Handy Guide for Designers and Estimators

CplDevilDog · 05-17-2012, 08:17 AM

Our company had a nasty habit of hiring guys right out of school, paying them nothing and then rolling them over as soon as they knew something. The turn-over rate in Estimating and Design was ridiculous and each new batch would make all the same mistakes (The company's documentation procedures were lousy)

I was going through some old documents on the computer and came across this bit of nonsense I must have written after Estimating shorted me $1,000 in steel beams and lintels on my Production Job.

I thought it was humorous at the time I wrote it, YMMV

CplDevilDog · 05-17-2012, 08:19 AM

A Handy Reference for Estimators, Designers and Engineers

1. Two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time.

2. Reducing the estimated material quantities by 20% does not mean the house will actually get built for 20% less.

3. Objects that are heavier than air (i.e. bricks, steel, wood) are acted upon by a force known as gravity and will fall toward the earth unless supported from beneath.

4. An object meant to span an opening must be wider than the opening or it will fall into the opening . Refer to Rule 3

5. 2x4 studs that can be purchased for .07 cents each in Bangladesh cannot necessarily be purchased for .07 cents each in Pittsburgh.

6. Extra materials sent to a job do not evaporate; they must be moved, stored or returned.

7. While it is better to be ‘a little over’ than ‘a little under’ on the materials estimate it is not necessarily better to be ‘a lot over’.

**oh'mike** · 05-17-2012, 08:25 AM

That guide could ave been a few pages longer!