Request a Construction Estimating Quote
Requesting a quote for Garage Construction Estimating.
What to include with your request
Request an estimate with your project location, scope and any plans you have. Tell us whether you need measured quantities, a priced estimate or an early budget.
Include applicable addenda and note any alternates or exclusions.
What to send with your request
Send the latest plan link and specify the trades, buildings or bid packages you need covered. Include applicable addenda and indicate whether the request is for a quantity takeoff, a priced estimate or a preliminary budget. The plan link should open the latest issued set — the one the bid must be built from — rather than an earlier revision, because a quantity measured from a superseded sheet is wrong even when the arithmetic is right.
The choice between a takeoff, a priced estimate and a preliminary budget decides what the file will show. A quantity takeoff gives you the measured quantities to price with your own rates; a priced estimate adds the pricing basis, with each quantity carrying a rate applied openly; a preliminary budget is built from a concept or preliminary set, measures what the drawings show and carries the rest as allowances. If you are not sure which one fits, describe the project and the decision the number must support, and the reply will confirm the scope.
How to share your drawings
Drawings can be attached as PDF, ZIP, DWG, DXF, PNG or JPG, up to 90 MB, with several drawings combined into one ZIP file. If the set is larger than that, or if the project is covered by a confidentiality agreement, send the request without an attachment and ask for a sharing method to be agreed first. A link to the drawings works as well, provided it opens for the intended recipient — test it in a private browser window before sending.
Keep the drawings complete. The schedules for doors, windows, finishes and equipment, the specifications and the site plan all carry quantities the plans alone do not show, and a missing schedule is a missing scope. If a sheet is missing or a detail is not yet drawn, say so in the request: the item will be listed as an open item with its basis stated, and the work it covers will be carried as an allowance rather than priced as if it were fully drawn.
What happens after you submit
Once a request arrives, it is reviewed against the drawings, the scope and the bid date, and the team responds with the scope of the estimate and what is needed to start it. If something is missing — a sheet, a schedule, a bid form — the reply will say what it is, so the request can be completed without guessing. The frequently asked questions page covers the common points, including how the fee is determined and what the estimate file will show.
Send the latest plan link and specify the trades, buildings or bid packages you need covered. Include applicable addenda and indicate whether the request is for a quantity takeoff, a priced estimate or a preliminary budget.
No drawings yet?
Include the project city or ZIP, project type, approximate size and what you need priced. An early number can be built from the design as it stands, with allowances shown openly for the decisions that are still open, so a choice can be tested before the drawings are finished. If you want to see how an estimate is laid out first, the View Estimating Samples shows a worked takeoff sheet with its quantities, basis and scope notes kept apart.
When the drawings arrive, the early number becomes the check the bid is measured against. The bid is built from the finished set, and the difference between the early number and the bid is visible line by line, so you can see what moved and why. If a question comes up before you send anything, the frequently asked questions page covers what to send, what the estimate file will show and how allowances are handled.
Frequently asked questions
What do I upload first on the get-estimate request form?
Upload the latest issued plan set, or share a link to it, and name the trades, buildings or bid packages you need covered, with every applicable addendum. Say whether the request is for a quantity takeoff, a priced estimate or a preliminary budget, so the estimate is scoped from the first reply.
Which drawing formats does the get-estimate request form accept?
Drawings can be attached as PDF, ZIP, DWG, DXF, PNG or JPG, up to 90 MB, with several drawings combined into one ZIP file. If the set is larger than that, send the request without an attachment and ask for a sharing method to be agreed first.
How do I give the bid date on the get-estimate request form?
Include the bid deadline and the bid form with the request, so the estimate is scoped around the date the bid must be built for. If the date moves after you send the form, reply in the same thread with the project name and the new date, so the scope is updated without re-reading the whole set.
How does the estimate come back after I send the get-estimate request form?
Once the request arrives, it is reviewed against the drawings, the scope and the bid date, and the reply confirms the scope of the estimate and what is needed to start it. The estimate itself arrives as an editable file with the quantities, the drawing references, the pricing basis and an assumptions log, and marked-up drawing sheets are available on request.
What if my plans change after I send the get-estimate request form?
Send the project name with the new drawing revision or addendum number, and name the old sheet and the new one so the change can be found without re-reading the whole set. Only the quantities the change touches are re-measured, and the quote is revised with the scope if the change adds or removes work.