
We tell you at quote stage. Unmeasurable scope is carried as a stated allowance in the assumptions schedule, never buried in a unit rate.
What do we get back?
An editable Excel workbook, a marked-up plan set showing every measurement, and an assumptions and exclusions schedule.
Can you use our template?
Yes. Send it and we will populate it. Consistency across your bids matters more than any formatting preference we might have.
What if addenda arrive mid-job?
Tell us. Small changes we absorb; material scope changes are quoted before we do them, so nothing gets added to your invoice without you agreeing to it first.
Accuracy and Method
How accurate are your estimates?
Accurate enough to bid from, and we will tell you what the number depends on. An estimate is a projection from available information — its accuracy is governed by how complete your drawings are, how current the cost data is, and whether the assumptions hold. We state all three on every estimate.
Why don't you publish an accuracy percentage?
Because we could not support one, and neither can the firms that do. A percentage is only meaningful against a stated baseline — accurate compared to what, measured across how many projects, at what stage of design? Nobody advertising a figure publishes that methodology, which makes it marketing rather than a claim. What we can give you instead is checkable: the method, the cost basis, the date the work was priced, and every assumption the number rests on.
What if we disagree with a number?
Send us the sheet and the line. We show you the takeoff and the assumption behind it. If we are wrong we fix it at no charge — and most disagreements turn out to be scope rather than arithmetic.
How do you handle the places where drawings contradict each other?
We report them. A door schedule that disagrees with the floor plan, a hardware set assigned to no opening, a circuit on a panel schedule that appears nowhere on a plan — these are findings, not noise, and they are worth more to you before you bid than after.
Coverage and Confidentiality
Which states do you cover?
All fifty, remotely, priced to your local market including prevailing wage where it applies.
Will you sign an NDA?
Yes, as a matter of course. Your drawings, pricing and bid strategy are confidential and we treat them that way by default rather than on request.
Do you work with our competitors?
We work with many contractors and do not share information between them. If you have a conflict concern on a named project, tell us before sending the drawings and we will give you a straight answer.
Where to Go Next
Still have a question? Send us the plans and ask
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 ↗