San Antonio · Bexar, Comal and Guadalupe counties
Construction estimating services in San Antonio
Takeoffs and priced estimates for San Antonio general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, including federal and military base work.
- San Antonio, New Braunfels, Schertz, Boerne
- Federal and base work
- 24 to 48 hours
In short
Estimating in San Antonio at a glance
MassBid Estimation prepares quantity takeoffs and cost estimates for construction projects across the San Antonio area, from its office in Houston. 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 San Antonio work includes a roof repair for a three-story dormitory on a military base, estimated at $47,826.
- Area covered
- Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe and Kendall counties
- Recent San Antonio work
- Standing seam roof repair on a three-story military dormitory
- San Antonio cost drivers
- Federal wage and base rules, rock to the north, clay to the south and east
- Prepared in
- Houston, Texas, three hours east on Interstate 10
- 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
San Antonio · Base access at 0700
On a military base the roof is the simple part. The rules around it are the estimate.
San Antonio is Military City. A large share of its public construction is on the bases, and that work comes with federal wage rates, security badging, limited hours and specifications that run to hundreds of pages.
Off base it is the most affordable large market in Texas, growing north into the Hill Country. Four things decide whether a San Antonio estimate holds.
Four things a San Antonio estimate has to get right
01 · The wage
Federal wage rates on base work
Federal projects pay Davis-Bacon wages by trade. An estimate at local open-shop rates will be low before the first panel is lifted.
What changes
Tell us the wage determination and labor is priced at it, trade by trade.
02 · The repair
Repair scope read as replacement
On the dormitory we estimated, 15,561 sq ft of standing seam roof was to remain and be protected. The work was a gutter, a curb, flashing and abandoned penetrations. Read as a re-roof, the price comes out many times too high.
What changes
Every keyed note is read, and what stays is separated from what is new.
03 · The rock
Limestone north of Loop 1604
Stone Oak, Boerne and New Braunfels sit on Hill Country limestone, and much of it is over the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, with its own water-quality requirements.
What changes
Rock excavation and water-quality structures are taken off from the soils report and civil drawings.
04 · The rate
Austin prices on a San Antonio job
San Antonio labor runs below Austin and Houston. Borrow a rate from either and the bid is uncompetitive.
What changes
Labor and material are priced to the project's ZIP code.
San Antonio submarkets
The San Antonio area, priced submarket by submarket
A military and medical city in the middle, with fast growth on the northern edge.
Central San Antonio and the Medical Center
Downtown, the River Walk, the Pearl and the South Texas Medical Center: renovation, hospitality, healthcare and university work.
The military bases
The Air Force and Army installations around the city: dormitories, training buildings, repairs and re-roofs under federal specifications.
North: Stone Oak, Boerne and New Braunfels
Hill Country growth along Highway 281 and Interstate 35: schools, retail, medical and housing, on rock.
South and east: industrial corridors
Manufacturing and distribution on the south side and along Interstate 10 toward Seguin, on clay.
Real San Antonio work
Sample takeoff from a San Antonio roof repair
Two pages from one finished job: a roof repair for a three-story dormitory on a San Antonio military base. The client name, building number and title block are removed; the quantities are as delivered. Click either page to enlarge.
Roof demolition
Roof demolition takeoff for a San Antonio dormitory
Protects you fromA repair priced as a tear-off.
New roof work
Roof repair takeoff for the same San Antonio dormitory
Protects you fromSmall flashing items left out.
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 San Antonio drawings for a free quote.
Real San Antonio figures
What a San Antonio dormitory roof repair cost
The estimate we delivered for the roof repair shown above, on a three-story dormitory with a gross area of 15,560 sq ft.
The total was $47,826, or $3.07 per square foot of building. Material was 86% of it, because the work is mostly prefabricated curbs, gutters and flashing with little labor.
Figures are direct cost from the delivered estimate, before markups. They are specific to that project 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.
| Roof repair, 15,560 sq ft dormitory | Cost | Per sq ft |
|---|---|---|
| Material | $41,102 | $2.64 |
| Labor | $6,724 | $0.43 |
| Total | $47,826 | $3.07 |
Full sample
Read a full sample, page by page
Roof repair, from a finished job: a three-story dormitory, 15,560 sq ft in Texas. Open it full screen, scroll through all 2 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 places
What San Antonio contractors send us most
Roofing
Repairs and re-roofs, layer by layer and flashing by flashing.
Roofing estimatingThermal and moisture protection
Roofing, sheet metal, sealants and insulation together.
Thermal and moistureWhole-project estimates
Every division for a general contractor's bid.
GC estimatingDemolition
Selective removal separated from what stays.
Demolition estimating
San Antonio-area places we price
- San Antonio
- New Braunfels
- Schertz
- Boerne
- Seguin
- Converse
- Cibolo
- Live Oak
- Universal City
- Helotes
- Alamo Heights
- Selma
Pricing data
How a San Antonio 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 San Antonio.
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 San Antonio 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 San Antonio 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
San Antonio construction estimating FAQ
Yes. We price projects in San Antonio, New Braunfels, Schertz, Boerne, Seguin and the rest of Bexar, Comal and Guadalupe counties, each to its own ZIP code. The work is prepared at our office in Houston.
Yes. We estimated a roof repair for a three-story dormitory on a San Antonio base. Federal wage rates, access restrictions and specification requirements are carried when you tell us they apply.
On that dormitory, repairing gutters, curbs, flashing and abandoned penetrations on a 15,560 square foot building came to $47,826 in direct cost, or $3.07 per square foot of building. The existing standing seam roof stayed in place. A full replacement would cost many times more.
Yes. Send the wage determination and labor is priced at those rates for each trade.
The dormitory is the San Antonio job we can show today. Our Houston, Dallas and Austin pages show other Texas work, and the same method applies to every trade here.
Yes. Where the geotechnical report shows limestone, rock is separated from ordinary excavation and priced at its own rate.
Tax is its own line. The combined rate in San Antonio is 8.25%. Federal projects and some public owners are exempt, and the line can be set to match your contract.
Yes. This page shows a full sample from a finished job (roof repair, for a three-story dormitory, 15,560 sq ft in Texas), 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 San Antonio, 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 cities and services
Bidding a San Antonio project? Send the drawings.
Free quote in about 20 minutes. Takeoffs and estimates typically in 24 to 48 hours, priced to the project's San Antonio ZIP code and built to your format, with free revisions with no limit.