'es-ti-mate noun
1. the act of appraising or valuing
2. a rough or approximate calculation
- Webster's
There are two main categories of estimates in the construction industry — the budget estimate and the contractor's estimate — but both are very different. A contractor's estimate necessarily proposes the least amount of work to satisfy the bid documents in order for the contractor to win bidding contests. Budget estimating, on the other hand, takes place early in the process and must add for items not explicitly shown or specified. There is no competition to be low. Indeed, the ideal position of the budget estimate is "second low bid" - a bit conservative but still accurately positioning the project with respect to the owner's budget.
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