Chicago
High-rise residential and office, institutional and healthcare work, and renovation of older buildings under the Chicago Building Code.
Illinois
Construction Estimating Services in Illinois
Chicago union rates, prevailing wage on every public job, and winters to price around.
Illinois applies its Prevailing Wage Act to public works of any size, Chicago writes its own building code and licenses its own general contractors, and the construction season is shaped by long, hard winters. Labor alone can swing a Chicago number far from a downstate one.
Prime Estimation prepares construction estimates and quantity takeoffs for Illinois general contractors, subcontractors, developers and builders (from Loop high-rises to collar-county warehouses and downstate institutional work) priced to the county and typically delivered in 24 to 48 hours.
Prevailing Wage ActNo minimum contract threshold
Chicago Building CodeThe city's own code and permits
Statewide energy codeIllinois Energy Conservation Code
Cold-weather workHeat, enclosures and frost depth
Where We Work in Illinois
The Illinois Construction Market
Chicago's dense, union-built core sits at the center of one of the country's largest logistics networks, while downstate cities run on healthcare, education, agriculture and manufacturing.
Collar Counties
DuPage, Will, Kane, Lake and McHenry: distribution centers along I-55 and I-80, data centers and suburban residential.
Rockford & Northern Illinois
Aerospace and manufacturing plants, logistics and residential across the northern tier.
Peoria & Bloomington-Normal
Healthcare, university and manufacturing facilities in central Illinois.
Springfield & Champaign
State government, university research and institutional work, priced to central Illinois labor markets.
Metro East
Illinois suburbs of St. Louis: industrial, logistics, military-related and residential construction.
Local Pricing
What Drives Construction Costs in Illinois
The Illinois-specific conditions we look for on every set and carry into the line items.
Union labor in the Chicago area
Most commercial work in Cook and the collar counties is built with union trades, with wage and fringe packages well above downstate open-shop rates. We price labor to the project's county and trade.
Prevailing wage with no threshold
Illinois applies prevailing wage to public works regardless of contract size, using rates published by county. Even a small municipal job needs to be priced to the schedule.
Winter construction
Cold-weather concrete, temporary heat and enclosures, ground thawing and snow removal add real cost to work scheduled from late fall through early spring.
Frost depth and soils
Deep frost lines push footings down, and Chicago's soft clays often call for caissons or piles on larger buildings. We price the foundation system the structural drawings show.
The Chicago Building Code
Chicago maintains its own building code and permitting process, distinct from the rest of the state. We follow the city's requirements on Chicago projects and the local adoption elsewhere.
Urban logistics and older buildings
Downtown jobs bring hoisting, alley access, street-use permits and work in older structures that need demolition, abatement and reinforcement.
Compliance
Illinois Codes, Wage Rules and Licensing in Your Estimate
The requirements that most often change an Illinois number, and how each one shows up in our work.
| Requirement | What it means | How we handle it |
|---|---|---|
| Prevailing Wage Act | Public works of any contract value pay prevailing wages published for each county by the Illinois Department of Labor. | Labor priced to the current county rates for every trade. |
| Chicago Building Code | Chicago enforces its own building code and requires general contractors working in the city to be licensed by the city. | Takeoff follows the Chicago code on city projects. |
| Illinois Energy Conservation Code | The state energy code applies statewide to commercial and residential construction. | Insulation, glazing and mechanical efficiency priced as specified. |
| Roofing license | Roofing contractors must be licensed by the state through IDFPR. | Roofing scope packaged for licensed roofing subcontractors. |
| Federal work: Davis-Bacon | Federally funded projects use U.S. Department of Labor wage determinations. | The applicable determination applied by county and trade. |
What We Do
Estimating Services We Provide in Illinois
Full project estimates or a single trade: every one priced to the project's location and checked by a second estimator.
Project Estimates & Takeoffs
Complete estimates and quantity takeoffs for Illinois projects.
- Commercial EstimatingRetail, office, restaurants, warehouses and TI work→
- Residential EstimatingCustom homes, multi-family, additions and remodels→
- Industrial EstimatingPlants, processing facilities and distribution centers→
- Material TakeoffOrder-ready quantities by CSI division→
- Construction TakeoffSingle-trade or full-project takeoffs with marked-up plans→
Trade Estimating
One division measured in depth, in the units your trade bids in.
How It Works
Send Your Plans →
From Illinois Plans to a Bid-Ready Number
Everything happens from your digital drawings, so distance never slows the job down.
- 01
Send Plans & Location
Upload the drawings, specs and addenda, and give us the project address or ZIP code and your bid date.
- 02
Fixed Quote & Date
We review the set and reply (usually within a few hours) with a fixed fee and a delivery date. Nothing starts until you approve.
- 03
Takeoff, Local Pricing, Review
Quantities are measured digitally, priced to Illinois material and labor conditions, and audited by a second estimator.
- 04
Delivery & Addenda
Excel and PDF with marked-up drawings and a written assumptions page, typically in 24 to 48 hours. Addenda are worked into the same file.
FAQ
Illinois Estimating Questions
Does Illinois prevailing wage apply to small public jobs?
Yes. The Illinois Prevailing Wage Act has no minimum contract threshold, so public works of any size pay the rates published for the county. We price labor to those rates.
Do you price Chicago work at union rates?
We price labor to the market the project is actually in. For most commercial work in Chicago and the collar counties that means union wage and fringe rates; elsewhere we use the prevailing local market.
Can you include winter conditions in the estimate?
Yes. When your schedule runs through the winter, we price cold-weather concrete protection, temporary heat and enclosures, ground thawing and snow removal as general conditions.
Do you follow the Chicago Building Code?
Yes. For projects inside the city we price to the Chicago Building Code requirements shown on the drawings; elsewhere we follow the code edition adopted by the local jurisdiction.
How quickly can you turn around an Illinois bid?
Most estimates are delivered in 24 to 48 hours, and single-trade takeoffs often within 24 hours. You'll get a fixed fee and delivery date first, usually within a few hours.
Ready to Get Started?
Pricing an Illinois Project?
Send your drawings and the project address. You'll get a fixed fee and a delivery date back, usually within a few hours.
Service Areas
Other Locations We Serve
We estimate projects in all 50 states. These are the areas with their own pages; see all service areas.