Unit Price Construction Cost Estimating

Unit price construction cost estimating is the foundation of every reliable cost determination prior to procurement.  Systems level estimating, historical data, assemblies, or square foot calculations should never be exclusively used to procure a repair, renovation, maintenance, or new build service.

Another requirement to enable cost visibility, transparency, and management is a locally researched line-item unit price book database, organized using CSI Masterformat.   The use of national average cost data and associated “location factors” and/or updating using “economic factors” cannot provide sufficient cost visibility and can easily result in variances of 30%-40%.

An actionable unit price cost database includes granular repair, renovation, maintenance, and new construction tasks for the local market and includes labor, material, equipment, crew, and productivity information, per an associated unit of measure.  To mitigate variables, the unit price cost database should only reflect the direct costs of labor, material, and equipment, fringes, and insurance. for the local market.  Profit and overheads should be considered separately. Cost must be updated regularly.  At a minimum, the cost database should be updated annually, however, quarterly, and/or as needed is even better! 

A cost database of 40,000-line items is sufficient for any situation, rarely are more lines required.  Experience professional estimates select the appropriate line item and add the appropriate quantity per the associated unit of measure.  If a specialized line item is needed, the estimate can create a new one.

Cost databases for repair, renovation, and new construction are organized by CSI Masterformat as note, however, preventive maintenance cost database may use UNIFORMAT as shown below.