The same six steps on every project, regardless of size or trade mix. Each step has a named owner, a written deliverable, and a time budget you can hold us to. No improvisation, no surprises.
You submit your plans through the secure intake form, by email, or by WhatsApp. We accept PDF, DWG, DXF, RVT, and image files up to 500 MB. Sketches and incomplete drawing sets are welcome — we'll work with what you have.
A senior estimator walks the plans with you over a quick call. We confirm what's in scope, what isn't, what allowances are needed, and where you want alternates priced. You leave the call with a fixed-fee written quote in your inbox within four working hours.
Our senior estimator and a discipline-specific lead perform the takeoffs in Planswift and Bluebeam. Every line item is initialed, timestamped, and sourced. We work in markup-on-PDF so you can see exactly which wall, slab, or run produced which number.
Quantities are priced against RS Means and Craftsman for your specific ZIP, then cross-checked against our regional database — over 8,000 projects of historical data across the western US and growing nationally. Anomalies are flagged for the reviewer.
No estimate leaves the studio with one signature. An independent senior reviewer — not the person who built it — reconciles quantities, pricing, and scope completeness against the plan set. Any flags are returned to the originator and resolved before the cover sheet is signed.
You receive an itemized Excel workbook (with bid-ready summary), a PDF cover sheet, and source notes. One free revision is included in the engagement. If we're short of your deadline, we eat the rush.
Four internal standards we've held to since the studio opened. They're the reason our variance number stays where it does.
No estimate leaves the studio with one initial on the cover. The reviewer is never the originator.
Every quantity has a markup. Every price has a database row and a date. No mystery numbers.
Scope changed? Drawing updated? One revision pass is included. After that, hourly at our flat rate.
If we miss your turnaround, the rush is on us. We've made that promise for fifteen years.
A drawing set in any format — PDF, DWG, DXF, RVT — and a sentence or two about your scope. If you only have a sketch, that's fine; we'll get the rest on the scoping call.
Median across the last 90 days is 37 hours from plans-in to delivery. Anything beyond 48 hours is usually because the scope is very large or the drawings are incomplete — both of which we will tell you on the scoping call.
No. Every estimate is produced inside the studio in Kalispell, Montana. The senior on your cover sheet is the senior who answers your call.
Yes. We have a standard mutual NDA we can issue, or we're happy to sign yours. Either way, all project materials are confidential by default.
If our delivered estimate contains a material error that we made (not stemming from incomplete drawings), we will fix it at no charge or refund the engagement. See our refund policy for the full language.
Yes, with caveats. Our pricing databases are strongest for the United States; for international work we adjust labor and material indexes and disclose the basis up front.
If we don't deliver inside the agreed turnaround, you don't pay the rush fee — even if you ordered standard service. This isn't small print; it's how we've run for fifteen years.