Discover how to calculate construction costs with common materials using resources like Harvest Means and Bluebook. These publications provide detailed pricing data and a directory of subcontractors in your area, respectively.
Key Insights
- Harvest Means is a nationally recognized publication used by top ENR 400 companies that provides unit costs for virtually all construction materials. It also calculates the City Cost Index, offering project costs specific to different regions of the country.
- Bluebook is an excellent resource for finding subcontractors in your area. The platform, accessible online for no cost, has data on contractors and gives a good grasp on pricing in a specific locale.
- Warehouse stores like Home Depot are also valuable for pricing raw construction materials. These online stores provide information on costs and sizes, making them an essential part of a day-to-day pricing resource.
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So how do we find the construction costs of common materials? RSMeans is a cost publication that can be obtained online or by purchasing a physical book. It's nationally recognized and it's used by many of the top ENR 400 companies nationwide and provides unit costs for just about anything you could conceive of in construction. It's also quantified to a point where there might be small quantities or large quantities used, and the prices are adjusted accordingly.
In other words, there are a lot of factors in pricing. Basically, the way they operate is they conduct surveys around the entire country to identify costs directly with general contractors and subcontractors. RSMeans takes all of this into account and provides accurate pricing data that is specific to different parts of the country to create the City Cost Index.
The City Cost Index defines, down to the city level, how much projects should cost—not only for the overall unit costs but also breaks them down into labor, material, equipment, and subcontractor pricing. This is helpful because you can have a project that you're building in Washington State and then build the same project in Florida and see what the differences in those costs are. These differences could be affected by the availability of materials in different parts of the country, as well as weather conditions that sometimes affect the installation of the project or the product itself. If you're in New York City and you're purchasing a large quantity of concrete for your foundations, it'll be one price in New York City.
It will be a different price outside of the city. It will be yet another price in San Diego. And that could be due to the labor to install it, the material costs to purchase it, the equipment to mix and place it, or a combination of all three. RSMeans is also recognized by many government institutions, including the United States Department of Defense, the Navy, and the GSA, meaning they recognize these costs. If you're going to provide pricing to the government on construction projects, they recognize the published costs, and therefore the price of your estimate or change order is more readily recognized by the government agency you're working with—because everyone agrees to work off of that RSMeans published data.
So you could say that it's somewhat of a standard in the industry, although it's not by any means the only resource available. Another resource is Bluebook, a subcontractor directory used to find contractors in your area.
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The best way to learn more about Bluebook is to go online to thebluebook.com. It will show you how to get pricing at no cost from contractors. It contains lists of contractors in your area. These contractors often have the best feel for current pricing trends in your region.
So look them up. It's free data that's readily available, and there are also publications that may be available as well. Be sure to check them out online.
I highly recommend making this a part of your day-to-day pricing resources. That brings us to vendors and warehouse stores. Just like calling a subcontractor, you can also call a vendor to find out current pricing on materials.
Warehouse stores are always a great resource. Go online and check out Home Depot or Lowe's. Home Depot often offers some of the best pricing on raw construction materials.
It's also important that when you review these prices, make sure you're looking at both the price and the size you need. Just thinking out loud—if you're looking up sheetrock, don’t just get a square-foot cost of sheetrock. Look to see what’s available in that area.
Is it 8-foot sheetrock? Do you have to buy it in 10-foot or 12-foot lengths? These options might result in different waste factors. We'll talk more about that as we continue with pricing. But these are some of the primary pricing resources that you’ll come across and that you’ll need to work with.
