RSMeans is fine for ballparks, but yeah, it never feels accurate for custom millwork or high-end tile.
Couldn’t agree more—RSMeans just doesn’t cut it for luxury finishes or anything out of the ordinary. I’ve found that keeping a running tally of actual quotes from local suppliers is the only way to get close. Spreadsheets are great, but you really can’t skip the legwork if you want real numbers. Site visits always reveal surprises that calculators just miss.
TITLE: Estimating building expenses: what tools or sites do you trust?
I get where you’re coming from—site visits and real quotes are gold, no question. But I wouldn’t write off RSMeans entirely, even for high-end stuff. It’s not perfect, but if you calibrate their numbers with a few local bids and adjust for project specifics, it’s a decent baseline. Sometimes, especially early in design, there just isn’t time to chase down every supplier for pricing on custom elements. I’ll use RSMeans or similar databases as a starting point, then fine-tune once we get into more detail.
That said, I’ve seen spreadsheets balloon out of control when people try to track every little thing manually. At some point, you’re spending more time updating numbers than actually designing. There’s a balance—use the tools for what they’re good at, but don’t lean on any one method too hard. And yeah, nothing beats walking the site and talking to subs when it comes to the weird surprises.
I hear you on spreadsheets getting out of hand—mine always end up with like 20 tabs and I lose track of what’s what. I’ve used RSMeans a bit, but honestly, for my own build, I found Homewyse pretty handy for ballpark numbers. Not perfect, but it gave me a sense of where things might land before I started calling around. Once I had a rough idea, I just started bugging local suppliers and subs for real numbers. It’s definitely a juggling act... sometimes feels like herding cats trying to keep it all straight.
Honestly, I’ve never trusted Homewyse for anything beyond a vague ballpark. It’s just too generic—regional pricing swings can be wild, and the details get lost. RSMeans is better, but even that needs a lot of local adjustment. I usually end up building my own cost models... tedious, but at least I know where the numbers come from.
I hear you on Homewyse. It’s decent for getting a “maybe it’s in this ballpark” number, but the devil’s always in the details, right? I’ve had clients reference it and then get sticker shock when the bids come in 20% higher (or lower, sometimes, which is even weirder). RSMeans is a step up if you’re willing to wade through the data, but I still end up tweaking half of it based on local subs’ quotes.
Curious—when you build your own models, do you start from scratch every time or have you built up a library of templates? I keep thinking about making a master spreadsheet, but every project seems to need its own tweaks. And how do you handle stuff like material shortages or sudden price spikes? I swear, lumber prices give me whiplash lately...