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Here is all the information you need for estimating and bidding construction and home improvement projects.
Information on how to survive downturns in the construction industry.
Estimating & Bidding for Builders & Remodelers tells you:
- What you need for a career as a construction estimator
- How to construct a take-off from the plans
- How to check the details of an estimate
- How to prepare a schedule
- How to deal with subs
- How to calculate project overhead and profit
- How to estimate remodeling work for typical remove and replace jobs
- How to include markup for remodeling work
- How to profit from estimating commercial work
This guide includes the National Estimator stand-alone estimating program with a 50,000 item database for residential, commercial, and home improvement work. Two of Craftsman’s most popular residential cost guides are on the disk: National Construction Estimator and National Home Improvement Estimator.
Guaranteed to improve your estimating skill and bidding results, this book includes:
- What to look for in the plans
- How to scope out the last 5% of job costs
- How to immunize yourself against common estimating mistakes
- Over 1,100 pages of current labor and material costs for both new construction and home improvement jobs – covering every trade and the most common specialties
- Two popular residential cost guides are on the disk: National Construction Estimator and National Home Improvement Estimator
This estimating program works like a book. Turn to any page or use the electronic index to find in seconds exactly the cost estimates you need.
Use your mouse to copy and paste cost estimates from the costbook to your electronic estimating form. Costs are extended and columns totaled automatically.
40 estimating forms are on the disk. Open any of these forms with your favorite word processing or spreadsheet program.
Quick and flexible. Change any price or description in your estimate. Enter the five-digit zip code to adjust costs to your community.
Then print your estimate directly or export it to nearly any word processing or spreadsheet program running under Windows.
More ways to work faster and easier. Copy costs from one estimate to another. Open both databases at once and use costs from each in a single estimate.
Get help from an expert. Free phone support is available 8 AM to 5 PM (Pacific), Monday through Friday.
Cut learning time in half! Let the Show Me video on the disk teach you how to use the National Estimator program.
Job Cost Wizard Exports estimates to either QuickBooks Pro or QuickBooks Premier® where you can track actual costs against estimated cost. Requires Windows 98 or higher.
Open both new construction and home improvement estimating costbooks. Then copy anything from either costbook to your estimate. Cut and paste from one estimate to another. Then adjust the costs to your zip area and print the estimate. Remodeling magazine recommends National Estimator and calls it an easy-to-use “estimating wiz.” You’re going to agree.
Julie’s Here To Help: The Show Me Video covers everything you need to know about the National Estimator. Let this 45-minute interactive multimedia tutorial, included on the disk, show you how to use all the features of this powerful estimating program.
The Author: Richard J. Langedyk has directed the training of over 20,000 estimators, project managers and construction company owners. Since 1982 he has been Senior Instructor for Construction Estimating Institute of America in Sarasota, Florida. He is well known as a speaker at construction conventions and trade shows throughout the United States and Canada. His 30-year construction career includes estimating both as general contractor and as a subcontractor on residential, commercial, industrial and government projects – from remodeling jobs to heavy industrial projects approaching a billion dollars.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1, Get Started Right, 5
- Sink or Swim in Construction Contracting, 6
- The Detailed Cost Estimate, 7
- Estimating as a Career, 8
- Typical Estimator Profile, 10
- Shortcomings of an Estimating Career, 12
- Rewards, 12
- Decision Making, 16
Chapter 2, Planning your Estimate, 17
- It All Starts With a Plan, 17
- Custom-made Markup, 18
- The Long-term Plan, 21
Chapter 3, Getting Ready to Estimate 29
- It All Starts With Plans, 29
- The Plan Package, 32
- Examine the Site, 36
- The Cost Data File, 36
- Doing the Take-off, 38
- Compiling an Estimate, 39
- Checking Estimates, 47
Chapter 4, The Estimating Process, 51
- Detailed Estimating Steps, 51
- A Sample Take-off, 63
- The Detailed Estimate Advantage, 88
Chapter 5, Estimating Repair & Remodeling Work, 89
- Limiting the Scope of Your Bid, 90
- Protecting Yourself, 91
- A Sample Remodeling Estimate, 93
- The Estimating Process, 96
- Putting it All Together, 111
- Checking the Estimate, 117
- Preparing the Bid, 117
- Closing the Sale, 120
Chapter 6, Estimating Commercial Work, 125
- The Commercial Estimate, 126
- Follow a Plan, 128
- Start the Take-off, 129
- The Take-off Form, 131
- How to Take off Quantities, 132
- Applying Unit Costs, 146
Chapter 7, Pricing With a Computer 153
- What's on the National Home Estimator Disk, 154
- Installing National Home Estimator, 155
- Using National Estimator, 156
- Opening the Costbooks, 157
- Your First Estimate, 158
- Splitting the Screen, 159
- Copying Costs to Your Estimate, 160
- Changing Wage Rates or Costs, 163
- Adding Tax, Overhead and Profit, 166
- Printing and Saving Your Estimate, 167
- Converting Estimates With Job Cost Wizard, 168
- Amount of Detail on Invoices, 170
- QuickBooks Account Names, 171
- Exporting an Estimate to QuickBooks, 173
- Turn an Estimate into an Invoice, 175
- Your Jobs in QuickBooks, 176
Chapter 8, Cost Recording, 177
- Why Keep Cost Records? 178
- Essentials of a Cost System, 179
- Cost Records Check Current Jobs, 182
- Classifying Labor Costs, 182
- Using Cost Data, 187
Chapter 9, Planning Overhead, 191
- Start With Last Year, 192
- The Annual Budget, 196
- My Budget for AEI Builders, 200
- The Preliminary Budget Bottom Line, 208
- Failing to Plan Is Planning to Fail, 213
Chapter 10, Estimating Overhead & Profit, 215
- Your Normal Markup, 216
- The Right Markup for Your Estimates, 218
- But Will We Make More Money? 222
- Develop a Profit Curve, 222
- Your Own Best Profit Range, 227
Chapter 11, Smart Bidding, 229
- Adjustment for Risk, 229
- Asset Utilization Adjustments, 240
- Identify Under-utilization, 242
- Project Adjustments, 248
- What Is the Net Effect? 251
Chapter 12, Pricing Strategies, 253
- Learn About Your Competition, 255
- Graph Your Competition, 260
- Let’s Wrap This Up, 264
Index, 265
New - Updated Edition!
Includes: Book & CD-ROM
By: Richard Langedyk
Published by: Craftsman Book Company
ISBN: 1-57218-201-6 / 978-1-57218-201-1
274 Pages, 8-1/2 x 11
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