How to succeed in the construction business step-by-step guidelines for estimating To be competitive, contractors and homebuilders need to know how to generate complete, accurate estimates for labor and material costs. This book guides readers through the entire estimating process, explaining in detail how to put together a reliable estimate that can be used not only for budgeting, but also for developing a schedule, managing a project, dealing with contingencies, and ultimately making a profit. Completely revised and updated to reflect the new CSI MasterFormat 2010TM system, the Second Edition of this practical guide describes estimating techniques for each building system and how to apply them according to the latest industry standards. Cost considerations and quantity takeoff and pricing are included for virtually every type of work found in residential and light commercial projects, from demolition, concrete, and masonry to windows and doors, siding, roofing, mechanical and electrical systems, finish work, and site construction. Complete with many new graphics and references to professional construction cost databases, the new edition provides experienced contractors and novices alike with essential information on: How to correctly interpret plans and specifications, reflecting updates to contract documents since the first edition Computer estimating techniques and new estimating software for performing quantity takeoff The best methods for conceptual estimating as well as the extremely useful topic of parametric estimating How to allocate the right amounts for profit and contingencies, and other hard-to-find professional guidance How a unit price estimate is built along with labor issues and budgeting for subcontractor work

Agile Estimating and Planning is the definitive, practical guide to estimating and planning agile projects. In this book, Agile Alliance cofounder Mike Cohn discusses the philosophy of agile estimating and planning and shows you exactly how to get the job done, with real-world examples and case studies. Concepts are clearly illustrated and readers are guided, step by step, toward how to answer the following questions: What will we build? How big will it be? When must it be done? How much can I really complete by then? You will first learn what makes a good plan-and then what makes it agile. Using the techniques in Agile Estimating and Planning, you can stay agile from start to finish, saving time, conserving resources, and accomplishing more. Highlights include: Why conventional prescriptive planning fails and why agile planning works How to estimate feature size using story points and ideal days–and when to use each How and when to re-estimate How to prioritize features using both financial and nonfinancial approaches How to split large features into smaller, more manageable ones How to plan iterations and predict your team's initial rate of progress How to schedule projects that have unusually high uncertainty or schedule-related risk How to estimate projects that will be worked on by multiple teams Agile Estimating and Planning supports any agile, semiagile, or iterative process, including Scrum, XP, Feature-Driven Development, Crystal, Adaptive Software Development, DSDM, Unified Process, and many more. It will be an indispensable resource for every development manager, team leader, and team member.

Companies live or die on the basis of estimating their costs. Preparing estimates and bidding for new jobs is a complex and often costly process. There is no substitute for on the job training -- until now. Drawing on the authors' combined experience of more than 70 years, Estimating Building Costs presents state-of-the-art principles, practices, and techniques for assessing these expenditures that can be applied regardless of changes in the costs of materials, equipment, and labor. The book is an efficient and practical tool for developing contracts or controlling project costs. The authors cover the major components of the direct cost: estimating procedures and cost trends related to materials, construction equipment, and skilled and unskilled labor. They describe various types of building estimates encountered during the lifecycle of a project, as well as the role and accuracy of each. The book provides an overview of the industry, cost indexes in use, approaches to preparing a detailed estimate, and an in-depth description of the organization and function of the estimating group. Including CSI Master Format and UniFormat codes, estimating forms, a list of available estimating software packages, a detailed construction site and investigation report, the book provides a cost estimating methodology that readers can tailor to their own organizational needs.

The objective of this book is to provide resource material for those members and organizations planning on physical growth of their facilities. It includes information relative to land procurement all the way through building construction and completion. The book's perspective is that of a land acquisition and or building committee member. While much of the material presented is aimed at church physical growth, it will also be helpful to any organization's expansion committee planning to buy land and build.

Known as the Blue Book this fourth edition continues with the endorsement from the Association of Cost Engineers. The guide is designed to be an aid for student engineers in the design activities undertaken during their course and help young engineers in industry to compile their own set of cost data. With much of the material in the third edition retained, the major changes are: new cost data; up-dated cost index information (which has been donated by industrialists); and short-cut estimating techniques up-dated.