Construction cost estimates for contractors, owners and developers anywhere in the U.S.: conceptual, schematic, design development and bid estimates, independent cost reviews and change order reviews.
Check the format before sharing plans: Review worked priced-estimate examples Compare scope and pricing
Tell us the scope and bid deadline. Drawings are optional for this enquiry.
Choose by the decision you need to make. A drawing-based bid, a supplier quantity list and an early design budget need different deliverables.
| Service | Your decision | Output to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Construction estimating services | Price a contractor bid from the issued drawing set. | Measured trade quantities plus the agreed material, labor and equipment rates; division summary, scope gaps and exclusions. |
| Quantity takeoff services | Measure work that your team or supplier will price. | Counts, LF, SF, CY or weight by line item, with drawing references and separate allowances. Prices are outside the quantity-only scope. |
| Cost planning and estimate reviewThis page | Test a design budget, compare options or review an existing estimate. | An estimate at the available design stage, with its rate basis, allowances, contingency and changes identified. |
For any scope, identify the drawing revision, buildings, trades, alternates and bid date. The proposal confirms the fee, delivery date and addendum coverage before work starts.
Owners, developers and designers need different levels of detail as a project moves from idea to bid. Contractors bidding a finished set usually want a construction estimate; quantities only is a quantity takeoff.
You send: PDF drawing sets (vector preferred), scanned PDFs, CAD or Revit files on request, specifications and addenda, or a Dropbox / Google Drive / OneDrive link. Tell us the trades, the project ZIP code and your bid date.
You get back: an Excel (.xlsx) workbook and marked-up PDF drawings. Ask if you need another format.
Quote: a written quote confirming the scope, fee and delivery date after document review. Standard turnaround is project-specific; the delivery date is confirmed after document review.
Representative worked examples show quantity calculations, example rates and cost summaries. They are not client projects or current supplier quotations.
Footings, stem walls, 5" slab-on-grade, rebar by bar size with laps, formwork SFCA, CY with waste
Panel & circuit schedule, conduit LF by size, wire LF by gauge, devices, fixtures, labor units
Metal stud partitions by type and height, board sheets, tape & mud, corner bead, ACT ceilings
Whole-house estimate by CSI division with general conditions, overhead, profit and contingency
General conditions, structural concrete, framing steel, interior drywall, and electrical distribution:
Worked estimating example. Quantities show the stated scope and format; this is not a client project or a project-specific price quote.
| CSI Scope Description | Quantity | Unit | Waste Allowance | Estimator Code Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division 01 00 00 - General Requirements & Field Operations | 1 | LS | N/A | Includes site superintendent, temporary power, dumpster pulls, and safety |
| Division 03 30 00 - Cast-in-Place Concrete Footings & Slab-on-Grade | 1,250 | CY | 7% Pump Loss | Includes 4000 PSI ready-mix, formwork SFCA, and rebar tonnage |
| Division 05 12 00 - Structural Steel Framing Beams & Columns (A992) | 54.2 | TONS | N/A | Includes shop primer, connection hardware, and erection crane hours |
| Division 09 22 16 - Cold-Formed Metal Framing & 5/8in Type X Drywall | 48,000 | SF | 10% Cut Off | Includes deflection tracks, acoustic sealants, and Level 4 finish |
| Division 26 00 00 - Commercial Electrical Service & Branch Distribution | 1 | LS | N/A | Quantified with the agreed labor-hour basis and switchgear schedules |
A preliminary construction estimate answers an early decision: is the proposed scope compatible with the available budget? Send the project location, intended use, approximate floor area, available drawings and the date the budget will be used. Identify whether sitework, building work, fit-out and owner-supplied equipment belong in the requested total.
The estimate should distinguish measured work from assembly allowances and undefined scope. An allowance for an undeveloped mechanical system is different from a measured equipment schedule. Keep the pricing date, source of rates, design assumptions and contingency visible so the budget can be reviewed when specifications change.
For a design update, retain the previous basis and identify changes in area, quantities, specifications, rates and allowances separately. A larger total may reflect added scope rather than a rate increase. Agree whether you need a revised budget, an option comparison or a detailed construction-document estimate before work begins.
Detailed contractor bid estimates Compare design alternatives
A small error in quantities or labor burden can turn a profitable job into a loss, and an unrealistic budget can stall a project for an owner. F&K Estimatings prepares construction cost estimates for contractors, owners and developers, at whatever design stage the project is in.
For defined work, our estimators use PlanSwift and Bluebeam Revu to measure quantities against supplied drawings. Pricing uses documented project inputs or your rates. Where an early design does not support detailed measurement, the budget identifies the assembly or area allowance and its basis instead of presenting it as a measured quantity.
From conceptual budgets during schematic design to bid-day subcontractor leveling, each estimate states its level of detail, allowances and assumptions. See estimate pricing.
Scope, price, and delivery are confirmed after reviewing the project documents and requested deliverables.
Request a construction budget from preliminary plans or a detailed priced estimate from construction documents. We prepare a division-by-division breakdown with material, labor and equipment costs, drawing-referenced quantities, assumptions and exclusions so your team can review the budget or prepare its bid.
Also identify the current revision, addenda, project ZIP code, requested trades and bid deadline.
State the design stage and pricing date. An early budget needs visible allowances; a construction-document estimate can measure more detailed assemblies. Keep contingency separate from measured costs.
Scope limits: A budget is not a binding contractor bid, appraisal or lender certification.
Worked estimating example
For a $100,000 measured base and a separately approved 5% contingency, show $5,000 contingency and a $105,000 combined budget.
Construction cost estimating services should match the decision and design stage. A preliminary construction estimate uses the available design information and identifies provisional quantities and allowances. For construction budgeting services, state the pricing date and decisions the budget must support; a schematic budget carries different uncertainty from a detailed estimate based on a coordinated construction set.
Requested output: A cost plan grouped by building element or trade with provisional allowances identified.
Confirm in your quote: Available drawings, gross areas, specification level and the intended pricing date.
Requested output: Measured quantities extended with the agreed material, labor and equipment inputs.
Confirm in your quote: Document revisions, location, quote coverage, indirects and contingency ownership.
Requested output: A comparison of estimate versions with scope, quantity and rate changes separated.
Confirm in your quote: Common comparison basis, design changes, exclusions and prior allowances.
For outsourced construction cost estimation services, agree who supplies rates and supplier quotations. Budget allowances should remain visible until the design and pricing inputs justify replacing them.
Request this estimating scopeFor US projects, include the ZIP code and the location-sensitive inputs below.
The proposal records the pricing date, cost sources and unconfirmed allowances. Explore US service area information or send your project details for a scope quote.
Use the document checklist above to request quantities only, a priced estimate or a review of an existing bid.
Request a construction cost estimating scope quoteOur preconstruction deliverables are tailored to the exact financial requirements of industry stakeholders:
Requiring competitive hard-bid estimates, GMP preconstruction budgets, and trade bid leveling.
Seeking accurate single-trade material piece-counts and localized installation labor hours.
Developing pro-forma feasibility cost models and bank construction loan draw budgets.
Validating design phase budgets against client target construction values.
Managing trade buyouts, cost control work breakdown structures, and budget variance tracking.
We provide full digital quantification across all related CSI MasterFormat divisions:
Detailed quantification across CSI MasterFormat divisions with material, labor, and equipment cost breakdowns.
Early-stage cost models based on square footage, historical assemblies, and owner target capital constraints.
Comparing sub-tier bids on bid day to uncover uncoordinated omissions, exclusions, and pricing anomalies.
Pricing alternative materials and construction methods so you can compare options against the budget.
Auditing contractor change order requests (CORs), time-and-material logs, and schedule delay impacts.
Comparing AIA G702/G703 pay applications and pro-forma budgets with the estimate, from the documents provided.
High-resolution drawing sheets with every line item, area polygon, and linear foot color-coded in Bluebeam.
Measured quantities organized by CSI MasterFormat, with units and separately stated waste allowances. Labor, material and equipment rates are included only in an agreed priced estimate.
Cost assumptions are stated in the written proposal and can use client rates, supplier quotes, or another identified basis.
Scope-gap notes and drawing clarifications for the agreed trades. A separate constructability review is included only when specified in the written quote.
| Software / Tool | Engineering Purpose | Compliance Standard |
|---|---|---|
| PlanSwift Pro | Digitized linear, count, and area takeoff quantification | Industry Benchmark |
| Bluebeam Revu | Vector drawing markup, multi-discipline overlay & RFI logging | CSI MasterFormat |
| Client Rates / Supplier Quotes | Project-specific pricing basis when a priced estimate is requested | Assumptions Stated |
| Scope / Project Type | Average Turnaround | Estimated Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Residential construction estimate | Confirmed after document review | Project-specific quote |
| Commercial preconstruction package | Confirmed after document review | Project-specific quote |
| Industrial & heavy civil takeoff | Confirmed after document review | Project-specific quote |
| Ongoing estimating support | Queue and capacity agreed in writing | Project-specific quote |
* Exact rates and delivery dates depend on the drawings, scope, and deadline. Request a written quote.
The agreed design stage determines the detail. A detailed estimate can include measured quantities, labor, material and equipment costs, general conditions, overhead and profit, with drawing markups for measured work. An early budget can use assembly or area allowances where drawings are incomplete. The estimate identifies its pricing basis, assumptions, exclusions and unresolved scope.
Conceptual (order-of-magnitude) budgets, schematic design (SD) estimates, design development (DD) estimates, construction document (CD) or bid estimates, independent reviews of a contractor's estimate, and change order reviews. The type is agreed in the quote so you know how detailed it will be.
Yes. Early estimates use square-foot and assembly-level pricing with clearly stated allowances. They are less detailed than a CD estimate, and the allowances are listed so they can be replaced as the design develops.
Direct costs are tied to the physical work: concrete, lumber, wire and the crews that install them. Indirect costs (Division 01 general conditions) cover supervision, temporary utilities, dumpsters, insurance, bonds, permits and site safety.
Yes. We can compare a contractor's estimate or change order request with the drawings, check quantities and unit prices, and list the questions to ask. We work from the documents provided; we do not visit the site.
Cost estimating fees depend on the design stage, drawing set, trade coverage and required pricing detail. Conceptual budgets, detailed estimates and independent cost reviews receive a written project-specific quote confirming the scope, fee and delivery date.
Hard costs are shown separately from overhead and profit. We apply the markup, bond and contingency percentages you give us, or leave them as editable lines for you to set.
Standard turnaround is project-specific; the delivery date is confirmed after document review. Residential and commercial packages are reviewed for drawing completeness, requested cost detail and bid deadline before the delivery date is confirmed in the quote.
Contact us to agree on a suitable transfer method for large or confidential plan files.
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