The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

Estimating Frame And Brick Houses

If, as is sometimes the case, the general contractor has to estimate on the plumbers' work, he should either consult a plumber or make himself conversant with the prices of labor and material current in this trade, and should be careful in obtaining lengths of piping, number of couplings, number of cocks, traps and other appurtenances, and should make ample allowance for breakages, misfits, extra digging and cutting and other similar shortcomings. If not master of all details in connection with plumbing, he should by all means employ a regular plumber to make out his estimate for this branch. The same may be said for the heating, for if a young contractor undertakes to do this work for himself and employ regular tradesmen to perform it, he will very likely regret it. The same may be said of electric lighting or putting in electric bells. Our advice in this matter is that experts in these trades be asked to submit figures for which they will agree to perform the work and furnish all necessary materials in conformity with the true intent of the plans and specifications.

After obtaining by careful estimation the cost of a building, a percentage for profit must be added. This percentage may be more or less, according to prevailing conditions, but under no consideration should it be less than 5 per cent, or more than 25 per cent, on the entire cost of the building. If the figuring has been accurate, and the estimator is possessed of ordinary judgment, 10 per cent, will prove ample to give a fair and reasonable profit on the work.

Sometimes an approximate or off-hand estimate is required. The preparation of this will probably present little difficulty to the old practitioner, because he generally has accumulated the necessary data during the course of his practice, but to the young man without much experience, and not in possession of such data, the task of arriving at an approximate estimate is by no means an easy one. The difficulty nearly always becomes more considerable when larger buildings are concerned.

There are three generally accepted ways of preparing rough estimates, each useful in its proper connection and each requiring its own proper set of data.