Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT KINDS OF ESTIMATES DO YOU PROVIDE?
We provide an all inclusive package that consists of 1 page Cost Summary Report as well as a Detailed Trade Breakup which is about 10-20 pages depending on the difficulty of your project. We call our product a "Detailed Cost Estimate".
HOW LONG DOES A DETAILED COST ESTIMATE TAKE TO COMPLETE?
Once approval or payment is received, you can expect to receive your Detailed Cost Estimate within 2 – 10 business days.
This is our typical timeframe, and it all depends on how simple or complex your project is or when we can fit you into our calendar. But in all cases we provide a completion date when we send you our initial fee proposal.
HOW MUCH DOES A DETAILED COST ESTIMATE COST?
Sounds like a simple question that should get simple answer. The simple answer is it depends on how complicated your project is. We have set prices for all our residential projects which fluctuate
based on your projects difficulty. The best way to find out how much your Detailed Cost Estimate will cost is to call us, have a chat and email your plans to find out within 24 hours.
WHAT IS THE LEVEL OF ACCURACY I CAN EXPECT?
The level of accuracy that can be provided to you is based on the quality of the documents you provide. Our set prices guarantee you receive the highest accuracy possible for your estimate. We wont provide you a cheap estimate that is less accurate. We only have one type of estimate and we guarantee the quality of our work is the best in the market. When you work with Sydney Estimator you are working with a construction professional with over 15 years site based construction experience. Please bare in mind we can’t provide a definite guarantee for every cost within your estimate, as the Construction Industry fluctuates monthly based on national and global changes.
HOW WILL MY COST ESTIMATE BE PROVIDED?
You can expect to receive our Detailed Cost Estimate via email to your nominated address in PDF format and excel for your review. We encourage you to undertake a thorough review of your estimate so that we can help you with getting your estimate to align with your business model. We provide one round of changes at no additional cost.
WHAT INDUSTRY DO YOU SPECIALISE IN?
We specialise in all areas of construction, from home building, apartments, aged care to child care. But most of our clients are custom home builders and tradies. We get form-workers, concreters, tilers, painters, roofers, plasterers and many more, for all sorts of jobs.
If you have plans we can measure it and provide a cost!
WHAT SOFTWARE DO YOU USE?
We use Australia’s best and most reliable estimating software Cubit Estimating
We find this to be the most efficient software available.
CAN YOU PROVIDE A CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM THAT TELLS ME HOW LONG MY DURATION SHOULD BE?
Yes 100%. We are experts with “Microsoft Project”. If we have estimated your project already we can provide you a detailed Program usually within 2 business days after returning your Detailed Cost Esimate. Sydney Estimator are experienced project managers and are experts in analysing a project and determining how long it should take. This additional service starts at $300 for a Standard house or Duplex project.
WHAT PROFIT MARGIN DO YOU SHOW ON YOUR ESTIMATES?
We guide our clients and our clients guide us on what kind of profits should be included. Typically, home builders expect to receive 10-20% Profit in addition to supervision and labour. Apartment builders expect to receive 5-10% Profit in addition to supervision and labour. But there are many factors that come in to play here, is the client a new or repeat client? Is the job simple or complicated? Does the job need full time supervision or can be supervised remotely? These factors and many others dictate the percentage of profit allocated.
I AM ONLY A SMALL BUSINESS, IS OUTSOURCING MY ESTIMATING WORTH IT?
The answer is simple. If you have enough estimates to do that you could keep a full time estimator busy and pay a $100-200k salary per annum then no its not worth it. But if your estimating less than 100 houses per year than your time is best spent getting those leads and outsourcing your estimates. Instead of spending days estimating per job you will only need to spend 20-30 minutes to review your outsourced estimate.
I HAVE SET PRICES THAT I CHARGE BUT I JUST DON’T HAVE TIME TO MEASURE, CAN YOU HELP?
Yes if you have predetermined rates for example you’re a tiler that charges $110/m2 we can measure the job for you and input your rates. We can also guide you on your rates based off the market and let you know if you should reduce or increase your rates.
MY JOB IS URGENT CAN YOU GET IT DONE FOR ME WITHIN 2 DAYS?
Yes we have a 50% surcharge for a guaranteed 1-2 day turnaround so if your job would usually cost $800 we would charge you $1,200 and it would guarantee your job is completed within 2 days.
THE OTHER ESTIMATOR I USE IS CHEAPER THAN YOU, CAN YOU MATCH THEIR PRICE?
The real question here is can your other estimator match our service. Our prices are set to give you the best value. Initially our answer is no. But if you are a loyal customer and have been working with us for some time, naturally we will provide you a better price than you originally received.
HOW DO I SEND THE DOCUMENTS TO YOU?
Our Email inbox can receive 20MB per email. if your documents are larger you can either send multiple emails or setup a link on onedrive, dropbox or another file sharing platform you prefer. You can also click here to upload your documents directly to our website.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN ESTIMATING?
Our company has been in operation for just over 5 years and we have over 15 years of site based construction experience.
We have procured what you procure, we have built what you build.
IF YOU ARE BASED IN SYDNEY AND MY JOBS ARE IN NEWCASTLE CAN YOU STILL PRICE IT?
Yes, we don’t meet the majority of our clients. Most of our clients are from all over NSW and we never meet, only phone calls and emails. Regardless we measure all plans no matter your location and adjust the rates to suit the location of your project.
IF YOU ARE BASED IN SYDNEY AND MY JOBS ARE IN WOLLONGONG CAN YOU STILL PRICE IT?
Yes, we don’t meet the majority of our clients. Most of our clients are from all over NSW and we never meet, only phone calls and emails. Regardless we measure all plans no matter your location and adjust the rates to suit the location of your project.
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