Five boroughs · Long Island · Hudson Valley · Upstate
Construction estimating services in New York
Takeoffs and priced estimates for New York general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, with union or prevailing wage labor and city logistics carried where the job calls for them.
- NYC, Long Island, Buffalo, Albany
- Union and prevailing wage labor
- 24 to 48 hours
In short
Estimating in New York at a glance
MassBid Estimation prepares quantity takeoffs and cost estimates for construction projects across New York State, from the five boroughs to Buffalo. 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 New York work includes a seven-story building, a four-story steel-framed building, a masonry building, a retail tenant space and a duplex.
- Markets
- New York City, Long Island and Westchester, the Hudson Valley and Capital Region, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse
- Recent New York work
- Seven-story building, four-story steel frame, masonry building, retail tenant space, duplex
- New York cost drivers
- Union and prevailing wage labor, site logistics, sidewalk protection, insurance
- Code
- New York City Construction Codes in the city; the state Uniform Code elsewhere
- 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
New York City · Bid due Friday
In New York the building is the easy part. Getting the material to the floor is where the money goes.
The quantities on a Manhattan job are no different from the same building anywhere else. What changes is what it costs to put each one in place: the labor rate, the hoist, the street closure, the sidewalk shed, the hours the truck is allowed to stand.
And then the state changes completely north of Westchester. Four things decide whether a New York estimate holds.
Four things a New York estimate has to get right
01 · The labor
Union, open shop or prevailing wage
The same wall can carry three very different labor costs depending on who builds it. Public work pays prevailing wage, and much private work in the city is union.
What changes
Tell us which applies and labor is priced at that rate for the trade and county.
02 · The logistics
Hoisting, deliveries and a site with no yard
Tight sites mean hoists, flagmen, off-hours deliveries and material handled twice. None of it is on the drawings.
What changes
Logistics are carried as visible general requirements lines, so you can set them to how you plan to run the job.
03 · The protection
Sidewalk sheds, scaffold and insurance
Work over a public sidewalk needs protection for its full duration, and New York's liability rules for work at height make insurance a larger share of cost than anywhere else.
What changes
Sheds, scaffold and protection are measured by length and duration where the project requires them, and insurance stays its own line.
04 · The map
City rates on an upstate job
Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany price far below the five boroughs. A city rate on an upstate bid loses it.
What changes
Labor and material are priced to the project's ZIP code.
New York markets
Four New York markets, priced separately
The state has the widest spread of construction cost in the country.
New York City
Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island: high-rise residential, interiors, renovations of occupied buildings and public work, at the highest labor rates in the country.
Long Island and Westchester
Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties: schools, healthcare, retail and custom residential, close to city rates.
Hudson Valley and Capital Region
Albany, Poughkeepsie and the corridor between: state buildings, colleges, healthcare and distribution.
Western and Central New York
Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse: manufacturing, healthcare, university and renovation work at much lower rates.
Real New York work
Sample takeoffs from New York projects
Pages from finished New York jobs. Client names, addresses and title blocks are removed; the quantities are as delivered. Click any page to enlarge.
Seven-story building
Partition takeoff for a seven-story New York building
Protects you fromOne typical floor multiplied by seven.
Four-story steel frame
Steel stair takeoff for a four-story New York building
Protects you fromStairs priced per flight, rails forgotten.
Retail tenant space
Firestopping takeoff for a New York retail tenant space
Protects you fromA firestopping allowance.
Priced estimate
Priced masonry estimate for a New York building
Protects you fromCast stone buried in the brick 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 New York drawings for a free quote.
Real New York figures
What recent New York projects cost, by trade
Trade costs from estimates we delivered on New York projects. The full breakdowns and sample pages are on the linked service pages.
These are two projects, not a market average. New York costs depend heavily on borough, labor type and site access, which is why each job is priced to its own ZIP code.
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.
| New York project and trade | Cost | Per sq ft |
|---|---|---|
| Four-story building, 38,600 sq ft: structural and misc. metals | $269,240 | $6.98 |
| Masonry building: block, brick veneer and cast stone | $456,898 |
Full sample
Read a full sample, page by page
Residential estimate, from a finished job: a house addition and renovation in New York. 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 New York work to show
Drywall and ceilings
The seven-story building's partitions, ceilings and soffits by type.
Drywall estimatingMasonry
Block, brick veneer and cast stone, priced line by line.
Masonry estimatingStructural and miscellaneous steel
The four-story frame, with stairs and rails.
Steel estimatingFirestopping
Penetrations and joints counted on the mechanical plans.
Firestopping estimating
New York places we price
- Manhattan
- Brooklyn
- Queens
- The Bronx
- Staten Island
- Long Island
- Yonkers
- White Plains
- Buffalo
- Rochester
- Syracuse
- Albany
- Poughkeepsie
- Binghamton
- Utica
- Ithaca
Pricing data
How a New York 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 New York.
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 New York 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 New York 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
New York construction estimating FAQ
Yes. We estimate projects in all five boroughs, on Long Island and in Westchester, and in Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and the rest of the state. Each is priced to the project's ZIP code.
Yes. Tell us whether the job is union, open shop or prevailing wage and labor is priced at that rate for the trade and county. Public work in New York pays prevailing wage.
It depends on the borough, the labor and the trade. On one four-story New York building we estimated, structural and miscellaneous metals were $6.98 per square foot of building; masonry on another building came to $456,898. Both are trade cost before markups.
Where the project requires them, yes. They are carried as their own general requirements lines by length and duration, so you can adjust them to your own means and methods.
Tax is its own line at the rate for the project's location; the combined rate in New York City is 8.875%. Because capital improvements are treated differently from repairs, the line can be set to match your contract.
Yes. Demolition, protection, phasing and off-hours work are taken off from the drawings and listed separately from the new work.
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 (residential estimate, for a house addition and renovation in New York), 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 New York, 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 New York project? Send the drawings.
Free quote in about 20 minutes. Takeoffs and estimates typically in 24 to 48 hours, priced to the project's New York ZIP code and built to your format, with free revisions with no limit.