A plain piece of paper is used by several contractors (or worse yet, the back of an envelope), or construction estimating forms, or just a word processor to estimate their jobs. Many contractors use cost books, which have many price structures contained in them that help a contractor create an accurate estimate for each job. If this is you, you're probably losing thousands of dollars every year.

It's apparent, after discussing with many contractors though the years, that this sort of estimating is not the greatest way of going about it. It is challenging and sometimes difficult to notice any sort of missing item or duplication, especially if there are more than a dozen items noted.

I'd say that the hands-down winning method of estimate creation is a sectional approach, no matter what else you do. There can be a wide variety of varied titles for different sections, such as class, task, category, etc. Simply put, sections are a way of organizing your estimates in a way that reduces the probability that you'll make an error. Sections include Site Preparation, Foundations, Framing, Roofing, Electrical, Landscaping, etc.

The reason this reduces you likelihood of making an error is that every item you add to the estimate is put into a section. Digging and pouring the foundation and items associated with that go into the Foundation Section. Everything pertaining to framing (labor and materials) Those should be located in the Framing section, and Roofing items are located in the Roofing section, etcetera.

Ready? Let's look under the hood. To properly set up an estimate, you need to sort the various items into the right sections. It's also a good idea to total your costs for each section as well.

As soon as the estimate is complete, look over each of the preceding sections. Looking at the total for each section gives you an idea if you're in the right ball park to begin with. Then you review each of the items in each section to make sure you don't have any duplicate items. As you are perusing every section you finally confirm that all is complete, for instance, the foundation is in the appropriate section. Make sure you haven't omitted items by reviewing each section before you give your potential customer the estimate..

Lists of sections are found at:

www.Estimating a construction project is how a profit is made for the construction company and allowing the company to see how much the project is going to cost them.com/Sections/

You are free to modify this and use it as you will to make it fit your own circumstances.

Use a spreadsheet like Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice Calc to track the creation of your estimate; it will help eliminate errors with your sums and lead to a better estimate. Spreadsheet programs are relatively cheap and quick to learn, especially compared to the cost in poor estimates and tedious manual calculations.