Here's a quick deck I prepared that explains how I go about deciding how long to invest in an estimate/bid as a sub. This is how I carry out the estimation based on the amount of time I can commit to a specific project to be bid. The precision and confidence you aim for is based on a lot of factors including the deadline (yikes) and even the typical margins needed to stay competitive. For hyper-competitive trades, there is no other option than to takeoff/estimate with exacting precision since margins are so thin. Estimating with enough cushion will mean the bid is not competitive. Only with accurate figures can you really know how low you can go without crashing and burning. Also, I like to have a rough order of magnitude (ROM) estimate at different phases of the bidding process as this helps me make certain decisions and communicate more easily about the project knowing the extent of work required (roughly). Based on the amount of time I can commit to a specific project, I can gauge the approximate accuracy of my bid. More time is obviously better. The whole process is also improved with better software, data, workflow and skills. If this helped you, please share and let me know if I can be of help with estimating.

1. 4 minute estimate (0-10 minutes)
PRECISION +/- 15-30%
CONFIDENCE 60-80%
Plan Review
 Quick bird’s eye view of the plans
 Rely on experience, do not look at details
Scope
 Rough outline of scope
Takeoff
 Rough measurement of large dimensions (SF, LF, Counts)
 Area – simplify measurement by doing Average Length x Average Width
Proposal
 Commit a price to paper in less than 5 minutes
 Proposal – add 10 minutes for writing bid/proposal/emails, usually from a template

2. 40 minute estimate (0-60 minutes)
PRECISION +/- 10%
CONFIDENCE 75-85%
Plan Review
 Quick overview of the plans
 Bird’s eye view of details
Scope
 Broad outline of scope
Takeoff
 Measurement of large dimensions (SF, LF, Counts: Paving SF, Pipe LF)
 Estimate smaller dimensions by feel and experience
 Where merited, do quick calculations
Proposal
 Commit a price to paper in less than 1 hour
 Proposal – add 15 minutes for writing bid/proposal/emails, usually from a template

3. 4 hour estimate (2-4 hours)
PRECISION +/- 5%
CONFIDENCE 85-90%
Begin writing the proposal if it’s not automatically generated from your system (start with the end in mind)
Plan Review
 Quick overview of the plans
 Quick overview of major details
Scope
 Accurate but broad outline of scope
Takeoff
 Detailed measurement of dimensions (SF, LF, Counts: Paving SF, Pipe LF)
 Rely on experience to fill in the gaps where time constraints prohibit precision (i.e. material quantity takeoff on an obscure detail)
Proposal
 Commit a price to paper by noon (12pm) if starting in the morning, by close of business day (5pm) if starting in the afternoon
 Proposal – include writing the proposal within the time frame allotted

4. 16 hour estimate (8-16 hours)
PRECISION +/- 3%
CONFIDENCE 95-98%
Begin writing the proposal if it’s not automatically generated from your system (start with the end in mind)
Plan Review
o Reasonably thorough overview of the plans
o Scan General Notes for deviations from your firm’s typical SOP (i.e. additional deliverables)
o Reasonably thorough overview of details
Scope
o Detailed outline of scope, even if some line items will not be estimated with desired precision
Takeoff
o Detailed measurement of dimensions (SF, LF, Counts: Paving SF, Pipe LF, Column Qty)
o Use the additional time to create precision in details/sections which can prove costly (i.e. calculate the volume of additional
concrete for a large footing)
o Rely on experience to fill in the gaps where time constraints prohibit precision (i.e. material quantity takeoff on an obscure detail)
Proposal
o Commit a price to paper by close of next business day (5pm)
o Proposal – include writing the proposal within the time frame allotted

5. 40 hour estimate (24-40 hours)
PRECISION +/- 0.5%
CONFIDENCE 98-99%
Begin writing the proposal if it’s not automatically generated from your system (start with the end in mind)
Plan Review
 Very thorough overview of the plans, read all sections pertaining to your scope
 Verify details/sections with soil reports, preliminary inspections, other plan sets
Scope
 Detailed outline of scope, even if some line items will not be estimated with desired precision
Takeoff
 Detailed measurement of dimensions (SF, LF, Counts: Paving SF, Pipe LF, Column Qty)
 Decide which line items will be estimated with maximum precision
Proposal
 If given a set of plans on Monday, commit a price to paper by:
o Close of Wednesday (17-24 h)
o Close of Friday 5pm (32-40 h)
 If given a set of plans on Friday, commit a price to paper by
o Close of Tuesday 5pm (17-24 h)
o Close of Thursday 5pm (32-40 h)

6. 80+ h estimate/detailing
(40-80 hours, 2x, 3x Weeks - depending on size of project)
PRECISION +/- 0.1%
CONFIDENCE 99-99.99%
Begin writing the proposal if it’s not automatically generated from your system (start with the end in mind)
Plan Review
o Exhaustive overview of the plans, read all sections pertaining to your scope
o Verify details/sections with soil reports, preliminary inspections
o Verify details/sections with Civil, Architectural, Structural, MEP’s
Scope
o Detailed outline of scope
o Ensure no inclusions are missing, ensure all needed exclusions are listed
Takeoff
o Detailed measurement of dimensions (SF, LF, Counts: Paving SF, Pipe LF, Column Qty)
o At this level nearly all line items and their component makeups to be estimated with exacting precision (SF Concrete  CY of
Concrete  LF of Reinforcing Bars)
Proposal
o If given a set of plans on Monday-Friday, commit a price to paper by:
o Close of following Friday 5pm (40-80 h)
o Or estimate the additional time as necessary
Remember that in theory, if we are estimating, we should be able to estimate how much a project will take us to estimate.