Estimating Building Construction

Attendees of this five-day course will be fully prepared to work as estimators for contractors bidding institutional or commercial
building projects. Upon completing this course, students will be able to accurately take-off and summarize work quantities from
architectural drawings. Students will learn to apply the correct costs for both labor and materials, and will leave this course having
prepared an accurate estimate for a complete commercial project. Students attending this course attain a level of proficiency that might
otherwise take six months or more to achieve with only on-the-job training.

In just five days, attendees of this course will learn how to produce accurate detail estimates of commercial buildings. Mechanical,
electrical, sitework and other specialty trades will be estimated using comparative appraisal estimating techniques. Students attending
this course will develop the underlying skills needed to create and organize accurate estimates. Math and takeoff skills necessary for
estimating the general construction trades are covered in detail in this course. Different types of drawings needed to visualize the
building and its components are also covered in detail.

What will be covered?

 Developing a complete detail estimate

 Developing the project schedule

 Including support and supervision costs

 Reviewing subcontractor bids

 Analyzing scope and prices of sitework bids

 Completing a detailed concrete construction estimate

 Cost breakdown for forming, reinforcing,

 placing and finishing concrete

 Estimating pre-cast concrete components

 Determining optimal methods of concrete forming and placing

 Completing a detailed masonry estimate

 Estimating block, brick, stone and glass block

 Completing a detailed steel and metal estimate

 Completing a detailed carpentry estimate

 Preparing a trim carpentry estimate for a commercial building

 Adjusting materials from installed to purchased quantities

 Completing a detailed roofing takeoff

 Estimating both pitched and flat roofs

 Completing a detailed doors and window takeoff

 Completing a detailed finishes takeoff

 Utilizing the room finish schedule as a checklist

 Using the memory sheet method to reduce estimating time required

 Estimating mechanical, electrical and specialty construction using general contractor methods that rely on subcontractor performance

 Scope verification and price analysis per division and/or trade

 Commercial construction project “real world” bids are utilized

 A complete project estimate is prepared

 Comparing total project cost to recent project costs

 Adding mark-ups for overhead and profit

 Completing a bid document

 Reviewing erection equipment and costs

 Accomplishing tonnage conversions as requirement