Charlotte · Triangle · Triad · Coast · Mountains
Construction estimating services in North Carolina
Takeoffs and priced estimates for North Carolina general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, measured from your drawings and priced to the ZIP code the job is built in.
- Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro
- Priced by ZIP code
- 24 to 48 hours
In short
Estimating in North Carolina at a glance
MassBid Estimation prepares quantity takeoffs and cost estimates for construction projects across North Carolina. 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 North Carolina work includes an apartment community in brick and block, a car wash with a full curtain wall and a grocery store storefront.
- Markets
- Charlotte, the Research Triangle, the Piedmont Triad, Wilmington and the coast, Asheville and the mountains
- Recent North Carolina work
- Apartment community, car wash curtain wall, grocery store storefront
- North Carolina cost drivers
- Brick and block exteriors, coastal wind design, mountain sites, a tight labor market
- Licensing
- A state general contractor license is required for projects of $40,000 or more
- 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
Charlotte · Bid day
North Carolina is growing faster than its labor force, and the estimate is where that shows first.
Charlotte and the Triangle have been among the fastest-growing building markets in the country for years. Apartments, life-science space, distribution and retail are all competing for the same masons, framers and glaziers.
It is also a state that still builds in brick, and that runs from sea-level barrier islands to the Blue Ridge. Four things decide whether a North Carolina estimate holds.
Four things a North Carolina estimate has to get right
01 · The brick
Masonry by the square foot of wall
Brick veneer is everywhere in the Carolinas, and elevations mix running bond with soldier courses, rowlocks and accent bands that take different counts and more labor.
What changes
Brick is measured by bond and pattern on the elevations, with block, grout and reinforcing calculated separately.
02 · The coast
Coastal wind design
On the Outer Banks and around Wilmington, design wind speeds bring heavier connectors, rated openings and tighter roof attachment.
What changes
Rated assemblies shown on the drawings are taken off as drawn and listed on their own lines.
03 · The mountains
Rock and slope in the west
Asheville-area sites bring rock excavation, retaining walls and stepped foundations that a flat-site rate does not cover.
What changes
Earthwork is calculated from the grading plan, and rock is flagged where the soils report shows it.
04 · The labor
Charlotte rates across the state
Labor in Charlotte and Raleigh runs well above the rural Piedmont and the east. One statewide rate is wrong almost everywhere.
What changes
Labor and material are priced to the project's ZIP code.
North Carolina markets
Four North Carolina markets, priced separately
Each prices on its own labor and supplier base.
Charlotte
Banking, apartments, mixed-use, retail and distribution around the state's largest metro, extending into the South Carolina suburbs.
The Research Triangle
Raleigh, Durham, Cary and Chapel Hill: life-science, university, healthcare and fast residential growth.
The Piedmont Triad
Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point: manufacturing, logistics, healthcare and renovation work.
The coast and the mountains
Wilmington, Jacksonville and the Outer Banks under coastal wind design; Asheville and the west with rock, slope and longer hauls.
Real North Carolina work
Sample takeoffs from North Carolina projects
Pages from finished North Carolina jobs. Client names, addresses and title blocks are removed; the quantities are as delivered. Click any page to enlarge.
Apartments
Brick takeoff by bond for North Carolina apartments
Protects you fromEvery course priced as running bond.
Car wash
Curtain wall takeoff for a North Carolina car wash
Protects you fromCurtain wall priced as storefront.
Grocery store
Storefront takeoff for a North Carolina grocery store
Protects you fromAutomatic doors left to someone else.
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 North Carolina drawings for a free quote.
Real North Carolina figures
What recent North Carolina projects cost, by trade
Trade costs from estimates we delivered on North Carolina projects. The full breakdowns and sample pages are on the linked service pages.
A building that is mostly glass shows why square-foot rules fail: the car wash's curtain wall alone was $33.77 per square foot of building.
Figures are trade cost 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.
| North Carolina project and trade | Cost | Per sq ft |
|---|---|---|
| Car wash: curtain wall | $173,155 | $33.77 |
| Grocery store: storefront and automatic doors | $60,293 |
Full sample
Read a full sample, page by page
Storefront and glazing, from a finished job: a equipment rental building, 10,500 sq ft in North Carolina. Open it full screen, scroll through all 4 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 North Carolina work to show
Masonry
The apartments' brick by bond and block by height.
Masonry estimatingCurtain wall
The car wash, frame by frame with glass sizes.
Curtain wall estimatingStorefront and entrances
The grocery store's frames and automatic doors.
Storefront estimatingApartments and housing
Apartment communities and homes, from foundations to finishes.
Residential estimating
North Carolina cities we price
- Charlotte
- Raleigh
- Durham
- Greensboro
- Winston-Salem
- Cary
- Fayetteville
- Wilmington
- High Point
- Asheville
- Concord
- Gastonia
- Chapel Hill
- Huntersville
- Mooresville
- Hickory
Pricing data
How a North Carolina 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 North Carolina.
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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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
North Carolina construction estimating FAQ
Yes. We estimate projects in Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Wilmington, Asheville and the rest of the state, each priced to the project's ZIP code.
It depends on the building and the trade. On a North Carolina car wash we estimated, the curtain wall alone was $33.77 per square foot of building, $173,155 in all. A grocery store's storefront and automatic doors came to $60,293.
Yes. Brick veneer is measured on the elevations by bond, with soldier courses, rowlocks and accent bands in linear feet, because they take different brick counts and more labor than running bond.
Where the drawings call for rated openings, connectors or roof attachment, they are taken off as drawn and listed on their own lines. We price what the engineer specified; we do not design it.
Yes, for projects of $40,000 or more. Electrical, plumbing, HVAC and fire sprinkler trades are licensed separately. It does not change the estimate, but it shapes who bids which scope.
Yes. Labor and material are priced to the ZIP code, so a Charlotte project and a project in the eastern counties carry different rates.
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 (storefront and glazing, for a equipment rental building, 10,500 sq ft in North Carolina), 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 North Carolina, 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 North Carolina project? Send the drawings.
Free quote in about 20 minutes. Takeoffs and estimates typically in 24 to 48 hours, priced to the project's North Carolina ZIP code and built to your format, with free revisions with no limit.