Contractor Estimating Guide

Contractor Estimating Guide is a software package that’s been prepared for the would-be home builder, as an effort to give some help in figuring the rough costs one could expect to pay for a finished home, built on an existing prepared lot. It walks you through the process, with varying degrees of owner-participation in the actual construction and with various levels of finished quality.

Various Contractor Estimating Guides are found in the market written by top professionals, which helps a contractor to estimate for a project. Contractor Estimating Guide has inclusive of Tips and Tricks regarding estimation, bidding contract creation and management, financial budgeting etc.

Contractor Estimating Guide use several different levels of estimates for project construction costs. Each has a different purpose. The various types may be referred to by different names and some may not be recognized by all as necessary or definitive, though most estimators will agree to several basic levels, each of which has its place in the construction estimating process. The typical range of estimates are:

Order of Magnitude Estimates: The order of magnitude estimate could be loosely described as an educated guess. It can be completed in a matter of minutes, with an accuracy of plus or minus 20%.

Square Foot and Cubic Foot Estimates: This type is useful when only the proposed size and use of a planned building is known. Very little information is required, and it generally gives an accuracy of plus or minus 15%.
Assemblies Systems Estimate: An assembly's estimate is a budgetary tool in the planning stages of a project. Accuracy is typically plus or minus 10%.

Unit Price Estimate: Working drawings and full specifications are required to complete a unit price estimate, and as it takes the most input data, it is the most accurate of the four types, but also the most time consuming. Unit price estimates are used extensively for bidding purposes, and have an accuracy of plus or minus 5%.