r/estimators

Wanting to reach out to other estimators. I’ve just started as a junior estimator, and the company I’m with is a GC. What I’m doing at the moment is receiving quotes from subs and organizing them. I’m learning things everyday. I’m also inviting other subs to quote work, and learning our scope of work vs what we sub out.

The boss said yesterday I would be learning quantity takeoffs pretty soon. I’m practicing around on blue beam for foundations getting concrete quantities. Another guy in the company has taught me, but the boss has always done it by hand. I’ve also been practicing by hand.

I’m the youngest in the office. Everyone else is probably 55+. It’s like working in a library. Should I get use to this, or will it change because I dread sitting in a boring environment for 9 hours a day. I come from being a project engineer in the field everyday. It’s my second job out of college, and I left my previous position to be at home. I’m not regretting my decision, because I love being home. But needing information from other estimators. Is this the reality?

Just curious as to what everyone uses.

When I first joined my company, we were using Extreme Estimating. Unfortunately, the system is no longer supported, so a lot of the pricing/products are now about a year out of date.

Manually keeping everything updated isn't really feasible, especially with the way prices seem to be fluctuating at the moment.

I made a post in here the other day about Trimble LiveCount and how we're not exactly getting along with it. Since then, I've also been setting up Trimble ContractMaster / Total Estimating for our estimating team.

My team absolutely HATE it. Like, burning passion levels of hate.

I'm assuming part of that is because it's a much more in-depth system than what they're used to, and they're pretty set in their "old and simpler" ways. But I can also understand some of their complaints.

One of the biggest criticisms is that we don't think we'll actually use half of the features Trimble offers. There are also a lot of things that seem to take several steps when, from an estimator's perspective, they could be much simpler.

And because it's cloud-based, it can feel pretty sluggish at times, which obviously doesn't help when you're trying to get through a tender.

I'm mainly interested in the estimating/costing side rather than just takeoff software, as we're trying to figure out whether Trimble is something we should persevere with or whether there are better options out there.

TLDR:

What estimating software does everyone else use?

And more importantly, do you actually like using it?

I'd be interested to hear what people use, particularly if you've moved from one system to another and found it noticeably better/easier to navigate.

Thanks all ^^

Any estimators know where a guy can source a BABA Compliant Mezzanine?

elevations and section details say 1 thing and scheudle says another.

apparently during bid time I didn't notice the discrepancy and priced per elevation/section. Now the project in production and it's turning out that it needs to be per the scheudle. I'm get petty snide comments about the miss from my boss.

The miss in question? $600 in labor on a $45k contract. now it's "Ouch, ain't making shit on this job"

Man, get fucking bent with that shit. If we aren't making anything on this job because of that then it has nothing to fucking do with me

Thanks for coming to my ted talk.

So I got hired as a remote estimator for a small construction company whose business is focused on shed houses. Owner is finally handing down the estimation to ME, gonna be the ONLY ESTIMATOR for his startup.

Although I have been working in estimation, it's the tendering and negotiations that scares the heck out of me.

WFH is new to me. And I am quite afraid that working for the country's building codes is gonna take huge learning.

I am excited but terrified at the same time.

Any help?

Get guys, someone posted a program they had made the other day for doing takeoffs and you could upload your own plans. That post got pulled down. If you're the OP I would love to give it a shot if you wouldn't mind contacting me. I think it was @TheDigitalHavok

What part of your estimating workflow consistently takes more time than it should?

I'm interested in repetitive work, waiting for information, double entry, unnecessary steps, corrections, coordination, or anything else that feels inefficient. What happens in practice, how often does it happen, and how do you currently deal with it?

Do you guys believe with how advanced AI is getting and will get that the job of an estimator will be in danger soon?

I think a human always will need to check things but as far as physically doing takeoffs will be gone.

Thoughts?

So we are running fastwrap on windows 7 computers and it stopped working this weekend .Anyone else have this happen to them ? All 3 of our computers are down right now and if anyone else had this happen could possibly let me know of a fix it says something about it couldnt get a ssl tsl .Nothing changed on our end yet here we are .

I still have companies uploading drawings page by page, mostly on ConstructConnect. Only ones I’ve found limits me to 20 pages.

I’m early 40’s, have been estimating bespoke interiors for private and commercial work in the Home Counties and london for the last 15 years.
I’m just reaching £70k per year.
I’m finding that my current company aren’t keep to increase me much more but I can kind of see why when the open job market looks dreadful and if I was to switch for a similar role the jobs seem advertised at quite a wide range of £45-65k

I’m not interested in going self employed at this time and I get a lot of flexibility where I am which works well for now due to primary age kids and an other half that has demanding job.

Do I need to sit this out until kids are a bit more grown up and I can go for something more senior?

Honestly I shouldnt have taken this job as a grad estimator holy smokes I hate it already and I haven’t even started/ met my team. I’m not enthusiastic at all about it and they will probably be able to tell.

We are working with a commercial mechanical contractor on automating their precon workflow (NOT takeoff — they were very clear they don’t want another takeoff tool).

Sitting with their estimating team, a few things blew my mind:

On public tenders, their vendors hold pricing until 5–30 minutes before close so numbers can’t get shopped.

On a big job they had pricing land 5 minutes before the deadline and had to verify scope on every quote in real time.

They figure they miss some detail on basically every project specs run 800–1,000 pages plus addenda, and they’ve been disqualified multiple times over a mandatory site visit date buried somewhere in Division 01.

They spend more time chasing 10–15 vendors for quotes per bid than actually estimating.

For those of you doing commercial work: does this match your world?

What’s the part of your bid process you’d automate tomorrow if you could — and what have software vendors consistently gotten wrong when they’ve tried to sell you on fixing it?

Not selling anything here, genuinely trying to build something estimators don’t hate.

Working with a mid-size mechanical contractor on their preconstruction workflow. The thing that surprised me most: the final hour before a public tender closes is complete chaos by design. Sub and vendor quotes intentionally arrive minutes before the deadline (so pricing can’t be shopped around), which means leveling quotes against spec, catching exclusions, and finalizing the number all happens in a mad scramble.

Their other big one: mandatory site visits and other disqualification traps buried deep in 1,000-page spec sets. They’ve lost bids they never got to submit because a date on page 40 of Division 01 got missed.

Curious how other precon teams manage this:

• Do you have a real process for late-arriving quotes, or is it all hands on deck every time?

• Who owns catching the buried mandatory requirements estimator, coordinator, checklist?

• Has anyone found tooling that actually helps with the workflow around the estimate (vendor follow-ups, quote leveling, compliance checks) rather than just takeoff?

Trying to understand if what I’m seeing at one shop is universal or just them.

My uncle has a renovation company, but while he's very good at it and has a method for doing things "by hand" on paper, I'm trying to create an Excel spreadsheet that can be the basis for future renovation estimates.

Most of our work involves houses or apartment buildings, so they range from small renovations like bathrooms, bedrooms, garages, and floors, all the way up to entire apartment renovations.

What I'd like to say is that having an Excel spreadsheet that allows you to accurately calculate costs, margins, etc. is essential.

Which one do you think is best?

Long winded post so bear with me lol.. for context I’m 28 with about 6 years in commercial construction. Started on the GC side as a PE, moved into estimating, and most recently have been a senior estimator on the subcontractor side. I have around 3.5 years of actual estimating experience.

I’m trying to get back to the GC side and have two offers for Preconstruction Manager positions. I’m confident in estimating, communication, building relationships with owners/subs, etc., but I’m also realistic that I’m a little green when it comes to actually owning the entire preconstruction process myself. Trying to figure out which opportunity makes the most sense for both career growth and my family.

Company A
Top 100 ENR GC and very established. I know several people in the office already and got a VERY good vibe throughout the entire interview process. I’d eventually be expected to own the full preconstruction process on my projects. Bigger and more complicated work, so definitely a steeper learning curve, but probably a higher ceiling long term. Did mention they’re bringing me on as a level 1 Precon manager meaning my average project is $15-$20 million, which I’m confident in handling.

$110k base
$600/month vehicle allowance
$100/month phone reimbursement
$15k guaranteed bonus first year
After year one, bonus is project/performance based. I’ve been told I should expect at least ~$20k/year. Formula includes 1% of fee + 3% of buyout savings.
100% employee-owned
ESOP contribution historically around 20% of salary, fully company funded
401(k)
Company covers up to 90% of employee medical premium and 80% of family medical premium
$1,000/year company HSA contribution with family HDHP
16 days PTO first year
Company-paid short-term disability
Company-paid life insurance
Student loan repayment benefit
Annual salary reviews
About a 35-minute commute
Bigger/more complex projects
I already know and really like the people
More responsibility and likely more sink-or-swim initially

Company B
Top 400 ENR GC, although toward the back end of that list. Very established in NC with what also seems like a good culture. Smaller office and generally smaller/easier projects.

The biggest thing here is they openly acknowledged that I’m green when it comes to being a Precon Manager. They specifically told me they’re willing to train me, develop me and let me grow into the position rather than expecting me to know everything on day one.

$122,044 base
$625/month vehicle allowance + fuel card OR company vehicle
Phone reimbursement/company phone
$5k signing bonus
Annual discretionary bonus, but I don’t have a good number for what that typically looks like
401(k) match of 50% up to 6% contribution, so max 3% employer match
$900/year company HSA contribution with family plan
Company-paid short AND long-term disability
Company-paid life insurance
3 weeks vacation starting next year
9 paid holidays
Literally an 8-minute commute
Smaller/easier projects
Smaller office
Seems more flexible
Much more deliberate about training me into the role

So basically:
Company A = lower base, but much better long-term retirement upside with the ESOP, strong bonus structure, bigger projects, larger company and probably more career upside. I also already know and like the people. Downside is the 35-minute commute and I’m probably going to be drinking from a firehose for a while.

Company B = ~$12k higher base, fuel card, 8-minute commute, smaller projects and seemingly more hands-on training. It feels like the safer/easier transition into Precon Management, but the long-term compensation/retirement upside doesn’t seem comparable if Company A is really contributing around 20% of salary to the ESOP every year.
I’ve got a wife and 3 kids, so I’m looking at this beyond just which salary number is bigger.

For the guys who have been in precon for a while, which opportunity would you take at this stage of your career? Bigger GC + ESOP + more upside but steeper learning curve, or smaller GC + higher base + much shorter commute + more intentional training?

I want to work as an estimator. I feel like I know commercial glass installation well enough to make the leap. I’ve been doing it for the last two years. Anytime there is overtime I say yes. Anytime there is a job no one wants to do I’ll take it. My GM knows this.

My company has no interest in moving me into an estimating position. They already have their people in the office. My GM told me to wait five years and then we can talk. I said nothing and walked out. Honestly that just rubbed me the wrong way.

What would y’all’s advice be for me? I have an AA degree from a community college. If I need a bachelor’s degree for any reason I’m willing to go that route.

I’m looking for an Excel sheet or affordable program for small storm, water and sewer estimates.
I use Bluebeam for takeoffs and have material pricing. I need something that calculates:
Trench, bedding and backfill quantities
Labor and equipment costs based on crew production/LF per day
Dewatering, hauling, restoration and indirect costs
Overhead and profit
Clean Excel or PDF summaries
I’m considering SiteEst, Estimating Link, SharpeSoft and InEight.
Any firsthand recommendations? If you have a user-created Excel template you’re willing to share, I’d appreciate it. I’m also willing to pay for a good utility-estimating workbook.

Is it normal for owner to ask GC to have subs breakout pricing for materials? This is post contract signage and has anyone ever experienced this? Seems that they won't approve sub materials unless they get all this pricing out.