Hillsborough · Pinellas · Manatee · Sarasota · Charlotte
Construction estimating services in Tampa Bay
Takeoffs and priced estimates for Gulf Coast general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, from Tampa and St. Petersburg down to Sarasota and Port Charlotte.
- Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota
- Hotels, public works, rebuilds
- 24 to 48 hours
In short
Estimating in Tampa Bay at a glance
MassBid Estimation prepares quantity takeoffs and cost estimates for construction projects around Tampa Bay and down the Gulf Coast through Sarasota and Charlotte counties. 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 Gulf Coast work includes the HVAC for a 93,300 square foot resort hotel and a full estimate for a county waste transfer station.
- Area covered
- Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties
- Recent Gulf Coast work
- Resort hotel HVAC, a county waste transfer station with site work
- Gulf Coast cost drivers
- Storm surge and flood elevation, wind-rated openings, salt air, rebuilding demand
- Code
- Florida Building Code, with wind-borne debris protection along the coast
- 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
Sarasota County · Bid week
A hotel repeats the same few rooms on every floor. Count one room type wrong and the error repeats with it.
The Gulf Coast builds hotels, condominiums and apartments, and they repeat. Each guest room has its own unit, its own exhaust, its own thermostat and its own outside-air damper.
It is also a coast that has been rebuilding after one hurricane after another, which keeps labor tight and owners in a hurry. Four things decide whether a Gulf Coast estimate holds.
Four things a Gulf Coast estimate has to get right
01 · The rooms
One typical room multiplied
Hotel rooms look alike and are not. Corner rooms, accessible rooms and suites each carry different equipment and duct.
What changes
Each room type is taken off on its own enlarged plan and multiplied by its real count per floor.
02 · The surge
Flood elevation on the coast
Much of Pinellas, coastal Hillsborough and the barrier islands is in a flood zone. Buildings sit on raised floors, piles or fill, with nothing habitable at grade.
What changes
Foundations, fill and ground-level enclosure are measured from the structural drawings as designed.
03 · The site
Earthwork that dwarfs the building
On a county transfer station we estimated, the building was $2.99 million and the site was $9.44 million, most of it earthwork. Price the building and miss the site, and the bid is a quarter of the job.
What changes
Earthwork is calculated from the grading plan as cut and fill volumes.
04 · The salt
Coastal exposure
Salt air shortens the life of rooftop equipment, fasteners and steel. Coastal specifications call for coated coils, stainless fasteners and heavier finishes.
What changes
Coatings and material grades are priced as specified, line by line.
Gulf Coast submarkets
The Gulf Coast, priced county by county
From Pasco County to Charlotte Harbor, with different flood rules and labor travel along the way.
Tampa and Hillsborough County
Downtown, Westshore, Brandon and Riverview: offices, healthcare, apartments, port and airport work.
Pinellas County
St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Largo: condominiums, hospitality and renovation on a built-out peninsula, much of it in flood zones.
Manatee and Sarasota counties
Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, Sarasota, Osprey and Venice: resort hotels, luxury homes, medical and retail.
Charlotte County and south
Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda and North Port: public works, rebuilding and new housing.
Real Gulf Coast work
Sample takeoffs from a Sarasota County resort hotel
Two pages from one finished job: the HVAC for a four-story resort hotel in Sarasota County. The client name, address and title block are removed; the quantities are as delivered. Click either page to enlarge.
Guest floor
HVAC takeoff for a hotel guest floor in Sarasota County
Protects you fromOne floor's count applied to four.
Room types
HVAC takeoff by guest room type for the same hotel
Protects you fromEvery room priced as the typical one.
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 Tampa Bay drawings for a free quote.
Real Gulf Coast figures
What recent Gulf Coast projects cost
Trade costs from estimates we delivered on two projects in Sarasota and Charlotte counties.
The hotel's HVAC came to $9.04 per square foot of building. On the transfer station, the site cost three times the building.
Figures are trade cost before overhead, profit and contingency, from the delivered estimates. Per-square-foot figures are per square foot of building, or of site for the site work. 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.
| Gulf Coast project and trade | Cost | Per sq ft |
|---|---|---|
| Resort hotel, Sarasota County, 93,300 sq ft: HVAC | $843,681 | $9.04 |
| Transfer station building, 33,900 sq ft: all trades | $2,994,535 | $88.28 |
| Transfer station building: concrete | $1,326,505 | $39.11 |
| Transfer station building: structural steel | $1,119,464 | $33.00 |
| Transfer station site, 4.7 acres: earthwork, paving and utilities | $9,444,054 | $46.43 |
| Scale house, 905 sq ft: all trades | $422,874 | $467.26 |
Full sample
Read a full sample, page by page
We do not have a sample for exactly this scope online yet. This is the closest one. 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 places
What Gulf Coast contractors send us most
HVAC
Hotels and apartments, room type by room type.
HVAC estimatingWhole-project estimates
Building and site together, as on the transfer station.
GC estimatingEarthwork
Cut and fill volumes from the grading plan.
Earthwork estimatingConcrete and steel
Heavy slabs, push walls and pre-engineered framing.
Concrete estimating
Gulf Coast places we price
- Tampa
- St. Petersburg
- Clearwater
- Sarasota
- Bradenton
- Brandon
- Riverview
- Wesley Chapel
- Largo
- Venice
- Osprey
- Port Charlotte
- Punta Gorda
- North Port
- Plant City
- Lakewood Ranch
Pricing data
How a Tampa 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 Tampa.
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 Tampa Bay 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 Tampa Bay 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
Tampa Bay construction estimating FAQ
Yes. We price projects in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Bradenton, Sarasota, Venice and Port Charlotte, each to its own ZIP code.
On a 93,300 square foot, four-story resort hotel we estimated in Sarasota County, HVAC trade cost was $843,681, or $9.04 per square foot before general requirements and markups. With general requirements it was $11.76.
Yes. On a county waste transfer station in Charlotte County, the 33,900 square foot building was $2.99 million in trade cost and the 4.7-acre site was $9.44 million, of which earthwork was $7.65 million.
Because fixed items do not shrink. The 905 square foot scale house on that transfer station came to $467 per square foot, against $88 for the main building beside it, largely because of its utilities, doors and mechanical systems.
Yes. Each room type is taken off on its enlarged plan and multiplied by its count on each floor, so corner rooms, accessible rooms and suites are not priced as typical rooms.
Raised floors, piles, fill and ground-level enclosures are measured from the structural and civil drawings as designed. We price what the engineer drew; we do not set the elevation.
Yes, from the repair drawings or scope of work: demolition, structural repair, roofing, openings and interior finishes taken off separately.
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 is the closest sample we have online for this scope. 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 Tampa, 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 Tampa Bay project? Send the drawings.
Free quote in about 20 minutes. Takeoffs and estimates typically in 24 to 48 hours, priced to the project's Gulf Coast ZIP code and built to your format, with free revisions with no limit.