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HEADLINES ADDED: August 30, 2008
Construction Estimating
One of the most common requests we receive is information on how to estimate a construction job. To meet that need, Michael Stone will present two 75-minute free online classes in September on the fundamentals of estimating. In these two classes, planned as the first in a series of classes on construction estimating, he will cover the basics any contractor needs to prepare to estimate a remodeling job or estimate a new home construction project. This class will benefit every remodeling contractor, new home builder or specialty contractor. Michael... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: August 26, 2008
Bay State Seeks To Cut School Construction Costs
As it prepares to invest more than $2.5 billion for new school construction in the next five years, Massachusetts is taking a bold step to try and reign in extravagant school building costs by adopting a model school pilot program.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: June 07, 2008
The three existing home price series show very different price trends
How much home prices fall is critically important in estimating when the housing market will hit bottom and begin to recover. Depending on which existing home price series you look at, prices have been falling for either six months or for more than a year and the price drop is either a few percentage points or a double-digit plunge. Reed Construction Data believes that the OFHEO purchase only, existing home price series is the best measure of national price trends and that the Case/Shiller/Weiss existing home price series is... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: May 28, 2008
The three existing home price series show very different price trends
How much home prices fall is critically important in estimating when the housing market will hit bottom and begin to recover. Depending on which existing home price series you look at, prices have been falling for either six months or for more than a year and the price drop is either a few percentage points or a double-digit plunge. Reed Construction Data believes that the OFHEO purchase only, existing home price series is the best measure of national price trends and that the Case/Shiller/Weiss existing home price series is... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: April 12, 2008
The Housing Start, Home Price and Labour Market Connection in February
It is a little early in the year to be drawing profound conclusions from the year-to-date housing start figures for Canada’s 33 Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs). Nevertheless, this article includes some observations that encompass the latest numbers on housing starts, home prices and labour markets. At this point in the year, it is probably best to concentrate on the largest cities − Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Ottawa-Gatineau, Calgary and Edmonton.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: March 02, 2008
Estimating is Mostly Science
You may or may not believe that successful bidding (winning projects) is mostly science, not luck. Somehow, young construction professional somehow an innate gut feel allows a construction company to win work. That is, to know what the price on bid day should be to be low or in the running. That is absolutely not true. We first have to agree that the work costs something based on logic. The first driver of cost is quantity or count. How much product to install tells us the first piece of... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: February 25, 2008
Fixed Price Quotations or Itemization?
I saw an article in a newsletter recently telling contractors (both general and specialty) to give out itemized estimates to their customers. Oh joy. The writer talks about the goodwill, the trust, the ability to compare estimates and the usual tripe that accompanies this type of advice. Let me tell you why I disagree. First, your customers won’t be able to compare your estimate to any other estimate. Common sense will tell you that. I couldn’t compare your estimate to a second contractor’s estimate, nor could you compare your... Read More
Construction Estimating Software Study
Go to any national convention and you can't miss seeing dozens of software vendors. It is a big business and there is high value to construction firms. The product has made estimating a less clerical and more automated. Also, it has made estimating more efficient. Due to its power, counting and measuring is less of a task; taking hours instead of days. For those of us who don't looking forward to the job of estimating, computers and software has made it bearable. We feel that most estimating software is... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: February 20, 2008
2008 Residential Construction Costs, 27th Edition Book CD Package
By Lee Saylor. Saylor Publications. Price: $74.95. Publish Date: 12/2007... Read More
2008 Current Construction Costs, 45th Edition Book CD Package
By Lee Salyor. Saylor Publications. Price: $74.95. Publish Date: 12/2007... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: January 23, 2008
Site Work and Landscape Cost Data 2008
By Means. Means, R. S.. Price: $149.95. Publish Date: 11/2007... Read More
Heavy Construction Cost Data 2008
By Means. Means, R. S.. Price: $149.95. Publish Date: 12/2007... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: January 22, 2008
Registration Begins for 2008 Accubid User Conference
Registration Begins for 2008 Accubid User Conference... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: January 16, 2008
Estimating and Managing Cost Escalation - Dinner Program
... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: January 07, 2008
Using a Variable Markup to calculate Construction Job Price
I spoke to a young lady last week who told me her husband is using a variable markup on his jobs. He marks up labor 3 or 3.5 times cost, and materials 1.5 times cost. He then adds 10% to any subcontractor quotes and doesn’t markup rental equipment or tools, or his time. Gang, this is a recipe for disaster. How do you keep track of it all? How do you know your markup is enough? Using a variable markup will bite you sooner or later. I get at... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: December 25, 2007
Overhead Question and Answer
Question: Hello Matt; After reading your book, I have a question regarding dual overhead percentage and Total Mark-up percentages. My mark-up percentage calculates to 35%. For my dual overhead calculations I am using a 8% profit, 7% material/sub-contractor & 20% Labor and equipment. This totals to 35%. The thing that I have noticed is that if I take my raw labor/equipment, materials/sub-contract costs, & take them x 1.35 this total number is higher than if I accumulate the percentages separately on my spreadsheet. Is my process correct? Is this... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: December 18, 2007
Electrical Change Order Cost Data 2008
By Means. Means, R. S.. Price: $149.95. Publish Date: 11/2007... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: December 16, 2007
"Best Value" Conference
... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: December 12, 2007
D-Tools System Integrator 5.1 Available Now
D-Tools, Inc., the worldwide leader in system integration software, recently announced the release of the latest upgrade of its award-winning System Integrator software, SI5.... Read More
National Earthwork and Heavy Equipment Estimator 2008 Book CD
By Craftsman. Craftsman Book Company. Price: $57. Publish Date: 11/2007... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: December 10, 2007
CD Estimator 2008
By Craftsman. Craftsman Book Company. Price: $78.5. Publish Date: 12/2007... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: December 04, 2007
National Repair and Remodeling Estimator 2008 Book CD
By Craftsman. Craftsman Book Company. Price: $58.5. Publish Date: 11/2007... Read More
National Renovation and Insurance Repair Estimator 2008 Book CD
By Craftsman. Craftsman Book Company. Price: $59.5. Publish Date: 11/2007... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: December 03, 2007
Estimating Cost Data
Having some good standard references when it comes to cost data will help you develop and evaluate estimates, conceptual budgets and change orders. Every construction professional should have a set of these books that are relevant to their discipline. RS Means just released their 2008 cost data books: rsion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fdbrownconsult-20%2F8003%2Fc35d6989-4b01-46d9-a796-d18d0441f798&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.com Widgets... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: November 28, 2007
Facilities Cost Data 2008
By Means. Means, R. S.. Price: $357.95. Publish Date: 11/2007... Read More
National Painting Cost Estimator 2008 Book CD
By Craftsman. Craftsman Book Company. Price: $58. Publish Date: 11/2007... Read More
National Home Improvement Estimator 2008 Book CD
By Craftsman. Craftsman Book Company. Price: $58.75. Publish Date: 11/2007... Read More
National Framing and Finish Carpentry Estimator 2008 Book CD
By Craftsman. Craftsman Book Company. Price: $57.25. Publish Date: 11/2007... Read More
National Electrical Estimator 2008 Book CD
By Craftsman. Craftsman Book Company. Price: $57.75. Publish Date: 11/2007... Read More
National Construction Estimator 2008 Book CD
By Craftsman. Craftsman Book Company. Price: $57.5. Publish Date: 11/2007... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: November 27, 2007
Bluebook Cost Guide 2007: Residential and Light Commercial for Cleaning, Reconstruction and Repairs
By BlueBook. Builders Book. Price: $42.95. Publish Date: 01/2007... Read More
C12 Earthwork and Paving Book - CD Rom
By QuickPass. Builders Book. Price: $99.95... Read More
National Plumbing and HVAC Estimator 2008 Book CD
By Craftsman. Craftsman Book Company. Price: $58.25. Publish Date: 11/2007... Read More
National Concrete and Masonry Estimator 2008 Book CD
By Craftsman. Craftsman Book Company. Price: $59. Publish Date: 11/2007... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: November 25, 2007
AACE offers a new online course: Estimating & Bidding 2
January 24, 2004 is the start date for the newest course available from AACE International. Estimating and Bidding 2 is a paced, 10 week long onlin...... Read More
Recommended Practice rough draft is online
The results of our first Recommended Practice Workshop, on Estimation Review and conducted by Jennifer Bates, are now online. Our next workshop on Plannin...... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: April 27, 2007
Structural Steel Prices Post Modest Rebound
Prices for structural steel tracked by ENR have started to bounce back after sharp declines at the end of last year.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: April 19, 2007
On B2B Demand Generation tools and Lead Generation Dashboards
CEOs continue to demand better ROI measurement and accountability from marketers. As a result there’s been a surge of interest in software and tools to manage the process of lead management, lead nurturing and lead generation with a greater emphasis on measurability. In 2005, I wrote a post predicting that lead generation dashboards would become a hot topic and according to the CMO Council's 2007 Outlook Report the time for marketing performance dashboards is now. The report states, "Seventy-five percent of respondents from companies with revenues of more than... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: April 18, 2007
Weak Housing Market Undercuts Lumber Prices
The homebuilding market declined 2% last year in dollar value, according to the U.S. Dept. of Commerce construction put-in-place data.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: April 02, 2007
Speed vs. Risk: Automating the Conceptual Estimate
An engineer at a very large corporation recently sent me an email in response to my estimating software post. He felt that I did not address the up-front estimating requirements of building owners prior to formal design. That is, how do they create a conceptual estimate prior to having detailed drawings and bids? Moreover, how do they compare these initial estimates to the actual costs when the project is complete?... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: March 30, 2007
Escalation Eases but Costs Remain High
The overall U.S. construction market is starting to defuse three years of explosive materials price escalation.... Read More
First Quarterly Cost Report 2007
ENR's Q1 2007 cost report is a package of news, analysis and data. The report contains stories about inflation which reached a high tide mark in 2006. Although it now is starting to ebb, many materials prices remain stranded at the high water mark.... Read More
Risk vs. Reward
Today's successful building industry executives rely on people, processes and research to minimize the risk of making a mistake.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: March 29, 2007
NECA's Manual of Labor Units goes digital through Trade Service
For over 80 years, the Manual of Labor Units (MLU) published by Bethesda, Md.-based National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) has been the industry standard for electrical construction estimators and project managers... Read More
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Favorite Book 2007
The Toyota Way is my favorite book for 2007. It had so many good ideas that I could not keep up and ended up reading it again and even buying the Field Book to go along with it.
Download Elegant Solutions from Change This which provides some highlights of the Toyota Production System. Too many ideas that are applicable to contractors to even count!
Recent Posts
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- Construction Estimating
- Bay State Seeks To Cut School Construction Costs
- The three existing home price series show very different price trends
- The three existing home price series show very different price trends
- The Housing Start, Home Price and Labour Market Connection in February
- Estimating is Mostly Science
- Fixed Price Quotations or Itemization?
- Construction Estimating Software Study
- 2008 Residential Construction Costs, 27th Edition Book CD Package
- 2008 Current Construction Costs, 45th Edition Book CD Package
Management Class Series
Training Modules Specifically Designed For Contractors
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- Implementing A Project Management System
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