Sitework and excavation
Cut, fill, backfill and haul quantities measured against caliche and rocky alluvium common on Cedar City benches.
CY · LF · TONCedar City, UT
Construction estimating services in Cedar City, UT
Cedar City permitted 381 new single-family units in 2025, all of them houses, none multifamily. We produce CSI MasterFormat takeoffs and estimates from your plan set in 24–48 hours, priced to Iron County labor and material costs.
24–48 hours for most projectsTypical turnaround
Every CSI divisionSitework through MEP
Cedar City ZIP pricingLocal material and labor
Price confirmed firstBefore any work starts
Census BPS · Cedar City · 2025Real permit data
Cedar City new housing permits2025
New housing units381Change vs. 2024+3%Permitted construction value$103MAverage value per unit$270,600Rank among covered Utah cities#10
Single-family: 381 (100%)Multifamily: 0 (0%)
U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2025. Residential only.
What makes construction estimating in Cedar City, UT different?
Cedar City pricing turns on four local drivers: caliche and rocky alluvium that push excavation and backfill costs, a short cold-winter building season around 5,800 feet elevation, long truck hauls from St. George and Las Vegas suppliers, and Iron County wind and snow exposure that drive roof and lateral design loads.
- Cedar City permitted 381 new housing units in 2025, #10 among the Utah cities we cover.
- About 0% were in multifamily buildings; 100% were single-family.
- Permit volume was up 3% compared with 2024.
Cedar City sits at the north end of the Iron County corridor, where most of the 2025 residential permit volume was detached single-family work — 381 units worth $103M, an average of $270,600 per unit. That mix means the estimates that matter here are full-house takeoffs: footing and stemwall concrete, slab-on-grade, wood framing, truss packages, and the mechanical, electrical and plumbing rough-in that follows. We measure those scopes from your PDFs in Bluebeam Revu, PlanSwift and RSMeans data, and deliver Excel and PDF quantities organized by CSI MasterFormat division with the marked-up plan set attached.
Because the market is single-family rather than multifamily, scope gaps show up in the same places over and over: excavation classified as "rock" without a bid item, footing concrete counted without the pier pads, roof sheathing and ice barrier omitted from the truss package, and exterior finishes quoted without the scratch and brown coats. Our takeoffs name each line item, its unit of measure and the waste factor so your bid carries the cost rather than absorbing it. If you are bidding across the region, see our Utah construction estimating overview, or the pages for Spanish Fork and Tooele.
- Coverage
- Cedar City and nearby Utah communities
- Deliverable
- Excel estimate + marked-up PDF plans
- Pricing basis
- Cedar City ZIP-code material and labor costs
- Turnaround
- 24–48 hours for most projects
- Software
- Bluebeam Revu, PlanSwift, RSMeans data
01
For bidders. Send the plan set and we return a division-by-division takeoff with quantities, units and waste factors so you can price labor and mark up with confidence before the bid date.
02
For builders. Use the estimate as a buyout baseline. Compare framing, concrete and MEP quantities against subcontractor quotes to catch scope that was priced short or left out entirely.
03
For owners. Get a line-item budget before design is final. We flag the cost drivers — excavation, roof system, mechanical — that move a Cedar City house budget most.
Cedar City by the numbers
Cedar City's residential construction pipeline
Select a bar to compare Cedar City with the largest Utah markets we cover.
381New housing units, 2025
3.2%Of all units in the Utah cities we cover
$103MPermitted residential value
0%In multifamily buildings
New housing units permitted in 2025. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
This city
Cedar City
381 new housing units in 2025 (+3.3% vs 2024).
381 single-family · 0 multifamily (0%).
381 units, all single-family
The 2025 permit data tells a clear story: 381 new privately-owned residential units in Cedar City, up from 369 in 2024, a 3 percent increase. Every one of those units was single-family — zero multifamily — and the permitted value was $103M, or $270,600 per unit. Cedar City ranked 10th of 25 covered Utah cities by unit count and accounted for 3.2 percent of the 11,785 statewide units in our coverage. For a bidder, that means your competition is other custom and production home builders, not apartment GCs, and your estimate should carry full site-built scope rather than the repetition savings a multifamily takeoff assumes. Compare that to the density-driven work in Pleasant Grove and American Fork, where the unit mix looks different.
What the per-unit value implies
At $270,600 average permitted value per unit, these are not bare-bones houses. That number supports finishes, upgraded mechanical systems and full landscaping allowances, so an estimate that prices only structure and drywall will read low against what the market is actually building. It also means the soft costs — permits, impact fees, engineering — are a smaller share of the total, and the hard-cost takeoff is where bids are won or lost. We price material and labor with ZIP-code adjustments for the Cedar City area rather than a statewide average, because haul distance from St. George and Las Vegas suppliers and the shorter building season both show up in unit costs. If your project is commercial or institutional rather than residential, our commercial estimating services cover that scope.
Services
Construction estimating services in Cedar City
We take off the scopes that dominate Cedar City residential and light commercial work, from dirt to finishes.
Concrete and flatwork
Footings, stemwalls, pier pads, slab-on-grade and driveways, with formwork and reinforcement itemized separately.
CY · SF · LBFoundation takeoff
Spread footings, rebar schedule, anchor bolts and damp-proofing for the frost-depth foundations Iron County requires.
CY · LF · EAFraming and trusses
Floor, wall and roof framing by member size, plus sheathing, hardware and a truss package priced per piece.
BF · SF · EARoofing systems
Underlayment, ice barrier, shingles and flashing, sized for Cedar City snow and wind exposure.
SQ · LF · EAMEP rough-in
Plumbing, HVAC and electrical rough measured by fixture, register, device and linear run before drywall.
EA · LF · TONResidential estimating
Full-house takeoffs for the single-family product that makes up all of Cedar City's 2025 permit volume.
SF · EA · LSCommercial estimating
Division-by-division takeoffs for retail, office and institutional work along the Cedar City corridor.
SF · EA · LSWho we provide estimates for
Who we write Cedar City estimates for
General contractors
You are bidding detached houses in Iron County where the average permitted unit carries $270,600 in value. We hand you division-by-division quantities so your bid covers footing concrete, framing lumber and MEP rough-in without padding.
Framing and concrete subcontractors
Cedar City's 381 permitted single-family units in 2025 were almost all stick-framed on excavated footings. We count studs, plates, headers, joists, sheathing and anchor bolts so your material order matches the plan set.
Residential builders and developers
You are running repeat plans on scattered lots around Cedar City. We produce a buyout baseline per plan so you can compare truss, concrete and mechanical quotes across trades without re-measuring every revision.
Architects and designers
Your drawings go out for bid in a market where a missing ice barrier or pier pad shows up as a change order. We mark up the plan set with quantities and flag scope gaps before the bid date.
Owners and custom-home clients
You are building one house and need to see where the money goes. We break the estimate into line items — excavation, foundation, framing, roof, MEP, finishes — so you can compare bids on the same scope.
Property managers and remodelers
Cedar City has older housing stock near the center that gets gutted and rebuilt. We measure selective demolition, framing repairs and MEP replacements from your as-built drawings and photos.
Where we provide estimates
Cedar City areas and nearby communities we cover
We take off plans for projects inside Cedar City and across the Iron County corridor. If your site is outside the city limits, the same quantities apply; only the permit office changes.
Cedar City central and north
- Downtown Cedar City
- Coal Creek
- North Cedar City
- Cedar Ridge
- Fiddlers Canyon
Cedar City south and east
- South Cedar City
- Kanarraville
- Enoch
- Parowan
- Brian Head
Nearby communities we cover
Property types
Types of Cedar City properties we estimate
Cedar City's 2025 permit data shows 381 new privately-owned residential units, all single-family, with no multifamily permits. That is the mix we size our takeoffs for.
Single-family homes
Detached houses on slab-on-grade or crawlspace foundations, wood-framed with truss roofs. We take off footing and stemwall concrete, anchor bolts, sill plate, floor framing, wall framing, sheathing, roof trusses and sheathing, windows, doors, siding, drywall and MEP rough-in.
Watch for: Pier pads, hold-downs, ice barrier and scratch/brown coats
Custom and luxury homes
Larger custom houses with complex roof lines, steel beams, tall walls and upgraded mechanical systems. We measure beam and column steel, engineered lumber, standing-seam or tile roof, and the extra MEP runs that come with a larger footprint.
Watch for: Steel connection details, tall-wall bracing, roof cricket framing
Townhomes and attached units
Attached single-family units on shared foundations with party walls. We count fire-rated assemblies, separate utility runs, and the shared excavation and backfill that one bidder may assume the other is carrying.
Watch for: Fire separation, party-wall framing, shared utility trenching
Light commercial buildings
Small offices, retail shells and shops along the Cedar City corridors. We take off site concrete, structural steel or wood frame, storefront glazing, roof membrane or metal, and the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems sized for tenant fit-out.
Watch for: Tenant improvements, storefront, roof curbs and penetrations
Agricultural and outbuildings
Shops, barns and equipment sheds on larger parcels around Iron County. We measure slab or gravel floor, post-frame or steel frame, metal skin, overhead doors and the electrical service run from the meter to the panel.
Watch for: Slab thickness, door openings, service trench depth
Additions and remodels
Room additions, kitchen and bath remodels, and garage conversions on older Cedar City homes. We measure selective demolition, new framing tie-ins, roof transitions, and the MEP modifications needed to extend existing systems.
Watch for: Tie-in framing, roof flashing, existing panel capacity
Local factors
What changes a construction estimate in Cedar City
Cedar City sits at about 5,800 feet in Iron County, where the building season, soil and code edition all affect what a set of plans actually costs to build.
Permitting and code edition
Cedar City and Iron County enforce adopted editions of the IBC, IRC, IECC and NEC, but the edition in force changes on a cycle. Confirm the adopted edition with the Cedar City building department before you price. Snow load, seismic design category and energy-code insulation levels all move quantities: truss engineering, hold-downs, wall bracing, and ceiling and wall R-values.
IBC · IRC · IECC · Cedar City building departmentSoils and foundation design
Much of the Cedar City area sits on alluvial fan and gravelly soils with caliche layers that can read as rock in the excavation. A geotechnical report drives footing width, depth and whether you need over-excavation and structural fill. Without it, bidders either exclude rock or carry a number that will not hold. We take off footing and stemwall concrete by linear foot and pier pads by count so the foundation bid is complete.
Geotechnical report · footing and stemwall · pier pads · structural fillClimate and snow load
Cedar City gets real winter: snow load, freeze-thaw cycles and monsoon-season rain. That affects roof framing, ice barrier at eaves, exterior concrete air entrainment, and footing depth below frost. We include ice and water shield, roof underlayment and the deeper footings the plans call for, because those items are routinely omitted from a quick takeoff and then added as a change order.
Ground snow load · ice barrier · frost depth · air-entrained concreteLabor availability and rates
Iron County has a smaller labor pool than the Wasatch Front, so framing, concrete and MEP crews are often booked out. That tightens bid windows and pushes labor rates above state averages for some trades. Our pricing uses ZIP-code-adjusted material and labor data from RSMeans, so your estimate reflects what Cedar City crews actually charge rather than a statewide average.
RSMeans data · ZIP-code adjustment · Iron County labor poolSite grading and drainage
Lots on the benches and fan slopes need cut and fill, retaining walls and drainage swales to move stormwater away from foundations. We measure site concrete, area drains, downspout extensions and the export or import of fill by cubic yard. If the civil plan shows a retaining wall, we take off the wall footing, block or segmental units, drainage gravel and backfill separately.
Cut and fill · retaining wall · area drain · drainage swaleMaterial logistics and taxes
Cedar City is roughly 250 miles from the Wasatch Front suppliers, so lumber, trusses and mechanical equipment carry freight. Trusses and engineered lumber are often built to order, which adds lead time. Utah sales tax applies to materials, and the rate varies by jurisdiction, so confirm the current rate for the project address. We show material quantities so you can add freight and tax as separate line items.
Freight · truss lead time · Utah sales tax · material quantitiesCedar City estimating guide
How Cedar City conditions show up in a takeoff, trade by trade
Cedar City's high-desert climate, caliche-heavy soils, and steady single-family pipeline change what you measure and how you price it. These are the five trades where the local numbers move most.
Sitework and earthwork
Cedar City sits on basin soils with caliche layers and cobble that force rock excavation allowances in footing and utility trenches. A takeoff that prices only common excavation will miss the hammer or ripping line. Measure stripping separately from structural fill, and carry a swell factor on bank yards hauled off site. Winter grading windows are short at this elevation, so track the import/export balance carefully. Our Sitework Estimating Services break out clearing, grubbing, trench rock, and backfill by area so you can see where the risk sits before you bid.
Framing and wood
Most Cedar City single-family plans are stick-framed with engineered floor systems and prefabricated roof trusses. Take off wall plates in linear feet, studs by count with corner and opening extras, and sheathing in sheets with a typical waste factor. Trusses price per piece from the supplier layout, not per square foot. Account for snow-load-driven member sizing in the roof and any beam upgrades over great rooms. Framing Estimating Services detail plate, stud, header, and truss counts so your lumber package matches the plan set you send out.
MEP rough-in
Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing rough-in is where Cedar City bids drift. Count fixtures, receptacles, switches, and light points from the electrical plan; count supply and drain runs in linear feet from the plumbing plan. HVAC sizing follows the load calculation, so equipment tonnage and duct linear feet move together. Gas lines for furnaces and water heaters are separate. MEP Estimating Services organize Division 22, 23, and 26 line items by system so you can compare sub quotes apples to apples. See our Utah construction estimating overview for how these tie into a full bid.
Concrete and foundations
Residential work here runs on stem-wall and slab-on-grade foundations, with deeper footings where expansive soils show up. Take off concrete by cubic yard for footings, stem walls, and slabs, then convert to ready-mix truckloads. Include vapor barrier, welded wire or fiber mesh, anchor bolts, and hold-down hardware as separate lines. Flatwork adds driveway, walk, and patio square footage that bidders often forget. Our Foundation Estimating Services and Concrete Estimating Services both carry formwork, rebar, and finishing labor at ZIP-code-adjusted rates.
Roofing
Roof pitches here shed snow, so underlayment and ice-dam detailing matter more than in lower-elevation Utah markets. Measure roof area by slope, then add ridge, hip, valley, and eave linear footage. Asphalt shingle, standing seam, and tile all price differently per square, and tear-off adds dumpster and disposal lines. Ventilation and flashing are common omissions. Roofing Estimating Services quantify squares, underlayment rolls, and accessory trim so your bid reflects the actual roof geometry rather than a footprint multiplier.
Scope gaps we see on Cedar City bids
- Rock excavation and caliche removal excluded from sitework, then added as a change order once trenching starts.
- Vapor barrier, capillary break, and rebar chairs left off slab-on-grade lines, so concrete bids look low.
- Truss engineering, delivery, and crane setting not carried in the framing package.
- Ice-dam membrane and valley flashing omitted because the bidder priced roof by footprint only.
- Excavation, backfill, and compaction around utility runs excluded from MEP rough-in scopes.
- Final grade, landscaping, and temporary erosion control dropped from the site package.
Free tool
Concrete volume calculator
Quick check for a single element. For a full drawing set, send the plans and we measure everything, including the items calculators miss.
Typical waste: 3–5% for slabs, 5–10% for footings and walls. Truck count assumes 10 CY loads; confirm load size with your ready-mix supplier.
Result
19.4CY
Net volume18.5 CY
Cubic feet500 CF
Ready-mix trucks (10 CY)2
80 lb bags (premix)875
Need the full takeoff with pricing? Upload your plans.
How it works
How we estimate a Cedar City project
- Read the full setArchitectural, structural, civil and MEP drawings, the geotechnical report and every addendum.
- Check Cedar City conditionsLocal code edition, site and drainage requirements, soils and any hazard rules are confirmed before the takeoff starts.
- Take off by CSI sectionQuantities measured and color-coded on the plans, so every number traces to a sheet.
- Price to Cedar CityMaterial and labor costs adjusted to the project ZIP code, or to your own supplier quotes and crew rates.
- Check and deliverA second estimator checks quantities before the estimate goes out.
Sample output
Sample takeoff: Cedar City single-family residence
| Section | Line item | Qty | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03 30 00 | Footing concrete, 24"x12" | 18.5 | CY |
| 03 30 00 | Stem wall concrete, 8" | 22.0 | CY |
| 03 20 00 | Rebar, #4 and #5 | 3,450 | LB |
| 06 10 00 | Wall framing, 2x6 studs | 1,860 | LF |
| 06 10 00 | Roof trusses, prefab | 42 | EA |
| 07 30 00 | Asphalt shingles, 6:12 pitch | 38 | SQ |
| 22 11 00 | PEX supply lines, 1/2" and 3/4" | 1,240 | LF |
| 26 05 00 | Romex, 12/2 and 14/2 | 2,880 | LF |
Worked example: slab-on-grade concrete for a Cedar City single-family home
This walk-through uses illustrative dimensions for a 1,800-square-foot one-story home on a slab-on-grade foundation. Your actual plan dimensions will differ.
Step 1 — Slab area. The main slab is 40 ft by 45 ft. 40 × 45 = 1,800 SF. Add a 4 ft by 20 ft covered patio: 4 × 20 = 80 SF. Total slab area = 1,880 SF.
Step 2 — Slab volume. At a 4-inch thickness, volume = 1,880 SF × (4 ÷ 12) ft = 626.7 CF. Convert to cubic yards: 626.7 ÷ 27 = 23.2 CY.
Step 3 — Waste factor. Ready-mix orders typically carry a 5% waste allowance for spillage and uneven subgrade. 23.2 × 1.05 = 24.4 CY. Round to 24.5 CY when ordering.
Step 4 — Footings. Perimeter footing is 170 LF at 24 in wide by 12 in deep. Volume = 170 × 2 × 1 = 340 CF. 340 ÷ 27 = 12.6 CY. With 5% waste: 13.2 CY.
Step 5 — Stem walls. Stem wall is 170 LF at 8 in thick by 24 in high. Volume = 170 × 0.667 × 2 = 226.7 CF. 226.7 ÷ 27 = 8.4 CY. With 5% waste: 8.8 CY.
Step 6 — Total concrete. Slab 24.5 + footings 13.2 + stem walls 8.8 = 46.5 CY. Order in full truckloads where possible to reduce short-load charges.
| Step | Calculation | Result | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slab area | 40 × 45 + 4 × 20 | 1,880 | SF |
| Slab volume | 1,880 × 0.333 | 626.7 | CF |
| Slab CY | 626.7 ÷ 27 | 23.2 | CY |
| Slab with waste | 23.2 × 1.05 | 24.4 | CY |
| Footing CY | 340 ÷ 27 | 12.6 | CY |
| Stem wall CY | 226.7 ÷ 27 | 8.4 | CY |
| Total with waste | 24.5 + 13.2 + 8.8 | 46.5 | CY |
Send us your plan set and we will run the same sequence against your actual dimensions, with rebar and formwork broken out separately.
FAQ
Cedar City construction estimating questions
What does a Cedar City residential takeoff cost?
Pricing depends on plan size, number of sheets, and how many trades you need measured. We quote per project after reviewing the plan set. Most single-family takeoffs are returned in 24–48 hours. Rush service is available when your bid deadline is tight. Send the plans through our Get an estimate page and we will confirm scope and turnaround.
Do you price to Cedar City labor and material rates?
Yes. We use RSMeans data adjusted by ZIP code for material and labor pricing, so your numbers reflect the Cedar City market rather than a national average. That matters for concrete, framing, and MEP labor, where local rates can swing a bid. We note the pricing basis in every deliverable so you can see what was adjusted.
What files do you need to start a takeoff?
Send PDF plan sets, and CAD or Revit files if you have them. We work in Bluebeam Revu and PlanSwift, so we can mark up your plan set directly. If you only have a scanned set, we can still measure from it. Include the architectural, structural, and MEP sheets plus any specifications or addenda so nothing gets missed.
How do you handle Cedar City's soil and rock conditions in a takeoff?
We separate common excavation from rock excavation and note caliche or cobble allowances where the geotechnical report identifies them. If no geotech report is provided, we flag the risk in the takeoff notes so you can carry a contingency. We do not guess at rock quantities without a report, but we make the assumption visible.
Can you estimate snow-load-driven roof framing for Cedar City?
We take off roof framing from the structural sheets, including truss counts, beam sizes, and header schedules. Snow load affects member sizing, which the engineer of record sets. We measure what is drawn and note where the design looks light for the local ground snow load so you can raise the question before bid. Confirm the adopted code edition with the Cedar City building department.
Do you cover Iron County and nearby cities?
Yes. We cover Cedar City and Iron County, plus Spanish Fork, Roy, Pleasant Grove, Tooele, and American Fork. If your project is elsewhere in Utah, our Utah construction estimating team can handle it. The same ZIP-code-adjusted pricing and CSI MasterFormat organization apply across all locations.
Where does the Cedar City permit data come from?
The 2025 figures we cite come from the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey, which counts permits issued by the city itself for new privately-owned residential units only. Cedar City issued 381 such units in 2025, up about 3% from 369 in 2024. Multifamily units were zero in that count. The survey does not include commercial or industrial permits.
What format is the final estimate delivered in?
We deliver Excel and PDF files organized by CSI MasterFormat division, with marked-up plan sets showing what was measured. That means you can sort, filter, and adjust quantities in Excel, and your project manager can see exactly where each line came from. We can also provide a summary sheet by trade for quick bid review.
How do you handle waste factors on a Cedar City takeoff?
Waste factors vary by material. Typical allowances are 5% for ready-mix concrete, 10% for framing lumber, 10% for roofing shingles, and 5–10% for drywall. We apply these as separate lines so you can see the base quantity and the waste quantity. If your supplier has a different allowance, we can adjust the factor and rerun the takeoff.
Can you estimate a commercial project in Cedar City?
Yes. We handle commercial and industrial takeoffs in addition to residential. Commercial work often involves steel, masonry, and larger MEP systems, so the takeoff structure differs. We organize by CSI division and include submittal and equipment lines where the specs call for them. Send the drawings and we will confirm scope and turnaround.
Other Utah cities we cover
Popular services in Cedar City
Send your Cedar City project plans for a quote
Upload your plan set and we will return a CSI-organized takeoff with marked-up drawings, typically within 24–48 hours.
- We review the set and check for missing sheets or addenda.
- You get a quote with a price and a delivery date.
- You approve and we start the takeoff.
- You receive the Excel estimate and marked-up plans.