Construction Estimate Template
Stages, allowances and change orders — a build priced before anything is opened up. Free PDF, no account.
A remodel or a ground-up build is the longest gap in this trade between the price and the work. Months pass, selections are still unmade, and half the scope is behind plaster somebody put up in 1948. The estimate that survives that is not the one with the lowest number — it is the one that shows which figures are firm, which are allowances waiting on a decision, and what happens on the day the demolition finds something the drawings never showed.
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ESTIMATE
Issued
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Issued by
Ironbark Construction LLC
618 Merritt Avenue 37206 Nashville, TN United States bids@ironbarkbuild.example |
Bill to
Marguerite Delacroix
40 Hillcrest Terrace 37027 Brentwood, TN United States m.delacroix@example.com |
| Description | Qty | Rate | Tax | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Demolition and temporary protection Kitchen and rear wall; dust wall, floor protection, dumpster | 1 | $8,400.00 | — | $8,400.00 |
Framing, structural beam and rough carpentry Per structural drawings rev. C dated with the permit set | 1 | $23,600.00 | — | $23,600.00 |
Mechanical, electrical and plumbing rough-in Subcontracted; includes code upgrades in the work area only | 1 | $18,900.00 | — | $18,900.00 |
Allowance — cabinetry, tile and appliances Carried at 30.00/sq ft tile and a 14,000 cabinet package; selections outstanding | 1 | $31,000.00 | — | $31,000.00 |
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What this estimate commits you to
- How long it stands
- Forty-five days on the contract sum, and the allowances inside it only until each selection is made — an allowance is a placeholder, not a price.
- What it does not cover
- Permit and plan-review fees, architectural and structural drawings, utility connection charges, and any work outside the drawing set at the revision named on the estimate.
- What would change the price
- Selections above their allowance, a signed change order, and what demolition exposes behind finished surfaces — knob-and-tube wiring, a wall carrying load the drawings did not show, or framing that will not pass inspection as it stands.
- How the client accepts it
- Sign the estimate and the schedule of values it becomes; the deposit starts the work, each stage is invoiced as it completes, and no extra proceeds without a change order signed first.
Edit this template Free, no account, no watermark — download the PDF when you are done.
When the work is done, invoice it →
What to put on a construction estimate
- A schedule of values: the stages the build is divided into and what each is worth, because that is what the draws are billed against
- Allowances stated as allowances — tile, fixtures, appliances, lighting — each with the figure carried and who chooses
- Which drawings and revision the estimate was taken off, by date and number
- The change-order rule: written approval before the work, at a stated markup, with the schedule effect named
- Permit fees, plan review and impact fees called out as excluded or as at-cost pass-throughs
- Who supplies temporary power, water, sanitation and the dumpster, and where the crew may park
Questions
What is an allowance and why does it belong on a construction estimate?
It is a placeholder for a cost the client has not yet chosen — thirty dollars a square foot for tile, say. It belongs on the estimate because it is the honest way to price a scope with undecided selections, and it has to be labelled, or the client reads it as the price of the tile they eventually pick.
How should a change order be priced?
By the same rule for all of them, written on the estimate before there are any: cost plus a stated markup, approved in writing, with the effect on the completion date named in the same document. Change orders negotiated one at a time under time pressure are where a profitable job goes.
Why does a construction estimate name the drawing revision?
Because the drawings will change. An estimate taken off revision C and built to revision E is a dispute with no way to settle it; naming the revision turns that into a change order, which is a conversation with a number in it.
Ready to send it?
The template opens in the editor with these lines already on it. Change what you like, download the PDF.
Edit this templateOther trades
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