Michigan Construction Estimating Services

The frost line sits at 42 inches, one of the deepest in the country, so footings go nearly four feet down before a wall starts. That depth is also why a full basement is standard here instead of an upgrade, and both get counted in the estimate.

Outdoor work slows or stops through the coldest months, and foundation work is usually suspended during frost periods. We price the temporary heat, enclosure and cold-weather concrete a winter pour needs, or we flag where waiting until spring costs less than working through it.

Union scales in the Detroit metro sit well above what rural counties pay, and skilled trade availability differs just as much. We price labor to the market the job is in, so a Grand Rapids bid is not carrying Detroit rates.

Published cost tables lag the market, sometimes by a year. We check current supplier and market pricing before the estimate goes out, and note where a long lead time or a volatile material puts the number at risk.

Added insulation, tighter envelope detailing and the assemblies that go with them. That scope is easy to leave out of a takeoff and expensive to add later, so we count it with the rest of the building rather than treating it as an allowance.

Yes. We estimate in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Kalamazoo, Traverse City and across the Upper Peninsula. Snow loads, soils and haul distance change as you move north, and each estimate is priced to where the project sits.