Accurate estimates are the foundation of a successful construction business. Leave an item out of your original estimate and it can take the profit out of your entire job.

This practical guide to estimating home construction costs has been updated with digital Excel estimating forms and worksheets that ensure accurate and complete estimates for your residential projects. Load the enclosed CD-ROM into your computer and create your own estimate as you follow along with the step-by-step techniques in this book.

Clear, simple instructions show how to estimate labor and material costs for each stage of construction, from site clearing to figuring your markup and profit. Every chapter includes a sample cost estimate worksheet that lists all the materials to be estimated. You’ll never miss an item again. On the CD all these worksheets are provided as Excel spreadsheets. The final chapter shows you how to figure your markup and profit to arrive at a sales price.

You’ll learn simple and effective ways to estimate:

• Site clearing and excavation
• Footing and foundation material and labor: concrete, masonry, basements and waterproofing
• Floor systems material and labor: sill plates, girders, ledgers, joists, hangers, headers, bridging, and subfloors
• Stairways: including how to calculate rise and run, tread depth, and stringer length
• Walls and ceilings: studs, headers, sheathing, bracing, and joists
• Rafter and roof framing: including calculating rafter length, ridges, rafter supports, trusses, roof sheathing
• Roofing materials: underlayment, flashing, ventilation, shingles, and subcontractor costs
• Interior finishes and trim: drywall, painting, molding, floor coverings, kitchens and bathrooms
• Exterior and interior trim and finish materials: windows, doors, siding, brick materials, and labor
• Concrete for floors, walkways and patios
• Overhead and profit, including setting your sales price

Once you find how easy the automated Excel worksheets make estimating, you’ll want to use them for every estimate. Just enter your project information on the worksheets and Excel will automatically total each material and labor cost from each stage of construction to a final cost estimate worksheet.

Specialized worksheets guide you through calculations for common rafter lengths, headers, and estimating areas of walls and ceilings. There are also time-saving factor tables for roof pitch, jack and hip rafter lengths, brick courses, concrete volume, mortar, and much more.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: The Building Site. Chapter 2: Preliminary Costs. Chapter 3: Site Clearing, Excavation, and Fill Dirt. Chapter 4: Footings. Chapter 5: Foundations. Chapter 6: Floor Systems. Chapter 7: Superstructure. Chapter 8: Roofing. Chapter 9: Electrical, Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning. Chapter 10: Estimating Brickwork. Chapter 11: Saving Energy. Chapter 12: Interior Wall and Ceiling Finish. Chapter 13: Exterior Trim. Chapter 14: Concrete Floors, Walkways, and Terraces. Chapter 15: Interior Trim. Chapter 16: Painting, Floor Covering, and Appliances. Chapter 17: Gutters, On-Site Improvement, and Miscellaneous. Chapter 18: Overhead, Contingency, and Profit. How to Use the CD-ROM. Glossary. Index.

About the Author
W.P. Jackson was a skilled tradesman and estimator. To streamline takeoff, he created factor tables for material quantities. And before the advent of computers and Excel, he developed detailed worksheets for each phase of construction that avoided omissions and the inevitable calculation errors. His book, detailing his methods has been a top seller to construction students for over 30 years.