Construction Estimating Services
Construction Estimating Services For Contractors
Line-item takeoffs and cost estimates, organized by CSI division, sent as Excel and PDF in 48 hours.
Current turnaround: 48 hours on most files.
- 5+ Years
- 100+ construction estimates completed
- 48-Hour Turnaround
- Nationwide
Construction Estimating & Engineering
Accurate Estimates. Fewer Surprises. Confident Bids.
Photos, measurements, or a scope sheet is all we need to get started.
01
Complete Quantity Takeoffs
We quantify every item in your plans, helping you understand project requirements and prepare accurate, reliable bids.
02
Location-Specific Pricing
Every quantity is priced for your project location, reflecting local labor rates, material costs, and market conditions.
03
Scope Gap Detection
We identify missing items, overlooked details, and scope gaps before you bid, helping reduce costly surprises during construction.
04
Estimators Who Understand Design
Our estimators work alongside the same architecture and engineering team that prepares your permit sets, connecting pricing with design intent.
What's Included
What Construction Estimating Services Include
A construction estimating service prices a project from its drawings before anyone bids or breaks ground. The estimator measures the plans and applies local labor and material rates, so you get a total you can submit.
A complete estimate covers six things:
Quantity takeoff
Every material counted and measured off the drawings.
Labor pricing
Hours and rates by trade, for the project's region.
Material pricing
Unit costs adjusted to local supply.
Equipment costs
Lifts, pumps, and machinery the scope requires.
Overhead, contingency, and markup
Separate line items you can adjust.
Scope gap review
What the drawings leave undefined, listed before pricing.
Scope Gap Review
How We Read Your Drawing Set
Scope the drawings leave out is what makes a bid come in low. We review your drawings for gaps first, so you can account for them up front. We draw architectural, structural, and MEP plans for residential permits, so our estimators know what a complete drawing set should include.
Every gap goes on a separate list with the assumption we used to price it. You can keep our assumption, ask your designer to clarify, or exclude the item from your bid. Our team has taken 50+ residential projects through permit approval in nine states. We know which issues delay permits and which ones turn into change orders.
What we check for
- Details referenced on one sheet but never drawn
- Dimensions that differ between plans and elevations
- Wall, floor, and roof assemblies with no thickness, fire rating, or finish specified
- Connections and fasteners left undefined
- Code requirements not shown, such as fire separation, accessibility, and energy compliance
- Equipment with no rough-in, power, or support information
Samples
Sample Estimates
Downloadable samples. Recommended set, matching what the ranking pages publish: one commercial, one residential, one multi-family, plus single-trade samples for concrete, drywall, MEP, and roofing. Show the scope, division coverage, and file format next to each one.
Our Clients
Who Uses Our Construction Estimating Services
General Contractors
A bid-ready estimate organized by CSI division, with labor, material, and equipment on separate lines. You get it in time to check subcontractor quotes before bid day.
Subcontractors
A takeoff for your trade only, matched to your bid package. Quantities come ready to price.
Developers
Conceptual and budget estimates prepared for lender and investor packages, with contingency and escalation listed separately.
Architects And Engineers
Pricing at each design stage, so you catch budget problems while the drawings can still change.
Home Builders
Estimates for each floor plan and upgrade option, priced once and reused across every lot in the subdivision.
Owners And Lenders
An independent estimate to verify a contractor’s bid before signing or releasing a draw.
Public Agencies And Institutions
Estimates formatted to your procurement requirements, with the backup documentation your bid file needs.
Estimate Types
Types Of Construction Estimates We Prepare
The estimate you need depends on how far the drawings have gone. We prepare all of the following.
Bid Estimates
A full line-item estimate priced from a complete bid set, ready to submit. Most general contractors and subcontractors order bid estimates.
Design Estimates
Cost updates at each design milestone, so you can swap materials or assemblies before the drawings are final.
Change Order Estimates
Line-item pricing for scope added or removed mid-project, with the detail an owner needs to approve it.
Conceptual And Preliminary Estimates
An early estimate from schematic drawings, a sketch, or a written scope. You can use it to decide whether a project is worth pursuing before you pay for full design.
Budget Estimates And Feasibility Studies
A price range for a project with no drawings yet, based on square footage and comparable projects. Developers and owners use it to plan financing.
Bid Review And Submission Support
A final review of your bid before it goes out. We compare your subcontractor quotes to our numbers and flag any lines that do not match.
Value Engineering
Alternate materials and methods priced against the specified ones, so you know what a substitution saves before you propose it.
Services
Construction Takeoff Services
A takeoff lists the measured quantities behind an estimate. If you price your own work, you can order the takeoff by itself.
Material Takeoffs
Every material in the drawings, counted and listed by location. Your crew can use the same list to check deliveries on site.
Quantity Takeoffs
Every material in the drawings, counted and listed by location. Your crew can use the same list to check deliveries on site.
Blueprint And Digital Takeoffs
We work from PDF plans, CAD files, and scanned paper drawings. Send whatever you have.
Trade Takeoff Packages
Division-specific takeoffs for subcontractors, covering concrete, drywall, framing, roofing, MEP, and other scopes.
Blueprint And Digital Takeoffs
We work from PDF plans, CAD files, and scanned paper drawings. Send whatever you have.
Trade Takeoff Packages
Division-specific takeoffs for subcontractors, covering concrete, drywall, framing, roofing, MEP, and other scopes.
MasterFormat
Trades We Estimate
Maison AEC estimates follow MasterFormat, the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) division system used in most bid packages and project manuals, so they match the order of your spec book.
Facility Construction
Division | Trade |
02 | Existing Conditions |
03 | Concrete |
04 | Masonry |
05 | Metals |
06 | Wood, Plastics, and Composites |
07 | Thermal and Moisture Protection |
08 | Openings |
09 | Finishes |
10 | Specialties |
11 | Equipment |
12 | Furnishings |
13 | Special Construction |
14 | Conveying Equipment |
Facility Services
Division | Trade |
21 | Fire Suppression |
22 | Plumbing |
23 | Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning |
25 | Integrated Automation |
26 | Electrical |
27 | Communications |
28 | Electronic Safety and Security |
Site And Infrastructure
Division | Trade |
31 | Earthwork |
32 | Exterior Improvements |
33 | Utilities |
Current MasterFormat moved site work out of Division 02 into its own group starting at Division 31, and split the old mechanical division into fire suppression, plumbing, HVAC, and automation.
Project Types
Project Types We Estimate
Commercial Construction Estimating
Office buildings, retail, restaurants, hospitality, and mixed-use projects. We price structural, envelope, MEP, and finish-out scopes and split shell costs from tenant improvements, so you can bid either one.
Residential Construction Estimating
Builders get framing, roofing, siding, and finishes as separate lines to check against vendor quotes. We cover single-family homes, additions, ADUs, remodels, and multi-family buildings.
Industrial Estimating
Warehouses, plants, and processing facilities carry equipment and utility tie-in costs. We price those lines with the rest of the scope.
Civil And Infrastructure Estimating
We take off sitework, paving, utilities, and drainage from the civil drawings, with cut and fill quantities measured from the grading plan.
Public Sector Estimating
For municipal, state, and federal projects, we organize the estimate to match the agency’s bid documents.
Testimonials
Client Reviews
“Maison AEC helped turn our ideas into a practical home design. The team listened carefully, explained our options clearly, and kept us informed throughout the planning process.”
Sarah Mitchell
Homeowner
“We needed guidance with the plans and documentation for our home addition. Maison AEC made the process feel manageable and helped us understand what was needed at each stage.”
Emily Roberts
Homeowner
“The drawings were clear and well organized, making coordination with our construction team much easier. We appreciated the attention to detail and quick responses to our questions.”
James Carter
General Contractor
“The detailed estimate gave us a clearer understanding of the project scope and budget. Having that information early helped us plan the next steps with greater confidence.”
Michael Bennett
Property Developer
10,000+ trusted customers all over the world
Our Process
Our Construction Estimating Process
Step 1
You Send The Plans
A PDF plan set, a CAD file, or scans of hard copy drawings. Tell us which trades to price and your bid date. Send the spec book or the invitation to bid if you have them.
Step 2
We Quote The Work
We review the set and send a free, fixed-fee quote with a delivery date the same business day. No work starts until you approve it.
Step 3
We Take Off The Quantities
An estimator measures every quantity off the drawings and builds the line-item list by division. Anything the drawings leave undefined goes on a scope gap list as we find it.
Step 4
We Price And Review
We apply labor, material, and equipment costs to each line. A second estimator then re-measures a sample of quantities against the drawings, checks the formulas, and confirms the exclusions match what the set left out.
Step 5
You Get The Excel And PDF
You get the estimates within 48 hours on most plan sets. Corrections are free, and addenda or design changes are quoted separately.
Deliverables
Estimate Deliverables
Excel Estimate
PDF Estimate
The same numbers in a locked file, ready to attach to a bid or send to a lender.
You also get:
- A marked-up plan set showing where we measured each quantity
- A scope gap list of undefined items and our pricing assumptions
- Written exclusions that spell out what is not covered
Pricing
Construction Estimate Turnaround And Pricing
Most plan sets are delivered in 48 hours. Larger projects take longer, and we confirm the delivery date in writing before work starts. We quote each project based on its square footage, the trades you need, and how complete your drawings are.
Need it sooner? 24-hour rush delivery is available on projects under 5,000 sq ft for an additional 25%.
Cost Data And Regional Pricing
Labor and material costs vary by region and change month to month, so a national average will not hold up in a bid. We price every line with RSMeans data, adjusted to the ZIP code of your project. For volatile items like lumber and steel, we confirm the rate with a current supplier quote before it goes into your estimate.
Accuracy
Estimate Accuracy And Review
How Estimate Accuracy Works
Many estimating companies advertise one accuracy figure, often 98 or 99 percent, for every project. The industry standard does not work that way. AACE International ranks estimates in five classes, from Class 5 at early concept to Class 1 at a complete bid set.
The class depends on how far the design has progressed, and accuracy follows the class. An estimate from a schematic drawing cannot match one from a full construction set, no matter who prepares it. Every estimate we deliver names its AACE class and lists what we assumed where the drawings fell short.
A Second Estimator Checks Every File
A second estimator reviews every file before it reaches you, checking sample quantities and confirming the exclusions.
How To Check An Estimate You Receive
Run these five checks before you bid from any estimate:
- Trace your three highest-value lines to a sheet: Every quantity should lead back to a drawing.
- Read the exclusions before the total: Unpriced scope causes more disputes than wrong unit costs.
- Check the labor split: A line with material cost and no labor usually means supply-only pricing.
- Confirm the pricing location: National averages run low in high-cost metros.
- Compare one line against a subcontractor quote: If the two differ by more than a few percent, one likely covers scope the other does not.
Projects
Maison AEC Cost Estimate Projects
Project Type
Scope we estimate and size
Project Name
Lot 52, Porter Ranch Subdivision
Project Type
Scope we estimate and size
Project Name
Lot 52, Porter Ranch Subdivision
Project Type
Scope we estimate and size
Project Name
Lot 52, Porter Ranch Subdivision
Tools
Estimating Software We Use
Our estimators work in industry-standard takeoff and pricing software.
For claim work, see our Xactimate estimating services.
Outsourcing
Why Contractors Outsource Estimating
An in-house estimator is a fixed cost. Salary, benefits, software, and cost data subscriptions add up every month, whether you bid two projects or twenty. Outsourced estimating is paid per project, only when there is a bid on the table.
Run the math
Divide a full-time estimator’s yearly salary and overhead by the number of projects you bid. If your bid volume is high and steady, in-house is cheaper. If it changes month to month, per-project pricing saves money.
Bid more
It also lets you bid more. Contractors pass on jobs because nobody has time for the takeoff, and every skipped bid is revenue that never came in. When your estimator is on vacation or three bid dates land in the same week, we cover the overflow.
Service Areas
Where We Write Xactimate Estimates
We write claim estimates in all 50 states and in Canada. Claim estimates carry no licensing restriction, so the nine-state limit on our permit work does not apply here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Construction Estimating Services FAQs
What are the four main types of estimating?
The four main types of estimating are preliminary, detailed, quantity, and bid estimates.
What do construction cost estimators do?
Construction cost estimators calculate the total money, time, labor, and materials needed for a building project before construction begins.
How much does a construction estimate cost?
A professional construction estimate can cost anywhere from $300 to over $5,000+, depending on who prepares the estimate, complexity of the project, and required level of detail.
How long does a construction estimate take?
A standard construction estimate takes anywhere from 48 hours to 7 business days for residential projects. The total turnaround times vary based on the scope of work.
Can you estimate from incomplete drawings?
Yes, Maison AEC can estimate from incomplete drawings. We work from schematic and design development sets and list every assumption we make where details are missing.
Upload Your Plans
Send your plan set and tell us which trades to price and your bid date. We confirm the cost and the delivery date before any work starts.
