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Construction estimating services in Texas
Takeoffs and priced estimates for Texas general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, measured from your drawings and priced to the ZIP code the job is built in.
- Houston, DFW, Austin, San Antonio
- Priced by ZIP code
- 24 to 48 hours
In short
Estimating in Texas at a glance
MassBid Estimation prepares quantity takeoffs and cost estimates for construction projects across Texas, 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 Texas work includes a recreation center, a two-story clinic, apartment communities and a 61,800 square foot commercial building.
- Office
- Houston, Texas. Texas is our home market.
- Markets
- Houston and the Gulf Coast, Dallas–Fort Worth, Austin–San Antonio, West Texas and the Valley
- Recent Texas work
- Recreation center, medical clinic, apartment communities, commercial building and site
- Texas cost drivers
- Coastal windstorm requirements, sales tax on remodeling, expansive clay, hail
- 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
Houston · Bid day
Texas is not one market. A number that wins in Lubbock loses money in Houston.
Texas builds more than any other state, and it does it in several different economies at once. Gulf Coast labor is pulled by petrochemical and industrial work. Dallas–Fort Worth runs on commercial and distribution. Austin and San Antonio move with tech, healthcare and government. West Texas pays for distance.
There is also a set of Texas rules that change what an estimate has to carry, and they are not on the drawings. Four of them cost contractors money every year.
Four things a Texas estimate has to get right
01 · The coast
Windstorm requirements in the coastal counties
Buildings in the designated catastrophe area along the Gulf need windstorm-compliant construction to be insurable: rated openings, roof attachment, strapping and connectors.
What changes
Where the drawings call for windstorm-rated assemblies, they are taken off as drawn and listed on their own lines.
02 · The tax
Sales tax is different on new work and remodeling
Texas treats new construction and the remodeling of commercial property differently for sales tax, and lump-sum and separated contracts differently again. The state rate is 6.25%, up to 8.25% with local tax.
What changes
Tax is carried as its own line at the rate for the project's location, so it can be set to match your contract type.
03 · The ground
Expansive clay under the slab
Much of Houston, Dallas and San Antonio sits on expansive clay. The soils report often calls for select fill, moisture conditioning, piers or a thicker, more heavily reinforced slab.
What changes
The geotechnical report is read with the structural drawings and its requirements are priced, not assumed.
04 · The labor
One statewide labor rate
A rate that suits the Valley is far too low for the Gulf Coast during a turnaround season. Statewide averages hide the difference.
What changes
Labor and material are priced to the project's ZIP code, market by market.
Texas markets
Four Texas markets, priced separately
Each of these is its own cost environment. We price the one the project is in.
Houston and the Gulf Coast
Industrial, healthcare, multifamily and port work, with labor pulled by plant projects and windstorm requirements toward the coast. Our office is here.
Dallas–Fort Worth
Distribution centers, corporate offices, retail and data centers across a very large metro, with heavy slab, paving and tilt-wall scopes.
Austin and San Antonio
Tech, medical, education and government work, with rock excavation in the Hill Country and fast-rising multifamily.
West Texas, the Panhandle and the Valley
Midland–Odessa, Lubbock, Amarillo, El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley, where freight and crew travel are a real share of cost.
Real Texas work
Sample takeoffs from Texas projects
Pages from finished Texas jobs. Client names, addresses and title blocks are removed; the quantities are as delivered. Click any page to enlarge.
Recreation center
Flooring takeoff for a Texas recreation center
Protects you fromOne rate for seven finishes.
Medical clinic
Structural steel takeoff for a two-story Texas clinic
Protects you fromA tonnage with no list behind it.
Apartments
Building wrap and flashing takeoff for Texas apartments
Protects you fromEnvelope priced from floor area.
Site paving
Concrete paving takeoff for a Texas commercial site
Protects you fromThree thicknesses priced as 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 Texas drawings for a free quote.
Real Texas figures
What recent Texas projects cost, by trade
Trade costs from estimates we delivered on Texas projects. Each links back to the service page where the full breakdown and sample pages are shown.
These are single projects, not averages. They show the range a square-foot figure can cover: flooring on a recreation center at $7.57, and structural steel on a small two-story clinic at about $60.
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.
| Texas project and trade | Cost | Per sq ft |
|---|---|---|
| Recreation center, 11,500 sq ft: flooring | $86,873 | $7.57 |
| Two-story clinic, 9,500 sq ft: structural and misc. steel | $568,765 | $60.00 |
| Commercial building, 61,800 sq ft: joints and sealants | $408,926 | $6.62 |
Full sample
Read a full sample, page by page
General contractor estimate, from a finished job: a restaurant fit-out, 1,375 sq ft in Texas. Open it full screen, scroll through all 8 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 Texas work to show
Flooring and finishes
The recreation center above, with its full line-by-line cost table.
Flooring estimatingStructural steel and framing
The clinic's beams, columns, bracing, deck and stud framing.
Steel estimatingBuilding envelope
Wrap, flashing, sill sealer and sealants on Texas apartments and commercial buildings.
Thermal and moistureSite work
Cut and fill, erosion control and concrete paving on a Texas commercial site.
Earthwork estimating
Texas cities we price
- Houston
- Dallas
- Fort Worth
- Austin
- San Antonio
- El Paso
- Corpus Christi
- Plano
- Frisco
- Lubbock
- Midland
- McAllen
- Waco
- Beaumont
- Katy
- The Woodlands
Pricing data
How a Texas 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 Texas.
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 Texas 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 Texas 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
Texas construction estimating FAQ
Yes. We are based in Houston and estimate projects in every Texas market, including Dallas–Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, West Texas and the Rio Grande Valley. Each is priced to the project's ZIP code.
It depends on the building and the trade. On Texas projects we estimated, flooring for a recreation center was $7.57 per square foot, joints and sealants on a commercial building $6.62, and structural steel for a small two-story clinic about $60, all trade cost before markups.
Yes. Where the drawings call for windstorm-rated openings, roof attachment or connectors, they are taken off as drawn and listed on their own lines. We price what the engineer specified; we do not design or certify it.
Tax is its own line on the estimate at the rate for the project's location. The Texas state rate is 6.25% and local tax can bring it to 8.25%. Because new construction and commercial remodeling are taxed differently, the line can be set to match your contract.
Texas has no statewide general contractor license, though cities register contractors and trades such as electrical, plumbing and HVAC are licensed by the state. It does not change the estimate, but it does mean trade scopes are usually bid by licensed subcontractors.
Yes. Labor and material are priced to the ZIP code, so a Houston project carries Gulf Coast rates and a Dallas project carries North Texas rates.
Both. General contractors get every trade on the drawings; subcontractors get their own trade isolated and returned in the format the GC asked for. Suppliers get quantities only.
Yes. This page shows a full sample from a finished job (general contractor estimate, for a restaurant fit-out, 1,375 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 Texas, 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 Texas project? Send the drawings.
Free quote in about 20 minutes. Takeoffs and estimates typically in 24 to 48 hours, priced to the project's Texas ZIP code and built to your format, with free revisions with no limit. Prepared in Houston.