CET132 – ESTIMATING

AY 1ST Semester 2024 - 2025

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 CET132
ESTIMATING
 WHAT IS ESTIMATING?
 Estimating and preparing the itemized list or bill of materials required for a
project to built, added, repaired, remodeled or renovated is an integral and
no less important part of the professional services by an architect or
engineer to his clients.
 The purpose is to determine the forecast costs required to complete a
project in accordance with the contract plans and specifications
 This phase of work involves a lot of analysis and tedious time-consuming
computation works

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 WHAT IS ESTIMATING?
 Estimating material cost can be  HOWEVER, accurate estimating
accomplished with relatively high of LABOR and EQUIPMENT
degree of accuracy cost is considerably more
difficult to accomplish
 Simple and easy task
 Calculated from the dimensions on the  Labor and equipment cost depends
on productivity rates:
drawings
 Multiply the Quantity of material by the  Conditions for each project
current unit price  Skill of the laborers
 Quality of supervision
 Equipment production rate

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IMPORTANCE OF
ESTIMATOR
● Estimator plays vital role in preparing the estimates
 Assembled, organized and store information
 cost records from previously completed projects
 Cost quotes from suppliers, vendors and subcontractors
 Assessed the job conditions
 Evaluate labor and equipment productivity rates
 MUST review and check all parts of an estimate to ensure realistic costs

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IMPORTANCE OF
ESTIMATOR
● Computer can assist in estimation but the estimator must manage
and control the process

● Must able to work under pressure because most estimates are

prepared in stringent time frames

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ESTIMATING is not an EXACT science!

The QUALITY and ACCURACY of an estimate is highly dependent on

the knowledge and skill of the ESTIMATOR.

That is YOU!

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Requirements in Estimating Bill of
Materials On hand all the things required:
a. Complete set of the working drawings (plans) of
the project
b. Specifications relating to the project
c. Engineer’s scale
d. Electronic calculator or adding machines
e. Pencils, erasers, papers, ballpens, etc.
f. Data about building materials, preferably including
their current prices
g. Estimating worksheets or computation sheets
h. Construction contract, if necessary
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Requirements in Estimating Bill of
Materials
 The plans and the specifications are meant to complement each other,
but should there discrepancies between the two, these should be referred
to the designing engineer for clarification
 If, in the building plans, there are discrepancies between the scaled
distance and the measurements indicated, it is usually the latter that
prevail
 Where the measurement or positions of dimension lines indicated on
small scale drawings are not the same as their full-size or large scale
drawings, those shown on the full-size or large scale detail drawings
should be followed
 The advantage of using worksheets is that repetitive computations are
reduced to a considerable extent
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Types of Estimates
Two distinct tasks in Estimating:
1. Determining the probable real COST
2. Determining the probable real TIME to build a project
 With an increase emphasis on project planning and scheduling, production
rates, crew sizes, equipment spreads and the estimated time to perform
individual work items are required
 Because construction estimates are prepared before a project is constructed,
the estimate is, at best, a close approximation of the actual cost.
 The true cost of the project will not be known until the project has been
completed.

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There is NO industry standard
that has been established for
defining estimates.

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Detailed Estimates
 A detailed estimate of the cost of a project is prepared by determining the
cost of :
a) Materials d) Labor
b) Equipment e) Subcontract work
c) Overhead f) Profit

 Bid Price – the amount of money the owner must pay for
the completion of the project and the amount of money the
contractor will receive for building the project

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Detailed Estimates
 A risk analysis of uncertainties is conducted to determine an
appropriate CONTINGENCY to be added to the base estimate

 There is almost always some unforeseen work that develops

during construction

 Contingency that is too low might reduce the profits while too high
may prevent the bid from being competitive

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Detailed Estimates
 PROFIT- can vary considerably, depending on numerous factors such:
 as size and complexity of the project
 amount of work in progress by the contractor
 Accuracy and completeness of the bid documents
 Competition for work
 Availability of money
 Volume of construction activity in the project area

 Profit may be as low as 5% for large projects or as

high as 30% for small projects that are high risk or
remodels of existing projects
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Detailed Estimates
 OVERHEAD
 Many ITEMS that cannot be classified as permanent materials, construction
equipment or labor
Two Types
1) Job Overhead Cost – includes costs that can be charged
specifically to project like salaries of the project superintendent and
other staff personnel, costs of utilities, supplies, engineering tests,
drawings, rentals, permits, insurance and other
2) General Overhead cost – share of the costs incurred at the general
office of the company like office rents, salaries, taxes and other
company expenses not chargeable to a specific project

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Detailed Estimates
 TAXES
 After the direct costs for materials and labor have been
determine, the estimator must include the applicable taxes for
each
 The tax rate will vary depending on the country.
 In Philippines, for Value Added Tax (VAT) is 5 % and 7 %
 Some owners, such as churches and schools, are tax
exempt provided that the owner makes the purchase of
materials

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Detailed Estimates
 PRODUCTION RATE
 Production rate is the number of units of work produced by a unit of
equipment or a person in a specified unit of time
 To determine the time required to perform a given quantity of work, it
is necessary to estimate the probable rates of production of the
equipment or labor
 These rate are subject to considerable variation,
 depending on the difficulty of the work
 Skill of the laborer
 Job and management conditions
 Condition of the equipment
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References/Textbooks

♠ Buchan, R. D., Eric Fleming, F. W., & Gran, F. E. (2003). Estimating for
Builders & Surveyors (2nd Edition ed.). Burlington, MA: Butterworth-
Heinemann.
♠ Fajardo, M.B. Jr., Simplified Construction Estimate, 1st & 2nd Editions
♠ Peurifoy, R. L., & Oberlender, G. D. (2014). Estimating Construction
Cost (6th Edition ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
♠ Tagayun, V. A. (2002). Estimating Bill of Materials. TagayunAssociates.
♠ Velasco, R. A. (1997). Handbook of Construction Estimate. Loacan
Publishing House.

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 End Page

THANK YOU!

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QUESTIONS?

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