Los Angeles 2019 Construction Monthly

Trenching & Excavation Safety... Continued
used to produce a quantity take-off. Drawings
that will not be used or involve only a minimum
of time are discounted. Drawings such as the
title sheet, index sheet, symbols sheet and to
some extent the general information sheets.
At the time the article was written the average
time spend on each drawing was two hours.
Today with the use of digitizers and computer
estimating systems the time require is probably
no more than one to one and a half hours
per drawing. It is prudent to continue to use
two hours per drawing to set a not to exceed
time frame. Obviously if a project incorporates
repetition of elements the time calculations
should take this into consideration and reduce
accordingly.
Percentage of Total Cost Method
Obtain an approximate cost of construction
from a conceptual estimate or from any square
foot estimating manuals such as Marshal &
Swift, R.S. Means, National Estimator. etc..
Find that position in $ x 1,000 and find the
corresponding high and low percentage of the
total cost that should be applied to production
of the estimate.
Article by Charles C. Munroe III FCPE
Member of the Council of Fellows of the American
Society of Professional Estimators & a
Certified Professional Estimator (CPE)
See his educational session
“Construction Cost Estimating”
at 9:30am on Wednesday & Thursday
14 CONSTRUCTIONMONTHLY.COM