Construction Estimating & Bidding FAQ

Bid Sharp provides construction estimating, quantity takeoff, bid preparation, structural drafting, permit drawings, shop drawings, solar plan sets and CPM scheduling for general contractors, subcontractors, developers and homeowners across the United States, on public and private projects.

Upload your plans or paste a plan-room link on the contact page, add your bid due date and the service you need. We review the documents and reply with the scope, a firm price and a turnaround time before any work begins, with no obligation.

PDF plans are ideal. We also accept DWG, DXF, ZIP archives, images and Office documents, plus links from Dropbox, Google Drive, BuildingConnected and other plan rooms. Include specifications, addenda, bid forms and your bid date whenever you have them.

Yes. Homeowners and developers use independent estimates to budget remodels and new builds and to compare contractor quotes. Contractors use our services to bid more projects without adding staff.

All 50 states. Estimating and drafting are done remotely from your drawings, so project location does not limit coverage. We focus on Texas, California and fast-growing markets with fewer estimating options.

Construction estimating predicts a project's cost from its drawings and specifications by measuring quantities, pricing labor, materials, equipment and subcontract scopes, and adding general conditions, overhead, profit, taxes, bonds, insurance and contingency. An accurate estimate lets a contractor bid competitively and protect margin.

A material or quantity takeoff is the measured list of items needed to build a project: square feet, linear feet, cubic yards, counts and weights taken from the plans. The estimate then prices those quantities. You can order a takeoff alone or a complete priced estimate.

We cover CSI MasterFormat Divisions 01 through 33, including general requirements, concrete, masonry, metals, wood framing, roofing, openings, finishes, tile, drywall, plumbing, HVAC, fire protection, electrical, low voltage, sitework and utilities, plus solar.

Accuracy depends on drawing quality and scope clarity. Every takeoff is measured from the latest documents on marked-up plans, checked by a second estimator and compared with expected ratios. Assumptions, allowances and exclusions are written down so you can see exactly what the number covers.

Yes. We price material, labor, equipment and subcontract scopes using current market data and your unit prices when you provide them. You can also order quantities only and price the work yourself.

Digital takeoff in PlanSwift and Bluebeam Revu, pricing in Excel with RSMeans-style cost data, scheduling in Oracle Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project, and drafting in AutoCAD-compatible formats. Deliverables are Excel and PDF, with DWG for drawings.

The pre-bid process includes reviewing the solicitation and bid form, attending the pre-bid conference and site visit, logging addenda, submitting requests for information (RFIs), completing the takeoff and pricing, pricing alternates and unit prices, and completing the bid package before the due date.

After bids are opened, the work includes reviewing the bid tabulation, leveling subcontractor bids to a common scope, sending clarifications, pricing value-engineering options, receiving a notice of award, executing the contract and bonds, and buying out subcontracts and purchase orders.

An Invitation for Bid or Invitation to Bid is a sealed, price-based competition usually awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. A Request for Proposal evaluates qualifications, approach and price against stated criteria and may allow negotiation.

Addenda are official changes to the bid documents: revised drawings, new specifications, added alternates or extended dates. Missing one can mean pricing outdated documents or failing to acknowledge it on the bid form, which can make a bid non-responsive.

Bid leveling adjusts competing subcontractor and supplier proposals to a common scope by identifying inclusions, exclusions, alternates and qualifications, so the general contractor can compare them fairly and choose on adjusted price and risk.

Alternates are priced options the owner may add or deduct. Allowances are owner-set amounts for items not yet selected. Unit prices are per-unit costs used to adjust the contract if quantities change. Each must be priced separately and tied to the bid form.

A request for information is a written question that clarifies a conflict, omission or ambiguity in the drawings or specifications. During bidding, RFIs are submitted before the question deadline and answered through addenda.

Yes. We estimate from solicitation documents, including drawings, specifications, addenda, bid forms, alternates and unit prices, for federal, state, local and school-district projects. The contractor reviews, signs and submits the bid.

We apply the wage determination stated in your solicitation to the labor in each estimate line, including fringe benefits and burden, and allow for payroll reporting costs. Always confirm current rates and requirements with the awarding agency.

Yes. Private open-shop projects use market labor rates unless a contract or funding source imposes prevailing-wage terms. The estimating method is the same; the labor assumptions change.

No. We prepare takeoffs, pricing and supporting documents, and the contractor reviews, signs and submits the bid in its own name.

Shop drawings are detailed drawings prepared by the contractor, subcontractor or fabricator showing how part of the work will be fabricated and installed, based on the contract drawings and specifications. They are reviewed by the general contractor and the design team.

Shop drawings are one type of submittal. Submittals also include product data, samples, mock-ups, calculations, test reports and closeout documents.

We provide drafting. Drawings that require a professional seal are reviewed and sealed by an engineer or architect licensed in the project's jurisdiction, coordinated through a licensed professional.

We prepare permit drawings to your building department's submittal checklist and revise them after plan-review comments. Send the checklist with your project information.

Yes. Solar plan sets include site and roof plans, array layout, single-line diagram, equipment schedule and labels, prepared to the AHJ and utility requirements you provide.

Cost depends on project size, number of trades, drawing quality and turnaround. We quote a firm price after reviewing your documents and before work starts. Use the contact page to upload plans for a free quote.

Typical turnaround is about 48 hours, depending on size and complexity. We confirm turnaround in the quote and offer rush options when your bid date is tight.

Yes. A second estimator reviews the takeoff and pricing before delivery, and quantities are traceable to marked-up plans.

Send the addenda as soon as you receive them. We re-measure the affected scope and update the estimate so it reflects the latest documents.

Your files are used only to prepare your quote and project work and are not shared publicly. See our privacy policy for details.