Creating a Bid Package That Gets You Solid Estimates

Part One of a Five-Part Series: Getting Estimates and Choosing a Contractor

Kickoff

It’s one of the biggest questions for owners: how to get good estimates for your construction project, and how to choose a contractor. Everyone knows it’s important, but most people have no idea where to start, or how to determine whether the answers they’re getting are good, bad, or ugly.

So…I decided to do something new around here: a 5-part series covering this topic! As many of you know, I was a construction estimator and project manager at a general contractor before I became an architect, so I know firsthand how to read construction estimates - because I did them myself! These days, in my architectural practice or GC-ing my own projects for my real estate investments, I see that experience now through the eyes of an owner.

So what will we be covering?

1. Creating a Bid Package That Gets You Solid Estimates

2. Finding and Interviewing GCs

3. Comparing Estimates: The Basics That Get You 80% of the Way There

4. Comparing Estimates: Creating a Bid Normalization Spreadsheet

5. Contract Structures: Fixed Price or Cost Plus?

This will be mostly geared towards residential projects, and small-medium multifamily/commercial projects. Larger projects have a language all their own, and while the concepts I’ll be discussing still apply, there are often special considerations.

As usual, be sure to discuss any of this with your project professionals and/or legal advisors – things can vary widely depending on what jurisdiction you’re in. This is meant to be an *overview,* not a comprehensive analysis. Believe it or not, there is *a lot* more to all these topics than I’m able to cover even in five newsletters. But this is a great start!

Ok, let’s dive in!

First, some resources!

• My brand-new Outline Specification Template! It’s 5 pages of actionable, editable organization – all to help you get better, more accurate quotes from builders and GCs on your projects. I was a construction estimator before I became an architect…and this document is grounded in what I wish architects would have told me! [Read below for more info about what a “specification” is and how it can help you get better estimates!]

• My new podcast! Called “Home: The Second Story,” my co-hosts and I interview owners who’ve recently been through a major renovation project or new build, and they share their hard-won wisdom – and what they’d do differently, knowing what they know now! Get it wherever you listen to podcasts [Apple, Spotify, YouTube, etc.]

Ok, NOW let’s dive in!

Estimates 101 [Part 1]: Creating a Bid Package That Gets You Solid Estimates

One of the first things I learned as a construction estimator was “garbage in, garbage out.”