Construction estimating services in Salt Lake City, UT

They come from the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey for 2025, counting permits issued by the city itself for new privately-owned residential units only. That means the 3,217 units and the $773M permitted value cover new residential construction, not commercial, industrial or remodel work. Multifamily accounted for 2,837 of those units, or 88% of the total, which is why podium and wood-frame multifamily takeoffs dominate the local workload. The same survey put Salt Lake City first among the 25 Utah cities we cover, at 27.3% of the covered state total.

Ground snow load varies across the Wasatch Front, and roof framing has to be checked against the adopted code edition and any local amendment for the specific site. In a takeoff this shows up as deeper rafters or larger trusses, closer spacing, and more blocking and bridging. We do not assume a snow load. We read the structural sheets and the jurisdiction's adopted code, then take off the framing as drawn. If the plans do not state the load, we flag it as a request for information rather than guess.

Much of the valley sits on Lake Bonneville deposits, which include silt, sand and fat clay that can be expansive and does not always compact well under a slab. A geotechnical report usually calls for over-excavation below footings and replacement with structural fill at a specified compaction. In a takeoff that becomes a separate line for unsuitable material removal and a separate line for imported fill measured in compacted cubic yards, not loose yards. We price both separately so you can see the cost before the report is finalized.

Yes. Pours between roughly November and March typically need accelerator, insulating blankets, heated enclosures and sometimes a different mix design. We carry each as its own line item rather than burying it in the concrete unit price, so you can see what moving the schedule would save. If the schedule is not set, we can return two versions of the estimate, one for a warm-weather pour and one for winter conditions, from the same takeoff quantities.

Seismic provisions show up as hardware and nailing, not as a single line. We count hold-downs, anchor bolts, straps, blocking and shear-panel nailing by location from the plans, then price them by count or by linear foot. Mechanical and electrical equipment bracing is taken off with the MEP package. If the structural sheets show a shear wall schedule, we take off from that schedule and reconcile it against the floor plan so nothing is double-counted or missed.

Send the complete plan set, including architectural, structural, civil and MEP sheets, plus the geotechnical report if you have it and any specifications or addenda. Marked-up plan sets help us match your scope. We return the takeoff in Excel and PDF organized by CSI MasterFormat division, with the marked-up plan set showing what we measured. Most projects come back in 24–48 hours, and rush turnaround is available. Start at our get an estimate page.

Yes. We cover the Wasatch Front, including West Valley City, Provo and West Jordan, and the surrounding Utah County and Davis County markets. Pricing is adjusted by ZIP code for both material and labor, so a takeoff for a Provo address does not carry Salt Lake City unit costs. If your project is in one of those cities, the city page for that location describes the local drivers we build into the estimate.

A single-family takeoff is mostly one-of-everything: one roof, one set of mechanical equipment, one service. A multifamily building repeats units, so we build a typical-unit takeoff and a multiplier, then take off common areas, corridors, stairs, elevators and the roof separately. The risk shifts to the common scope and to the podium or podium-adjacent structure, which is where bids usually diverge. We organize the estimate so you can see unit cost and common cost side by side.

Yes, with the understanding that quantities move as the design develops. On an early set we take off what is drawn, flag the systems that are not yet designed, and note the assumptions in the estimate. That gives you a budget number you can carry forward rather than a firm bid. When the construction documents are issued, we re-takeoff the changed sheets and reconcile against the earlier version so you can see where the cost moved.

We return Excel workbooks and PDF reports organized by CSI MasterFormat division, along with a marked-up plan set showing the measurements behind each line. The Excel file carries quantities, units and the pricing basis so you can adjust unit costs to your own subcontractor quotes. If you work in a specific estimating platform, tell us at the start and we will match the column structure you need.