South Florida · I-4 corridor · Gulf Coast · Panhandle
Construction estimating services in Florida
Takeoffs and priced estimates for Florida general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, with hurricane-zone and Florida Building Code scope taken off as the drawings call for it.
- Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville
- Wind and impact scope
- 24 to 48 hours
In short
Estimating in Florida at a glance
MassBid Estimation prepares quantity takeoffs and cost estimates for construction projects across Florida. Every trade on the drawings is measured, priced to the project's ZIP code and checked twice, and the package is typically delivered in 24 to 48 hours. Recent Florida work includes two fire stations, a four-story hotel, a road and roundabout project and a public sidewalk project.
- Markets
- South Florida, Orlando and the I-4 corridor, Tampa Bay, Southwest Florida, Jacksonville and the Panhandle
- Recent Florida work
- Fire stations, a four-story hotel, road and roundabout paving, a public sidewalk
- Florida cost drivers
- High-velocity hurricane zone, impact glazing, concrete block walls, flood elevation
- Code
- Florida Building Code, with product approvals where the drawings require them
- Turnaround
- 24 to 48 hours on most projects
- Checked by
- A separate QA team, twice on every job
- Team
- 20+ in-house estimators, typically 7 to 10 years in the trade
- Quote
- Free, usually back in about 20 minutes
South Florida · Bid week
In Florida the wind is in the estimate, whether anyone priced it or not.
Florida builds for hurricanes. That shows up in the structure, the roof, every window and door, and in what the building is made of: concrete block and poured tie beams where other states would frame in wood or steel stud.
A takeoff borrowed from another state misses most of it. Four things separate a Florida estimate from a generic one.
Four things a Florida estimate has to get right
01 · The wind zone
The high-velocity hurricane zone
Miami-Dade and Broward counties are the high-velocity hurricane zone, with the strictest requirements in the Florida Building Code. Products there need approval for that zone.
What changes
Assemblies are taken off as specified, and lines that need a product approval are identified so they are quoted correctly.
02 · The openings
Impact glazing priced as ordinary glass
Impact-rated windows, doors and storefront cost far more than standard units, and the frames and anchorage are heavier.
What changes
Each opening carries the glazing type from the schedule, with impact units on their own lines.
03 · The walls
Concrete block is the structure
Florida walls are commonly concrete block with filled cells, vertical bars and a poured tie beam. Count the block and forget the grout and steel and the wall is half priced.
What changes
Block, grout, vertical bars, joint reinforcement and tie beams are each calculated.
04 · The site
Flood elevation and a high water table
Raised finished floors, fill, stem walls and dewatering are common on coastal and low-lying sites and can add real cost before the slab is poured.
What changes
Fill, stem walls and site work are measured from the civil and structural drawings, with dewatering noted where the soils report raises it.
Florida markets
Four Florida markets, priced separately
Labor, logistics and code requirements change from one end of the state to the other.
South Florida
Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach: dense commercial, condominium and hospitality work inside the high-velocity hurricane zone, at the state's highest labor rates.
Orlando and the I-4 corridor
Hospitality, healthcare, schools and fast residential growth from Tampa through Lakeland to Orlando and Daytona.
Tampa Bay and Southwest Florida
Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Fort Myers and Naples: multifamily, medical and coastal work, with rebuilding after storms.
Jacksonville and the Panhandle
Logistics, military and public work in Jacksonville, and Pensacola, Panama City and Tallahassee along the Panhandle.
Real Florida work
Sample takeoffs from Florida projects
Pages from finished Florida jobs. Client names, street names and title blocks are removed; the quantities are as delivered. Click any page to enlarge.
Fire station
Concrete and block takeoff for a Florida fire station
Protects you fromBlock counted without its grout and steel.
Fire station HVAC
Ductwork takeoff by size for a Florida fire station
Protects you fromSheet metal priced from a guessed weight.
Hotel
HVAC takeoff for a four-story Florida hotel
Protects you fromOne floor's quantities applied to four.
Road paving
Asphalt paving takeoff for a Florida road project
Protects you fromThree pavement sections at one rate.
Every estimate is built to the client's own specification, so yours may be laid out differently. To see a past project in your own trade, ask for an example. Examples are finished work for other projects, not an estimate of yours; for pricing on your own job, send your Florida drawings for a free quote.
Real Florida figures
What recent Florida projects cost, by trade
Trade costs from estimates we delivered on Florida projects. The full breakdowns and sample pages are on the linked service pages.
Small, heavily serviced buildings cost more per square foot than large repetitive ones. The fire station's HVAC was $14.27 per square foot; the hotel's was $9.49.
Figures are trade cost before general requirements and markups, from the delivered estimates. Per-square-foot figures are per square foot of building. They are specific to those projects and are not a price guide.
Real jobs, not a price list. Each figure comes from one project, priced for its own ZIP code and that client's wages, overhead and profit. Prices change by region and over time. Yours will be priced for your location.
| Florida project and trade | Cost | Per sq ft |
|---|---|---|
| Fire station, 14,200 sq ft: concrete | $519,881 | $36.52 |
| Fire station, 14,200 sq ft: masonry | $326,784 | $22.95 |
| Fire station, 12,200 sq ft: HVAC | $173,511 | $14.27 |
| Fire station, 12,200 sq ft: plumbing | $185,497 | $15.26 |
| Four-story hotel, 80,500 sq ft: HVAC | $764,512 | $9.49 |
| Road and roundabout: asphalt paving | $538,980 |
Full sample
Read a full sample, page by page
HVAC, from a finished job: a four-story hotel, 80,500 sq ft in Florida. Open it full screen, scroll through all 6 pages and zoom in on any line.
This is one real job, shown as an example. It was built to that client's own specification: their wage rates, labor style, type of pricing, and overhead and profit. Prices also change by region and over time, so yours will be priced for your location.
Want a current sample in your own trade or specialty, or have a question? Use the contact form, email [email protected] or call (832) 356-4237.
Trades and cities
Services with Florida work to show
Concrete and masonry
The fire station's footings, slabs, tie beams and block walls, with concrete per cubic yard.
Concrete estimatingHVAC and plumbing
The fire station and the four-story hotel, with duct schedules by size.
HVAC estimatingAsphalt paving
The road and roundabout project, by pavement section and phase.
Asphalt paving estimatingGlazing and storefront
Impact and standard storefront, windows and doors counted by mark.
Glazing estimating
Florida cities we price
- Miami
- Fort Lauderdale
- West Palm Beach
- Orlando
- Tampa
- St. Petersburg
- Jacksonville
- Fort Myers
- Naples
- Sarasota
- Tallahassee
- Pensacola
- Gainesville
- Lakeland
- Daytona Beach
- Boca Raton
Pricing data
How a Florida project is priced
Quantities are priced from our own pricing database, built with local vendors across the United States. The estimator enters the project's ZIP code and gets current material prices for that part of Florida.
Material prices change from region to region and from month to month, so a price book or a national average is out of date before the bid goes in.
Priced by ZIP code
Current local material prices for the place the job is built, not a national average.
Updated by vendors
Local vendors update their prices in the database as they change.
Labor as you bid it
Union, open shop, or Davis-Bacon and prevailing wage rates with fringes.
How it works
From Florida drawings to a finished estimate
Send the drawings
Plans, specifications and addenda, with the project address or ZIP code, the bid date and any bid form or template you have to fill in.
Free quote
We review the set and reply with a quote and a delivery date, usually within about 20 minutes.
Takeoff, pricing and two QA reviews
Quantities are measured on the drawings and priced to the project's ZIP code. A separate QA team checks the quantities against the plans, then the priced estimate.
Delivery and revisions
The package typically arrives within 24 to 48 hours. Addenda and revisions are free, with no limit and no time limit, and are handled on priority.
The work is done in-house by more than 20 estimators, typically with 7 to 10 years of industry experience.
What it costs
Estimating prices for Florida projects
- Single project
- From $199. Simple scopes typically run $100 to $250.
- Larger buildings
- Typically $200 to $500. Large or multi-building projects are quoted individually.
- Monthly plan
- From $1,499 for 10 to 15 projects, for contractors who bid every week.
Every job is quoted individually from the drawings, and the quote is free. See all pricing
After delivery
An editable Excel workbook and free revisions
- Formulas built in
An Excel workbook you can change yourself
The estimate arrives as an editable Excel workbook with the formulas built in. Change a quantity, a rate or a markup and every total follows. Move overhead and profit from 25% to 30% and the whole bid recalculates on the spot.
- No waiting
Adjust your bid at the last minute
If something changes just before the deadline, you do not have to send the estimate back and wait. Open the workbook, change the number and submit. The control stays with you.
- Priority turnaround
Free revisions, with no limit
Addenda, scope changes and pricing updates are all free, however many times you come back, and there is no time limit. Revisions are handled on priority and typically come back within an hour to a few hours.
Questions
Florida construction estimating FAQ
Yes. We estimate projects in every Florida market, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Southwest Florida and the Panhandle, each priced to the project's ZIP code.
It depends on the building and the trade. On Florida projects we estimated, concrete for a fire station was $36.52 per square foot and masonry $22.95, HVAC was $14.27 on a fire station and $9.49 on a four-story hotel, all trade cost before markups.
It is the part of Florida with the strictest wind requirements in the Florida Building Code: Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Products installed there need approval for that zone, which affects the price of roofing, windows, doors and storefront.
Yes. Each opening is taken off with the glazing type in the schedule, and impact-rated units are kept on their own lines because they cost far more than standard units.
Yes. Block walls are measured by thickness and height, with block counts, grout in the filled cells, vertical bars, joint reinforcement and tie beams. On one Florida fire station, masonry came to $326,784.
Tax is its own line at the rate for the project's county. Florida's state rate is 6%, and most counties add a surtax.
Both. General contractors get every trade on the drawings; subcontractors get their own trade isolated and returned in the GC's format. Suppliers get quantities only.
Yes. This page shows a full sample from a finished job (HVAC, for a four-story hotel, 80,500 sq ft in Florida), which you can open full screen and read page by page. It was built to that client's own specification, so the wage rates, pricing and overhead and profit are theirs. Ask us for a current sample in your own trade.
From our own pricing database, built with local vendors across the United States. An estimator enters the project's ZIP code and gets current material prices for that part of Florida, and vendors update their prices as they change. Labor is priced as union or open shop, or at Davis-Bacon rates with fringes on government work.
Yes. The estimate is delivered as an editable Excel workbook with the formulas built in. Change any quantity, rate or markup and the whole estimate recalculates. If overhead and profit was set at 25% and you want 30%, change that one cell and every total updates, so you can adjust your number minutes before the bid is due without sending it back to us.
As many as you need. Every revision is free, including addenda, scope changes and pricing updates, however many times you come back, and there is no time limit. Revisions are handled on priority and are typically returned within an hour to a few hours, depending on the size of the change.
Most packages are delivered in 24 to 48 hours. The quote is free and usually comes back in about 20 minutes.
A single project starts at $199, and simple scopes typically run $100 to $250. Larger buildings typically run $200 to $500. Every estimate is built to the client's own specification.
Other service areas and services
Bidding a Florida project? Send the drawings.
Free quote in about 20 minutes. Takeoffs and estimates typically in 24 to 48 hours, priced to the project's Florida ZIP code and built to your format, with free revisions with no limit.