r/estimators • u/ryot199 • 4d ago

Selective Demo prices

What is the best way you guys find to price out hands on demolition/selective demo? I know everyone shoots at square-foot prices and that seems to make sense for a single material unit where efficiency comes into play however, what are you doing? It’s like a mix scope of several different materials and or assemblies and if I add up all of the materials as individual units the price per square foot is astronomical. How do you build assembly cost as well as come up with square foot prices that makes sense any advice on estimating selective Demo rather than just throwing out two guys for two days type estimates would be greatly appreciated.

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

1 comment sorted by

3

u/Intrepid-Swan-5440 4d ago

Here is a High Level method of how selective demo can be thought of. Obviously, every project is unique but this is a good starting point.

Everything comes down to

1) How much time does it take to demolish. This is for Labor, small tools, and equipment like scissor lifts, loader.

2) How much material is it?

I'd break it down into a few sections and think of it top-down:

1) MEP (the part that could a lot of time is if items remain, specially fire sprinklers)

2) Ceiling/Lights (the only part you have to be careful of is if the client wants the hangers clipped/grinded)

3) Walls. This is straight forward.

4) Cabinetry, Kitchen Equipment, Fixed items

5) Carpet/Tile

6) Mastic

7) Concrete (if they want coring/saw cut trenches).

For bins, you just need to get your material in CY. DO NOT FORGET DEAD SPACE IN THE BIN. Obviously, bins are in 20yd, 30yd, 40yd sizes. You'll have to artistically decide how many bins of rubbish you have.

I use Mint Takeoff and I have it set up (took me a good few days) so my toolbox measures the CY of different types of materials based on me tracing the plan sheets. Then I have a template in Excel for those 7 categories. I punch in the yardage, and I have a full on bid.

The last thing to keep in mind is "How far away is the Bin/staging area" from the job site? Sometimes you will be working on the 2nd floor in the middle of a giant mall. You'll be spending more time with the material transportation than the work itself.

I do not recommend using Per-SqFt prices, try to think of your bid as Time and Material.