Estimating II Exam 1

Who is the department head of the COSC department?

Dr. Phil Lewis

Detailed Estimate

A comprehensive estimate that determines quantities and costs of everything needed for the project

• Requires a complete set of contract documents.

• Each project item is broken down into parts and assigned labor, material, and equipment needs.

• Must clarify scope with subcontractors (avoid overlaps, define who supplies/installs items, agree on support items like cranes/scaffolding).

• Ensures all work is included in someone’s scope.

Assembly Estimating

Estimating method where project components are grouped into assemblies instead of priced individually.

• Simple assembly: installed by one trade

• complex assembly: installed by multiple trades

• Conceptual/preliminary estimates (quick but less accurate).

• Estimates with limited drawings or for comparing design options.

• Faster but less accurate due to broad assumptions.

• Must use judgment and adjust for project-specific conditions (weather, materials, design team, etc.).

• Doesn’t need complete drawings

Square-Foot Estimates

Prepared by multiplying building square footage × cost per square foot (adjusted for height, perimeter length, and other components).

• Requires less information than detailed estimates; can be done with preliminary drawings (floor plan, elevations).

• Must ensure the reference projects used for cost per square foot are similar to the proposed project.

• Less accurate due to broad assumptions.

• Used to check if project is within budget

Parametric Estimates

Uses equations showing the statistical relationship between building parameters and cost.

• Parameters must be measurable early in design for the equation to be useful.

• More complex than square-foot estimates

Model Estimating

Uses computer models to generate an estimate based on questions answered by the estimator.

• Similar to assembly estimating, but requires less input from the estimator.

• The model applies built-in logic to automatically select necessary components

Project Comparison Estimates

Estimate based on the cost of a completed project, adjusted for differences in the new project.

• Site work usually estimated separately (site conditions vary greatly)

Estimating Opportunities overview

• Estimating knowledge is needed across construction fields.

• Everyone from estimators to carpenters, designers, drafters, engineers, contractors, subs, suppliers, reps, and project managers use it.

• Goal: deliver projects at the best quality & competitive cost

Architectural Offices

• Require estimates at 3 stages:

  1. Preliminary (rough square-foot/project comparison)

  2. Drawing prep (more accurate square-foot/assembly)

  3. Final (material & installation cost).

• Used in design-build/CM delivery for negotiation.

• Estimating may be done by in-house staff, drafters, architects, or consultants

Engineering Offices

• Civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, soil engineers.

• Need preliminary, intermediate, and final estimates during design—prepared like architects.

General Contractors

• In design-bid-build: prepare detailed estimates for bids.

• Must calculate: material takeoffs, furnish & install costs, subcontractor bids, insurance, permits, staff, etc.

• Small firms: 1 estimator; large firms: estimating teams.

• In design-build/CM: also provide prelim estimates → updated until final price.

Estimating with Quantities Provided

• Estimator reviews specs, drawings, materials.

• Gathers sub/supplier quotes + decides on most economical construction approach.

Subcontractors

• Specialists hired by GC for specific trades.

• Submit unit price (e.g., $15.25/lf curb) or lump sum bids.

• Must perform quantity takeoffs to calculate labor, equipment, overhead, and profit.

• Pros: share risk, subs are trade experts.

• Cons: GC has less direct control → more coordination role.

Material Suppliers

• Provide price quotes for materials.

• Estimators must check specs/drawings to ensure materials meet contract & delivery needs.

Manufacturers’ Representatives

• Represent products/materials; act as sales + technical advisors.

• Services: ensure products meet specs, suggest alternates, perform cost analyses, and even help develop new products.

Project Management Companies

• Hired by owners for large projects to track costs & schedules.

• Staff must know estimating & scheduling.

• Clients: private owners, corporations, municipalities, utilities.

Government

• Agencies at local, state, federal levels need estimators.

• Involved in schools, highways, hospitals, public works, housing.

• Duties: prepare/review prelim & final estimates, design, specs.

Professional Quantity Surveyors

• Independent firms/individuals.

• Provide unit quantity takeoffs for anyone needing them (including government).

Freelance Estimators

• Independent estimators hired by any party (owner, architect, contractor, sub, supplier, rep).

• May sell material takeoffs to multiple bidders.

• Often combine with drafting/shop drawing services.

Residential Construction

• Estimators needed at all levels: designers, drafters, contractors, subs, suppliers, reps.

• Workers need estimating knowledge to order enough material at the right time.

• Designers/drafters prepare prelim & final estimates for owners.

Computer Software in Estimating

• Software integrates drawings, estimating, bidding, purchasing, and project controls.

• Estimators must know how to use/manipulate software.

• Opportunities: database building, system setup, training others.

How do we find a project to bid on?

Public bid postings, online plan rooms, trade associations, government announcements, client invitations, or networking.

What are some of reasons we would bid on a project or decide to pass on a project?

• Would bid: Fits company expertise, available resources, good profit potential, build client relationships, keep crews busy.

• Not bid: Too risky, unclear plans/specs, unrealistic timeline, outside company specialty, too far away, too much competition, already overloaded with work.

Lump Sum Bid

Single bid that covers (without providing a cost breakdown) all cost, such as for
equipment, labor, material, overheads, and services. It also includes the contractor's fee (profit) for
completing the items of work comprising the job. Stipulated Sum Agreement, Lump Sum
Agreement, or Design-Bid-Build.

Design-Bid-Build

A traditional method of construction project delivery involving the selection and award
of professional design services followed by a separate process for construction services once the design documents are complete

CMAR

A project-specific delivery method that is suited for medium to
large capital or renovation projects. CMAR provides technical assistance to the designer during the design phase, has a cost-capping feature, and allows construction to start before design documents are 100% complete. The CMAR contracts directly with subcontractors, fabricators, and material suppliers

Design/Build

A method of construction in which the contractor provides both design and construction
services to an owner

Cost-Plus Bid

A cost-plus contract, also termed a cost reimbursement contract, is a contract where a
contractor is paid for all of its allowed expenses to a set limit plus additional payment to allow for a profit.[1] Cost-reimbursement contracts contrast with fixed-price contract, in which the contractor is paid a negotiated amount regardless of incurred expense

Unit Cost Bid

Project owners, both public and private, sometimes structure construction contracts to call
for payment on a unit price basis. If the nature of the work lends itself to unit quantification, this is an
appropriate pricing mechanism. The contractor will be paid for the work, and only the work, the contractor actually performs

Municipal Bond

A debt security issued by a state, municipality or county to finance its capital
expenditures. Municipal bonds are exempt from federal taxes and from most state and local taxes,
especially if you live in the state in which the bond is issue

Bid Bond

A form of security executed by the bidder or principal in conjunction with a surety to guarantee
that the bidder will enter into a contract within a specified period of time and will furnish the required bonds for performance and labor and materials payments.

Payment Bond

A form of security purchased by the contractor from a surety, which is provided to
guarantee that the contractor will pay all costs of labor, materials, and other services related to the project for which he is responsible under the contract for construction. Also called a Labor & Material bond.

Performance Bond

is a surety bond that provides a financial guarantee to a project owner (the obligee)
that a contractor (the principal) will fulfill the terms of a contract. If the contractor fails to complete the
project as agreed, a third-party surety company steps in to cover the cost of completing the work or
compensate the obligee for financial losses. Performance bonds are common in construction and real estate to protect owners from contractor default and ensure projects are finished on time and to specifications.

• Principal: The contractor responsible for completing the work.

• Obligee: The project owner or client who hires the contractor. The owner of a project is also a party to the owner-contractor and owner-designer agreements.

• Surety: A third party, often an insurance company, that provides the bond and guarantees the principal's performance

What is HUB

A HUB is a business that is formed for the purpose of making a profit and that is otherwise a legally recognized business organization under the laws of Texas. A HUB must be at least 51 percent owned by one or more persons who are economically disadvantaged due to their identification as members of certain groups. The groups include Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, Native Americans, Service-Disabled Veterans and Women. These individuals must have a proportionate interest and demonstrate active participation in the control, operation, and management of the business' affairs. A HUB must also have its principal place of business in the State of Texas

What is Davis Bacon Act / Prevailing Wage Requirements

A U.S. federal law requiring contractors and subcontractors on federally funded or assisted construction projects to pay local prevailing wages (including fringe benefits) to laborers and mechanics.

Can the owner and engineer or architect be the same person?

Yes, but it can create a conflict of interest because the person would be both overseeing the project and designing it, which may affect objectivity in decisions and approvals.

What is meant by a request for a sublist on a project?

A request from the owner or general contractor asking the bidder to list all subcontractors they plan to use, usually by trade, for review and approval before awarding the contract.

What is Attic Stock

Extra Material, Spare Material Maintenance Material

• refers to overage material (typically a finished material) that's not installed. It's kept
  by the owner in storage (hence the name "attic stock") for their future maintenance crews to use to replace damaged installed product.

What is the weight of one cubic foot of reinforced concrete?

155 lbs

What is the weight of one cubic yard of un-reinforced concrete?

4050 lbs

What is the weight of one gallon of water?

8.34 lbs

How many gallons of water are in one cubic foot?

7.48 gallons

How many square feet are in one square yard?

9

How many lineal feet are in one lineal mile?

5280 ft

How many acres are in one square mile or section?

640 acres

The Texas A&M Core Values

• Honor/ Excellence

• Integrity

• Leadership

• Loyalty

• Respect

  • Selfless Service

What is the last name of the Second President of the U.S.?

Adams

This estimate includes all cost, such as for equipment, labor, material, overheads, and services. It also includes the contractor’s fee (profit) for completing the items of work comprising the job

Lump Sum Bid

A method of estimating that “uses equations that express the statistical relationship between building elements and the cost of the building. The elements used in the equation may include the gross square footage, number of floors, length of perimeter, percentage of the buildings that is common space, and so forth.” What type of estimating is this?

Parametric Estimating

A method of estimating that “rather than bidding each of the individual components of the project, the estimator bids the components in groups”. What type of estimating is this?

Assembly Estimating

Most estimators begin their career doing quantity takeoff; as they develop experience and judgement, they develop into estimators, true or false?

True

Specifications are written instructions concerning project requirements that describe the quality of materials to be used and their performance, true or false?

True

What is the name of the contractor that build Francis Hall in 1918?

Endress

Who is the Texas A&M Chancellor

Glen Hegar

What is drywall waste factor?

2-5%

Typical size of Type X sheetrock

4’ x 8’

How many sheet is in a bundle of sheetrock?

98 sheets

What is the waste factor of soil or concrete?

5% waste factor

Mains

Run adjacent to lights 4’ o.c.

How long are Runs

2’

How do you solve for wire length?

FF/ TOS - height of ceiling + 1 = length of wire

Aggie ring

• shield = good reputation

• 5 stars= mind or intellect

• 13 stripes= intense patriotism,

• eagle= agility & power

R-values

capacity of an insulating material to resist heat

FT to CY conversion

1ft = 27 cy