Foundations & below-grade
- Spread, continuous and stepped footings
- Grade beams and pile caps
- Caissons, drilled piers, mat foundations
- Foundation and stem walls
- Basement walls with waterproofing area
- Elevator pits, sump pits, equipment pads
CSI Division 03
Concrete Estimating Services
Division 03 takeoffs and bid-ready cost estimates, delivered in 24–48 hours
Concrete is usually the largest single line item on a structural bid and the easiest one to get wrong. A missed thickened edge, an unaccounted-for pump day, or formwork counted as SF of wall instead of SF of contact area can move a number by five figures before anyone notices.
Prime Estimation quantifies your entire concrete scope from the drawings you already have — footings, grade beams, slabs, walls, columns, formwork, reinforcing steel and accessories — and hands it back as a priced, bid-ready spreadsheet you can submit from or drop straight into your own estimating software.
Division 03CSI MasterFormat structure
SFCA formworkContact area, not wall area
lbs & tonsRebar by bar mark and lap
ZIP-code pricedRSMeans adjusted to your market
Deliverables
What You Actually Receive
Everything is organised to CSI MasterFormat Division 03 so it maps cleanly onto the GC's bid form.
| Deliverable | Format | Detail level |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete volumes by element | Excel · CY | Split by mix design, strength class and pour sequence |
| Formwork quantities | Excel · SFCA | Wall, column, beam, edge form and slab soffit separated |
| Reinforcing steel | Excel · lbs / tons | By bar mark, size and spacing; mesh by SF |
| Labor hours | Excel · MH | By crew and activity, not lumped into a single line |
| Priced estimate | Excel + PDF | Material, labor, equipment, O&P as separate columns |
| Marked-up drawings | Colour-coded overlay so you can audit every quantity | |
| Scope narrative | Written inclusions, exclusions and assumptions | |
| Bid summary sheet | Excel | Roll-up you can hand to a GC without editing |
Scope Coverage
Concrete Scopes We Take Off
From below-grade foundations to the sealer on the slab — quantified element by element.
Slabs & flatwork
- Slab-on-grade, thickened edges, vapour barrier
- Elevated slabs, composite deck, post-tensioned plates
- Topping slabs and housekeeping pads
- Sidewalks, aprons, driveways, patios
- Curb, gutter and integral curb-and-walk
- Exterior stairs, landings, ADA ramps
Vertical & structural
- Cast-in-place columns, shear and core walls
- Beams, joists and pan-joist systems
- Retaining, cantilever and MSE wall footings
- Precast and tilt-up panels with connection hardware
- Parapets, pilasters and knee walls
Formwork & falsework
- Contact area by form type (SFCA)
- Gang, fly, jump and handset panels
- Shoring and reshoring durations
- Form liner, rustication and chamfer LF
- Strip, clean and re-erect cycles in the labor hours
Reinforcement & embeds
- Rebar by mark, diameter, length and lap — lbs and tons
- Welded wire mesh and fibre mesh
- PT strand, anchors and stressing counts
- Dowels, epoxy anchors, anchor bolts, threaded rod
- Embed plates, weld plates, angle iron
- Chairs, bolsters, tie wire and spacers
Finishes, curing & accessories
- Broom, trowel, exposed aggregate, stamped, polished
- Sealers, hardeners, densifiers, cure-and-seal by SF
- Joint sawcutting LF, filler and backer rod
- Expansion joint material and waterstop LF
- Bearing pads, vapour retarder, under-slab insulation
Sitework concrete
- Parking lot paving and heavy-duty truck aprons
- Dumpster enclosures and bollards
- Light pole bases, sign bases, equipment foundations
- Culverts, headwalls, manholes, inlet structures
- Concrete tanks and containment structures
Our Process
Start a Project →
How the Estimate Gets Built
Five steps from your structural set to a number you can defend in a scope review.
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01
Scope review
An estimator reads the structural drawings, general notes and specification sections 03 30 00 through 03 45 00 before touching a takeoff tool. Mix designs, strength requirements, finish schedules and reinforcement schedules get logged first, because that's where most missed scope hides.
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02
On-screen takeoff
Quantities are measured digitally in Bluebeam Revu, PlanSwift or On-Screen Takeoff. Each measurement is tied to a layer and colour so the marked-up PDF you receive is a visual audit trail, not a black box.
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03
Pricing
Quantities are priced against current RSMeans data adjusted to your project ZIP code, cross-checked against live regional ready-mix, rebar and labor rates. If you supply your own unit costs or historical cost codes, we use yours instead.
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04
Senior QC
A second estimator reviews the takeoff against the drawings before anything ships. Volume checks, waste factors, opening deductions and crew productivity assumptions all get verified.
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05
Delivery
Excel and PDF land in your inbox within 24–48 hours for standard scopes. You get one round of revisions at no charge, and we stay available for RFI responses and post-bid scope questions.
Tooling
Software We Work In
You don't need a licence for any of it. We measure in these tools and hand you the output.
Bluebeam Revu
On-screen measurement, markup and drawing comparison.
PlanSwift
Assembly-based takeoff and quantity export.
On-Screen Takeoff
Layered digitizing on large commercial sets.
RSMeans / CostWorks
ZIP-code-adjusted unit pricing.
Accubid
Labor unit and productivity modelling.
Microsoft Excel
Final deliverable, formatted to your cost codes.
If you work in Sage, ProEst, STACK, Buildertrend or a custom template, tell us and we format the output to import directly.
Turnaround & Pricing
What It Costs and How Fast It Lands
Fees are quoted per project before work starts — no hourly billing and no invoice larger than the quote.
Residential / small flatwork
24 hoursUnder 5,000 SF — driveways, patios, footings and small slabs.
Typical fee $250 – $600
Mid-size commercial
24–48 hours5,000–50,000 SF — retail, office, light industrial.
Typical fee $600 – $1,200
Large commercial / structural
48–72 hoursMulti-level structural packages, PT decks and podium slabs.
Typical fee $1,200 – $2,500
Monthly takeoff package
OngoingA set volume each month with priority queue placement.
Flat monthly rate from $1,500/mo
Cost vs. Capacity
Why Contractors Outsource Concrete Estimating
A full-time estimator is a salary, benefits, software seats and training. A concrete takeoff from us is a per-project cost that only appears when you're actually bidding.
- No software licences. Bluebeam, PlanSwift and RSMeans subscriptions run into thousands per seat per year. You use ours.
- Bid more, more selectively. Most contractors don't lose work because they bid badly. They lose it because they physically can't get to enough bids before the deadline.
- Field time stays field time. Estimating at 9pm after a full day on site is how thickened edges get missed.
- Third-party accuracy check. Even contractors with in-house estimators use us to sanity-check large or unfamiliar scopes before submitting.
- Scales with your pipeline. Busy month, five takeoffs. Quiet month, none. No fixed overhead either way.
Who We Work With
Built for Everyone Pricing Division 03
Subcontractors bidding the trade, GCs levelling the subs, and suppliers confirming the quantities.
Concrete subcontractors
Bid-level Division 03 takeoffs with labor hours.
General contractors
Budget checks and sub-bid levelling.
Foundation & shoring contractors
Footing, pier and wall quantities with formwork.
Paving & flatwork contractors
SF/SY flatwork, curb LF, jointing and finishes.
Home builders
Per-plan foundation and flatwork packages.
Developers & owners
Conceptual and design-stage budgets.
Architects & engineers
Cost feedback during design development.
Ready-mix & rebar suppliers
Material quantity confirmation for quoting.
Sample Output
Sample Line Items From a Real Deliverable
This is the level of detail every concrete estimate ships at — quantities tied to elements, not lump sums.
| Item | Unit | Qty | Material | Labor | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,000 psi footing concrete | CY | 218 | $ — | $ — | $ — |
| Footing formwork — contact area | SFCA | 3,640 | $ — | $ — | $ — |
| #5 rebar, footings | LB | 12,480 | $ — | $ — | $ — |
| 5" SOG, 4,000 psi, fibre mesh | CY | 396 | $ — | $ — | $ — |
| Vapour barrier, 15 mil | SF | 21,400 | $ — | $ — | $ — |
| Sawcut control joints | LF | 1,860 | $ — | $ — | $ — |
| Machine trowel finish | SF | 21,400 | $ — | $ — | $ — |
| Cure and seal | SF | 21,400 | $ — | $ — | $ — |
| Concrete pump — boom, per day | DAY | 6 | $ — | $ — | $ — |
Quantities shown from an anonymised project.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What contractors ask before sending us a structural set.
Can you estimate without a complete drawing set?
Yes. We work from schematic drawings, architectural-only sets, sketches and even marked-up site photos. What changes is the accuracy band and how we document it. Conceptual estimates from partial information carry a wider contingency and an explicit assumptions list, so you always know which numbers are measured and which are assumed.
How accurate are your concrete estimates?
With a complete IFB set, bid-level takeoffs typically land within a few percent of actual pour cost. Accuracy depends on drawing completeness, how current your local ready-mix and labor rates are, and whether site conditions change after bid. We publish our assumptions with every estimate so you can see exactly what the number is built on.
What does a concrete estimate cost?
It's quoted per project before any work starts, based on scope, drawing complexity and turnaround. You approve the fee in writing first. There is no hourly billing and no invoice larger than the quote.
How fast is turnaround?
Standard scopes ship in 24–48 hours. Large structural packages take 48–72. If you're against a deadline, say so when you upload — we'll tell you honestly whether we can hit it rather than accepting and delivering late.
Do you price the takeoff or just quantify it?
Both, your choice. Many contractors want quantities only and apply their own unit costs. Others want a fully priced estimate using RSMeans adjusted to their ZIP. If you send us your historical cost codes, we'll price into your structure.
Is formwork measured as contact area or wall area?
Contact area (SFCA). Measuring formwork as wall square footage is one of the most common sources of underbidding on vertical concrete, because it ignores the second face, the edge forms and the strip-and-reset cycles.
Do you deduct openings?
Yes, to the threshold specified in the project documents or your standard practice. Openings, blockouts, recesses and embedded items are deducted from volume and noted separately so you can see what was removed.
Do you include rebar?
Yes. Reinforcing is quantified by bar mark, size and length with laps, reported in pounds and tons, and separated from the concrete line items so you can send it straight to a rebar supplier for quoting.
Can you handle post-tensioned concrete?
Yes — strand tonnage, anchor counts, stressing quantities and the associated formwork and shoring durations.
Can you cover change orders and claims?
Yes. We prepare change order pricing, as-built quantity comparisons and delay-related cost documentation. If you need supporting analysis for a dispute, we can provide it — though we recommend involving your attorney early in those situations.
Which states do you serve?
All 50. Pricing is ZIP-code-adjusted, so a slab in Tucson and a slab in Boston get different unit costs rather than the same national average.
Is my project information confidential?
Yes. Drawings, specifications and bid numbers are treated as confidential and we'll sign your NDA before receiving documents if you prefer.
Do you offer revisions?
One round is included. Addendum updates and scope changes are priced separately, and quoted before we start.
What if I only need one trade section priced?
That's fine. Plenty of clients send us only footings, or only flatwork, or only the rebar. Send the drawings and tell us what's in and what's out.
Ready to Get Started?
Ready to Price Your Next Concrete Bid?
Send your drawings and a short note on what's in scope. You'll have a fee quote and a delivery date back the same business day, and the finished estimate in 24–48 hours after approval.
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