Why General Requirements Cannot Be Estimated as a Percentage

Many contractors estimate General Requirements using a flat percentage of construction cost. While this approach may work for rough budgeting, it rarely reflects the actual needs of a specific project.
A twelve-month hospital expansion requires substantially different staffing, safety protocols, temporary utilities, and quality control than a four-month retail renovation. Urban projects introduce traffic control, limited staging areas, and complex logistics, while occupied renovations demand dust containment, phased construction, infection control, and after-hours work.
Our estimates are developed from project duration, staffing requirements, logistics, and site conditions rather than relying on generalized percentages that may understate or overstate actual project overhead.

Project Duration Is the Primary Cost Driver

General Requirements increase or decrease primarily based on time.
Every additional month of construction extends supervision, temporary facilities, equipment rentals, utilities, insurance, site security, and administrative support. Even relatively small schedule extensions can significantly impact project overhead despite little change in direct construction quantities.
Our estimating process evaluates anticipated project duration, sequencing, procurement schedules, and construction phasing to develop overhead budgets that align with realistic project timelines.

Preconstruction Creates Better Construction Budgets

Accurate estimating begins long before construction starts.
During preconstruction, contractors and owners evaluate design alternatives, compare structural systems, identify procurement risks, review constructability, and establish realistic project budgets before final drawings are completed. Early estimating also supports value engineering by allowing teams to compare multiple design solutions before committing to construction documents.
Our preconstruction estimates evolve alongside the design process-from conceptual budgets during schematic design to detailed bid-ready estimates during construction documentation-helping project teams make informed decisions at every stage.

Who This Is For

General contractors use our General Requirements estimates to prepare competitive bids, negotiated proposals, GMPs, and internal project budgets. Construction managers rely on our preconstruction services to support budgeting, scheduling, and procurement planning throughout design development. Developers, architects, owners, and design-build teams use our conceptual estimates and value engineering services to evaluate project feasibility, manage costs, and reduce financial risk before construction begins.

What Is Included in Your General Requirements Estimate

  • Project management & supervision - project managers, superintendents, field engineers, assistant superintendents, administrative staff, and project coordination.
  • Temporary facilities - jobsite offices, trailers, storage containers, temporary fencing, gates, signage, utilities, and site security.
  • Temporary utilities - temporary electrical service, water, sanitation facilities, communication systems, and utility consumption during construction.
  • Site logistics - crane coordination, material staging, temporary roads, laydown areas, traffic control, and delivery planning.
  • Safety & compliance - OSHA compliance, site safety personnel, safety equipment, training, inspections, and documentation.
  • Permits & inspections - building permits, agency fees, testing requirements, third-party inspections, and occupancy coordination.
  • Quality control & testing - material testing, special inspections, surveying, commissioning support, and quality assurance programs.
  • Project scheduling & coordination - CPM scheduling, subcontractor coordination, meetings, reporting, and document management.
  • Cleaning & closeout - progress cleaning, final cleaning, waste removal, punch list coordination, and project closeout documentation.
  • Preconstruction services - conceptual estimating, constructability reviews, value engineering, budgeting, procurement planning, and bid package development.

General Requirements Sub-Trades

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CSI DIV

General Conditions Estimating Services

General conditions are the project-level costs required to manage, support, and operate a constructi...

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CSI DIV

Preconstruction Budgeting Services

Preconstruction budgeting establishes an informed cost expectation before construction begins. Early...

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CSI DIV

Bid Preparation & Bid Day Support Services

Winning a construction bid requires more than completing a quantity takeoff. Contractors must organi...

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