Estimating Formulas

Turkinator

Hi, I,m new here and to forums period, I need a little help in estimating. Where do I find formulas for calculating materials on takeoffs? such as sheeting on a cut up roof, valleys hips ect. with felt shingles ect. derived from the same formula. obviously there are basic L x W stuff but how about the more complex stuff. would appreciate any leads for this info. I am looking to develop spreadsheets for est. My company is very diverse in the construction field, we do concrete , roofing, siding, framing, remodeling, door and windows ect. also looking for good labor rates for units.

Thanks for your input and help.
Frank

tcleve4911

Hi Turk,
This topic shows up a lot in this forum.
There are lots of books out there on unit pricing. The one thing that is always the rule, Use them carefully!!! You can lose your shirt if you unit price things that require careful thought.
Bathrooms are a great example. The SF of drywall in a 5 x 7 bathroom is approx 225. That times .70 /sf = $157.50. Pull out your wallet, hand it to the homeowner and say " thanks for letting me buy your bathroom. "
Point is, big areas, straight forward building systems, is when you use Unit Pricing. Look at your Valleys, & complicated building areas & do it the long hand way, keep separate records for these complicated systems and refer back to them when you have another task similar. Good Luck

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RandyMarshall

I was looking for that too. Thanks!

handyhoppe

We use a estimating program through Home Tech. You have to review what it comes up with, sometimes it is way to high or way to low, but it allows you to edit the numbers and it allows us to prepare proffesional estimates, contracts, right of reccension ect...

Turkinator

I was hoping for some help with formulas for the Excel spreadsheet estimating system I am developing to fit my own company, I am using a software now called UDA, however it is customizable and I need formulas for the more complicated take off situatins like materials for a roof with hips and valleys ect.

Boogga

ditto tcleve4911

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Danahy

ditto Boogga...

As for the excel formulas, you may need to tap into the

Sudo code version:

sq' times price = cost
if cost is less than minimum add x amount, otherwise use cost.
etc. etc.