Construction estimation is the process of predicting the total cost of a construction project, including all the direct and indirect costs required to complete it. These costs include labor, materials, equipment, and permits. Construction estimates are critical because they enable estimators to budget for a project correctly. They also help them manage expenses, ensuring their financial feasibility by offering clients a realistic cost projection before work begins.
Construction estimation is essential whether you are a construction manager or a contractor. This comprehensive guide will help you create a construction estimate in New York. We will also help you locate the best construction cost-estimating services in NYC. This beginner guide will help all the construction stakeholders, with and without experience and knowledge of the construction industry. With the help of this guide and just basic knowledge, you will be able to create accurate construction estimates in New York. Let’s begin this beginner’s guide to construction estimation in NYC.
A Beginner’s Guide to Construction Estimation:
Accurate construction estimation requires a step-by-step process. Let’s explore the steps you must take to create an estimate.
Step 1: Understand the Scope:
Before beginning your construction estimations, you must be clear about the project’s scope. The project scope refers to a detailed outline of the work included in a construction project. It also defines the exact parameters of what needs to be built, including deliverables, materials, specifications, and any limitations to the project. Understanding the project scope provides the boundaries to ensure accurate cost estimation and avoid unexpected changes later. Therefore, to proceed with precise cost estimation, start with understanding the project scope and reviewing the project plans, drawings, and all the specifications for more realistic and accurate information.
Step 2: Gather data:
After you have understood the project scope, deliverables, materials, and limitations, the next step in estimating your construction costs is to gather detailed data about the pricing of materials, labor, and equipment. For materials, look for multiple suppliers and vendors to compare and find the best products at more affordable prices. Labor rates in NYC are high due to the high demand for skilled labor and the high cost of living in the city. Therefore, when looking for labor, check all the labor options. You can also consult manpower-supplying companies to get affordable labor for your project. Lastly, for equipment pricing, you need to decide if you should buy equipment that can be used in multiple projects. On the other hand, you can rent the equipment to get the work done. Gathering the materials, labor, and equipment pricing lets you get your accurate construction estimation base.
Step 3: Break Down the Project:
Breaking down a project into smaller pieces means dividing a considerable project into smaller but more manageable parts. These smaller packages, often called work packages, make planning, executing, and tracking progress throughout the project cycle easier. The project breakdown is typically done using a work breakdown structure (WBS) to divide the project into smaller tasks. For example, you can divide the labor and material costs into separate portions and track them separately for accurate costs. However, splitting a large project into smaller parts will help exclusively, especially if you do it for the first time.
Step 4: Estimate Costs:
As we stated earlier, creating a construction estimate is a step-by-step process. Once you have understood the project scope, gathered the required data, and broken down the project into smaller tasks, you must estimate the costs. The fourth step is to assess construction and calculate the material, labor, equipment, and overhead costs. Make sure you calculate the costs for the exact quantity of material required because increasing or decreasing the amount of materials might affect the total cost of your project.
Step 5: Account for Contingencies:
Setting an account for contingencies is like wearing a life jacket. It helps you survive if sudden waves strike your project budget. Setting an account for contingencies in construction estimation means setting aside a specific amount of money within the budget to cover potential unforeseen costs or risks that might arise during construction. However, unforeseen expenses can include a hike in materials pricing as the project progresses, unexpected site conditions or requirements, changes in design, weather delays, and labor unavailability, which can cause high costs. Therefore, to mitigate these risks, sufficient funds should be allocated to combat this unforeseen expense.
Step 6: Review and Finalize:
This is the last step in creating your construction estimate. If you have carefully understood the project scope, gathered the required data, split the project into smaller parts, estimated all costs, and allocated a contingency fund, you have successfully created an accurate construction estimation. Now, you must double-check all the facts and figures for accuracy. Verify that all the costs and funds you allocated are correct. However, for a more accurate estimation, you may also seek assistance from an experienced estimating company in NYC, such as My Virtual Estimator.
Additional Considerations for Construction Cost Estimation:
You have successfully gone through the step-by-step guide to creating a construction estimation. However, a few additional considerations will add more value, authenticity, and reliability to your construction estimates.
Order of Magnitude: An initial estimate of the project cost, which is used to assess the project’s feasibility.
Types of Estimates: Different estimates are used at different project stages, including preliminary, detailed, quantity, bid, and control estimates.
Learning Construction Estimating: Take courses covering material takeoffs, cost tracking, and budgeting strategies.
Bottom Line:
Construction estimation is the process of predicting the total costs of a construction project. It can be daunting without prior knowledge, especially if you are doing it for the first time. However, this comprehensive guide can effortlessly create a construction estimation for every project size. But if you are scared to take this chance and want to hire someone who can make these estimations for you realistically, then My Virtual Estimator is the name to remember.
With years and years of experience in construction estimation, they have a skilled fleet of experts who can create estimates for all your projects. Call them for a flawless construction estimate at the most affordable prices in New York City. Call now!
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