Construction Estimating Services
for Contractors

Construction estimating is the process of calculating — with precision — what a project will cost to build. It starts with a thorough review of the tender documentation: drawings, specifications, schedules and any employer's requirements. From those documents, quantities are measured for every element of the works: the number of square metres of drylining, linear metres of skirting, the hours of labour to install a suspended ceiling, the plant required for groundworks. This process is called a quantity take-off.

Once the quantities are established, each item is built up into a rate. A rate is made up of three components: labour, materials and plant. Labour is costed using current operative wages plus appropriate productivity factors. Materials are priced from supplier quotations or established price books, and adjusted for waste. Plant is calculated based on duration and hire rates. Preliminaries — site management, welfare facilities, scaffold, insurance — are then applied on top of the direct costs.

Overheads and profit are applied as a percentage to arrive at a final tender sum. The skill is in building each element accurately and consistently so that the price is competitive without being dangerously low. A good estimate reflects the real cost of doing the work: it protects your margin and gives you a price you can stand behind at post-tender interview.

This is not guesswork. It is a disciplined, repeatable process that draws on technical knowledge of construction methods, current market pricing and an understanding of how projects are delivered. When it is done properly, it gives contractors the commercial clarity they need to price confidently, submit on time, and win work that is profitable to deliver.