An industrial bid can look fine on the summary page and still be wrong underneath. Pipe footage is right but the weld count is light. The equipment list is complete, but nobody priced the crane. The building shell is accurate, yet the tie-ins happen inside an operating plant during a weekend shutdown: at overtime rates.
Our industrial estimating services are built around those details. We prepare quantity takeoffs and cost estimates for manufacturing plants, process facilities, utilities, and heavy industrial buildings, so contractors and owners can bid or budget with numbers that reflect how industrial work actually gets built.
Commercial estimating mostly prices a building. Industrial estimating prices a building and the process inside it, and the process is usually where the money and the risk sit.
A few things we account for on industrial projects that rarely show up in a standard commercial estimate:
Many plants buy major equipment directly. The contractor still has to receive, set, align, and connect it. Missing that distinction either double-counts the equipment or drops the labor to install it.
Heavy equipment needs crane picks, rigging plans, grout, anchor bolts, and alignment. A single large pick can change the equipment line of an estimate on its own.
Pipe material, schedule, diameter, fittings, valves, weld counts, supports, spool fabrication, and testing (hydro or pneumatic) all drive cost. Carbon steel and stainless are different estimates, not a substitution.
Expansions and retrofits inside operating facilities mean tie-ins, demolition, temporary protection, restricted access, permits to work, and productivity losses that a new-build estimate doesn't carry.
When work must happen during a planned outage, labor gets compressed into shifts and overtime. That changes the labor cost even when quantities stay the same.
Equipment pads, mat foundations, trenches, sumps, and structural steel pipe racks carry quantities and connection details far beyond a typical building frame.
Motor feeds, MCCs, cable tray, instrument wiring, and control systems add scope that is easy to underestimate when the drawings separate power from instrumentation.
Getting these items right is the difference between an industrial estimate and a large commercial estimate with a different title.
We can price a complete industrial project across CSI divisions or a single trade package for a subcontractor.
Mass excavation, structural fill, underground utilities, duct banks, equipment foundations, mat slabs, containment walls, trenches, and paving for truck courts and laydown areas. Sitework estimating →
Main building frames, pipe racks, equipment platforms, grating, stairs, ladders, handrails, and supports: taken off by member size and weight, with connection allowances. Metal estimating →
Process lines, compressed air, steam and condensate, cooling water, gas, and chemical piping. Takeoffs break out pipe by material and size, fittings, valves, weld counts, supports, and testing. Piping estimating →
Setting of tanks, pumps, compressors, conveyors, and process skids, plus ventilation, makeup air, and exhaust systems. Mechanical estimating →
Service and distribution, MCCs, motor feeders, cable tray, lighting, grounding, controls, and instrumentation wiring. Electrical estimating →
Pipe and equipment insulation, structural fireproofing, and protective coatings: scope that is often bid separately and frequently left out of general estimates. Insulation estimating → Fireproofing estimating →
Pre-engineered metal buildings, insulated metal panels, roofing, overhead doors, and dock equipment for plants and warehouses.
Most of these involve one of three project types: new construction (greenfield), expansion of an existing facility, or retrofit and equipment replacement. Each one changes how labor and access are priced, so tell us which applies when you send the job.
The right estimate depends on how far the design has progressed. Pricing a full takeoff from a process flow diagram wastes time; using a square-foot number at bid time loses jobs.
Used for feasibility and capital planning when you have a site, a capacity target, and maybe a block layout. Expect a wide accuracy range. Preliminary estimating →
Built from early engineering: general arrangement drawings, equipment lists, single-line diagrams. Good for funding approval and comparing options. Budget estimating →
Built from issued-for-bid or construction drawings and specifications. Full quantity takeoff, labor hours, material pricing, equipment, subcontractor scope, and markups. This is what you submit.
When scope shifts mid-project, we price the added or deleted work so you can negotiate from documented numbers.
AACE International publishes a widely used estimate classification system (Class 5 through Class 1) that ties expected accuracy to how complete the project definition is. If your owner or EPC partner requires estimates to be labeled by class, tell us and we'll align the estimate to that framework.
An industrial estimate from us typically includes:
Pricing uses regional material and labor rates based on the project's zip code.
The more complete the package, the tighter the estimate. Useful documents include:
Large packages can be shared through Google Drive or a plan room link.
Upload Your Plans →Or email info@primeestimation.com.
Email the bid invitation and drawings, or upload the full job folder.
We review the drawings, specs, and addenda, then quote the cost of the estimate and the delivery date.
Once you approve the quote and payment is received, the takeoff begins. We may ask about site conditions, travel, or prevailing wage requirements.
We aim to deliver before your bid date with time left for review.
Once you collect supplier and sub quotes, we can plug them in and adjust for final pricing.
who bid industrial work occasionally and don't want to staff a dedicated industrial estimator.
who need trade takeoffs with labor hours they can trust on process scope.
that need cost support during front-end engineering or for a specific discipline.
checking a contractor's number, planning a capital project, or budgeting an expansion.
We estimate the civil, structural, process, and building trades, so the scope gaps between packages get caught.
Every estimate lists what was included, excluded, and assumed.
Material and labor are priced to the project's location.
You pay for the estimate you need, without carrying a full-time industrial estimator.
More than 1,500 projects priced across federal, institutional, commercial and residential work, with every estimate checked by a second estimator.
PlanSwift, Bluebeam Revu and On-Screen Takeoff for takeoff; RSMeans, Craftsman and our own regional databases for pricing.
A detailed industrial estimate covers material quantities, labor hours and cost, equipment (including cranes and rigging), subcontractor scope, indirect costs, and markup. It should also list assumptions, for example, which equipment is owner-furnished and whether work happens during a shutdown.
Yes. Many clients send a single trade package. We'll price the trade scope and flag anything on the drawings that looks like it belongs to your scope but sits in another discipline's sheets.
It varies too widely for a single number to be useful. A basic warehouse shell and a processing plant can differ several times over per square foot, because process piping, equipment, and power drive the cost, not the floor area. Square-foot figures are fine for early screening; bids need a takeoff.
Yes. Tell us about access restrictions, shutdown windows, shift requirements, and safety rules, and we'll reflect the productivity impact in the labor pricing.
It depends on project size and how many disciplines are involved. We confirm the turnaround in the quote before work begins. Most estimates are delivered in 24 to 48 hours, and single-trade takeoffs often within 24 hours.
We price per project, based on the scope and number of trades. Send the drawings for a fixed quote.
Yes. We can support conceptual and budget estimates during design, or price specific disciplines for a design-build proposal.
Send your drawings, specifications, and bid date. We'll review the package and reply with a fixed price and delivery date for the estimate.
