estimating

[Gabriel Howard]

new to this site...from the HAMB. anway getting ready to build my own detached garage, 18x22, to house my car and the rest of my junk.
need to know if there is a utility that will help me figure out how much lumber/material i need to buy.
thanks

 

[Falcon67]

I use the materials list at McCoys.com. Its like a "wish list" that totals up your costs. You can have multiple lists too. But to use that, you have to figure out how many of what it is you need. Other than that, I never found a decent construction estimator on the web. Maybe others had better luck. I'm using Visio for the layout and estimating material quantities from experience and how I think I'll be putting it together.

 

[Gabriel Howard]

anyone else ?

 

[willyp]

I have a sheet in excel that I input all the material in and then send that out to a few lumber yards to get quotes.

 

[Gabriel Howard]

im looking for something that can enter in my dimensions, spans, height, etc.....and get me close on lumber for my building.

 

[Jeffksf]

I took my drawing to my lumber yard, they put the kit together and had it dropped off at my house. I think I had a couple extra pieces of lumber but you can take it back so no big deal.

 

[southpier]

add 50%


will save you a trip on saturday afternoon

 

[boyAND1]

If you have a menards or big box nearby they should have a project center desk. At menards, they have a computer that will give you a basic cost of an X by X building. You can choose stick built or pole barn style.

Here is a link to a 22 x 22 for $4K. Hope this helps.

http://www.menards.com/main/projectDisplay.html?projectCode=1952186

 

[38Chevy454]

Unless you are limited on the size, make it bigger if you can. You will never be sorry for bigger, but they all get filled up way too fast.

 

[jeepurzz]

There's really no better way than to sit down and think about it. Use something that you can customize. I recommend excel. Every garage has different needs, and you may miss something costly looking for a one size fits all planning solution.

 

[rasit]

Not sure if you want to spend any $$ on software but if you are thinking of going down that road this is pretty good for building your project electronically. It will develop blueprint drawings, estimate materials quanities in excel format, show you a 3D rendition of the building that you can walk around to see each view ect.. I got it more for the blueprints that I submitted to the township for my permit than anything else. Here's a link..

http://www.punchsoftware.com/c-11-home-design.aspx

 

[Brew62]

Unless you are limited on the size, make it bigger if you can. You will never be sorry for bigger, but they all get filled up way too fast.

I agree! I had 24x36 and it was never big enough for a garage, so I'm tuning it into a bar/gameroom and I found that even for that there is not enough room for all my stuff. Go Bigger or you will be sorry. 18x22 may sound good on paper but not when you start to put stuff in it. I had 24 feet to pull a car into and it was barely long enough to park it and get around the front or back of the car. My truck never would fit into the space.

 

[bczygan]

new to this site...from the HAMB. anway getting ready to build my own detached garage, 18x22, to house my car and the rest of my junk.
need to know if there is a utility that will help me figure out how much lumber/material i need to buy.
thanks

I'm an estimator and there is a three word secret to estimating. It is "Don't forget anything".
The second rule is "A bid is better than an estimated price".
Third is "Define everything completely".

You have labor and materials, taxes, insurance, fees and interest.

Everything has to be bought, transported, stored, installed and cleaned up after. Someone has to do each and every thing. Everything and everybody costs money. Define each task, each item and assign value to them. When you define an item, try to be as specific as possible so the price is as accurate as possible. Write a set of specifications with selections for every item in the job. For items that you just can't decide on, make a selection based on the quality level you expect to get the correct cost.

Big one:
Do the most complete and accurate take off possible. Anything missed will throw off the estimate big time. Do the takeoff from the drawings and specifications and build the project in your mind as you go. You must know every item required to complete each category of the work. For instance, you must know every stick of lumber required for rough and finish carpentry. Oh, and don't forget the rough and finish nails and hardware!

Steps:
!. Sketch of draw up the project to scale.
2. Take off all the material quantities
3. Get all the labor bids.
4. Fill out the entire spreadsheet and total up the costs.

Add a percentage for contingency.

A sample list of codes:
(Put everything that needs to be done or paid for, somewhere)

Here is a link to an extensive list of cost codes arranged by the different divisions. Use this as a guide and eliminate the items that don't apply to your job. Make a spread sheet with the ones that do. You should get within 1% of actual cost.
http://www.powertoolssoftware.com/QBManualMasterCode.html

If you are just trying to do a simple take off or just a rough lumber take off, just let the lumber yard to an itemized one for you.

Bill

 

[Gabriel Howard]

i would like it bigger but am limited by space on my lot & more importantly...money.

Unless you are limited on the size, make it bigger if you can. You will never be sorry for bigger, but they all get filled up way too fast.