Putting it together — one full bid
The whole pipeline on one small job, a deck, with illustrative numbers — so you can see exactly how a takeoff becomes a price.
In this series
A deck, priced end to end
| Item | Type | Qty | Unit cost | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decking boards (+10% waste) | Area | 220 SF | $4.50 | $990 |
| Framing lumber | Linear | 180 LF | $2.20 | $396 |
| Footings (concrete) | Volume | 1.5 CY | $180 | $270 |
| Hardware and fasteners | Count | 1 lot | $150 | $150 |
| Labor | Hours | 40 hr | $38 burdened | $1,520 |
| Direct cost | $3,326 | |||
| + Contingency (5%) | $166 | |||
| + Markup to hit 33% margin (×1.5 on cost) | $1,746 | |||
| Client price | ≈ $5,238 |
Read down the left column and you can see every chapter in this series doing its job: the four takeoff types, the cost buckets, the burdened labor rate, the contingency, and the markup that delivers the margin you picked.
You did it
You can now read a plan and price it. Next in the path is running the job: scheduling, coordinating trades, and managing changes in the field. Keep the The quick-reference pack handy and bid your next job the disciplined way.
- Chapter 7 of 13
Overhead and profit — markup vs. margin
Markup and margin are not the same percentage, and the difference is where new contractors quietly go broke. Set the margin first, then back into the markup.
- Chapter 13 of 13
The quick-reference pack
The whole course on one page. Print it, keep it with your bids, and run the checklist before anything goes out the door.
