Construction estimating services in Tacoma, WA

The figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey for 2025, covering permits issued by the city itself. The survey counts new privately-owned residential units only, so it excludes commercial, industrial, and government projects, and it excludes additions and alterations. That is why the 742 units and the $89M permitted value should be read as a residential activity indicator, not as a total construction market measure. Use it to gauge the mix of single-family and multifamily work, and pull commercial permit records separately if you need the full picture.

Tacoma has a mix of glacial till, outwash sand and gravel, and softer marine deposits, and the water table can be shallow near the tideflats and the waterfront. That variability means a foundation takeoff should follow the geotechnical report rather than a standard detail. Expect to price over-excavation, structural fill, and sometimes a capillary break or under-slab drainage where the soils are wet. If the report calls for pin piles or over-excavated footings, those are separate line items from the strip footings. Confirm the geotechnical recommendations and the adopted building code with the local building department before you finalize quantities.

With 680 of the 742 new residential units permitted in 2025 in multifamily buildings, most of the volume here is repetitive. We organize the takeoff by floor and by unit type so the repeating units are priced once and the unique areas, such as corridors, stairs, elevators, and amenity spaces, are priced separately. That structure makes it easy to compare a four-story plan against a five-story plan, and it exposes the cost of the extra floor rather than burying it in a square-foot average. It also lets the framer and the MEP subcontractor bid the same unit count you used.

A 13R system is the residential standard, designed around a dwelling-unit layout with a limited number of heads and a domestic water supply, and it is common in wood-frame multifamily buildings. A 13 system is a full commercial standard with a dedicated supply and a hydraulic calculation that covers the whole building, and it is typically required in high-rise or mixed-use occupancies. The head count and the pipe sizing change between the two, so the takeoff must start from the fire protection engineer's design basis. Confirm the required standard and the adopted code edition with the local building department and the fire marshal.

We can include demolition quantities when the scope is clear, but abatement is a separate trade with its own regulations. Older Tacoma buildings may contain asbestos in floor tile, mastic, pipe insulation, and roofing, and lead paint in pre-1978 structures. Those materials require a survey and a certified abatement contractor, and the disposal is priced by weight with manifest documentation. We recommend carrying abatement as a separate allowance rather than blending it into the demolition line, because the unit costs and the risk profile are different. Confirm abatement requirements with the local air authority and the building department.

Send the architectural, structural, and MEP drawings in PDF, along with any specifications, schedules, and the geotechnical report if it is available. If you have a bid date, tell us, because we work on a 24 to 48 hour turnaround for most projects and rush service is available. We return an Excel workbook and a PDF organized by CSI MasterFormat division, with marked-up plan sets so you can trace every quantity back to the sheet. Include the unit mix and the site plan if the project is multifamily, since those drive the repetition and the sitework quantities.

Washington applies retail sales tax to construction materials, and the rate depends on the delivery location, so we price material line items with the applicable local rate and show it separately. Prevailing wage applies to public works and to some publicly funded projects, and the wage determination changes by county and by trade. We can produce the takeoff with labor priced at either the open-shop rate or the applicable prevailing wage, but you need to tell us which basis to use before we start. Confirm the current rates and the tax rate with the awarding agency and the Washington Department of Revenue.

We can estimate industrial and port-adjacent work, including warehouses, yards, and utility structures. Those projects usually involve deeper foundations, heavy pavement sections, and more sitework than a residential building, so the takeoff is organized around earthwork, structural concrete, structural steel, and process systems. Marine and near-shore work may require special inspection and corrosion protection, which we carry as separate line items. Our Industrial Estimating Services page lists the divisions we cover. Confirm any port-specific requirements and the applicable code editions with the port authority and the local building department.

We apply waste factors by material rather than one blanket percentage, because the right factor depends on the product and the installation. Typical ranges are 5 to 10 percent for drywall, 7 to 10 percent for framing lumber, 10 percent for roofing shingles, and 2 to 5 percent for concrete, but the actual number should reflect the plan complexity and the panel sizes. On repetitive multifamily floors, the waste factor can come down because the cuts repeat. We show the waste as a separate line in the workbook so you can adjust it if your supplier's packaging changes.

Yes. We cover Tacoma and the surrounding region, including nearby cities such as Seattle, Bellevue, Kent, and the rest of the Puget Sound area, as well as Spokane and Vancouver. Pricing is adjusted by ZIP code for material and labor, so a takeoff for a project in a different city will carry the local cost basis rather than a Tacoma rate. If your project is in a jurisdiction with a different adopted code edition or a different permitting process, tell us so we can flag the items that need local verification. See our Washington construction estimating page for the full coverage list.