Priced by building system
Structural, envelope, and interior trade-offs are visible individually.
Oregon design decisions carry costs that a generic national estimate will not see - seismic bracing sized for the Cascadia zone, a rainscreen wall assembly built for nine months of weather, a mass timber structure priced by the panel supplier rather than a lumber factor.
Estimating Buddies produces architectural cost estimating, quantity takeoff and material takeoff for architects, developers, owners and contractors working across Oregon, from a Bend accessory dwelling unit to a Portland mass timber office building. Every estimate is measured, priced to the region, and delivered with the assumptions written down.
Wall section
What a Pacific Northwest wall carries
Cladding
Exterior finish
Vented
Rainscreen gap
WRB / sheathing
Weather barrier
Framing + insulation
Wall assembly
Interior finish
Inside face
A simplified rainscreen wall section, typical of Oregon commercial and multifamily construction. Every one of these layers is a measured cost item in your estimate - not a percentage allowance.
24-72 hrs
Typical turnaround, from ADU plans to full commercial sets
36 counties
Statewide Oregon coverage, Portland to Klamath Falls
Priced by system
Mass timber, seismic, and envelope carried as their own line items
Fixed fee
Quoted from your drawings before any work begins
The case for estimating during design
Design decisions in Oregon carry cost consequences that are easy to underestimate from a distance. A curtain wall percentage decided in schematic design interacts with the seismic system underneath it. A cladding choice made for appearance has to survive nine months of rain. A structural system decided early determines whether the building qualifies for a mass timber cost advantage or pays a steel and concrete premium instead.
When those decisions get priced while they are still lines on a page, the owner trades one thing for another with real numbers in front of them. When they get priced for the first time at bid opening, the trade has already been made for them, usually against the schedule and the fee.
We do not design, build, or bid. Our number is independent of any product, supplier, or contractor, which is the only way a cost opinion stays useful to the people relying on it.
Structural, envelope, and interior trade-offs are visible individually.
Seismic, envelope, and timber scope measured as quantities, not carried as a contingency line.
Reconciled against the prior estimate at every milestone, so the owner sees what moved and why.
Every quantity traceable to a drawing sheet, checkable by your team in minutes.
Assumptions, exclusions, and allowances documented, never buried in a lump sum.
Independent of any contractor, product line, or supplier relationship.
Scope of services
Eleven service lines spanning a drawing set’s life, from an early feasibility number to a bid-ready detailed estimate.
Feasibility
Order-of-magnitude cost from a site, a program, and a building type, before design starts - enough to test whether a project pencils.
Preliminary
Cost built from massing, floor plans, and an outline structural and envelope strategy, with the range stated honestly for how early it is.
DD
Measured quantities as systems firm up, reconciled against the preliminary number line by line so every dollar of movement has a reason attached.
CD
Full detailed estimate from complete drawings and specifications - the number used to check bids or set a guaranteed maximum price.
QTO
Measured quantities with no pricing applied, for teams with their own cost database who need the counting done at volume.
MTO
Purchase-ready material lists by size, type, and specification, formatted for direct supplier quoting.
Analysis
Cost per square foot benchmarking and system-by-system comparison against similar Oregon projects, with a written read on where the design sits.
VE
Priced alternatives, not vague suggestions - what the budget looks like with a different structural system, envelope, or finish package, side by side.
Bid
For contractors: complete bid packages with scope letters, exclusions, alternates, and a reviewed bid summary ahead of the due time.
Recon
Independent check of a contractor’s or CM’s number against ours, with gaps identified and quantified for the negotiation.
Control
An ongoing cost model updated at every design milestone, so the project tracks its budget rather than discovering it at bid opening.
What actually moves an Oregon number
These are not footnotes. On the projects we see, they routinely account for a meaningful share of total construction cost, and a national cost database will not carry them correctly.
Seismic
Oregon sits on the Cascadia Subduction Zone, and current structural code requirements reflect that directly - heavier lateral systems, more connection detailing, bracing of nonstructural components and ceilings, and, on older buildings, retrofit scope for unreinforced masonry or soft-story conditions. We measure this as structural quantity, not a percentage add-on.
Envelope
Western Oregon’s wet season drives detailed rainscreen assemblies, continuous weather-resistive barriers, flashing at every penetration and window, and building envelope commissioning on larger projects. Envelope failures are the most expensive litigation risk in the region, so the drawings usually specify more detailing than a dry-climate project would, and that detailing is real labor.
Timber
Oregon is a national center for mass timber manufacturing and design, home to the TallWood Design Institute and several completed CLT high-rises. Panel supply, connection hardware, fire rating strategy, exposed-finish tolerances, and crane sequencing are all specific to the system and priced from the supplier and erector, not backed into from a generic wood-frame unit cost.
Energy
Oregon runs one of the more demanding statewide energy codes in the country, layered on top of the structural specialty code. It drives higher envelope performance, more careful thermal bridging detail, and mechanical system selection, with rebates available through Energy Trust of Oregon on qualifying projects that change the owner’s economics without changing your installed cost.
Land use
Oregon’s land use system concentrates growth inside urban growth boundaries, which pushes a large share of new housing into podium and mid-rise multifamily on constrained infill sites. That means more shoring, tighter site logistics, party-wall and adjacent-structure protection, and, since statewide ADU legalization, a steady volume of accessory dwelling and small-lot infill work.
Labor
Contractors are licensed through the Construction Contractors Board, and public works above statutory thresholds trigger prevailing wage rates set by the Bureau of Labor and Industries. That labor difference is one of the most common reasons a public-project estimate and a private-project estimate of similar size land far apart.
Regulatory notes are given for planning context. Adopted code editions, thresholds, and program details change over time - confirm current requirements with the Building Codes Division, the authority having jurisdiction, and your project team.
What gets measured
We report by building system so the design team can read the estimate, and by CSI division so the contractor can bid it - same numbers, two views.
Substructure
Excavation, shoring, and lateral earth support on constrained infill sites, footings, foundation walls, slab on grade, drainage, and waterproofing.
Structure
Mass timber, structural steel, concrete frames, and wood or cold-formed steel framing, seismic lateral systems, connections, floor and roof assemblies, stairs.
Envelope
Rainscreen cladding, weather-resistive barrier, flashing, windows and storefront, insulation, air barrier continuity, and envelope commissioning where specified.
Roofing
Membrane and metal roofing, insulation, overflow and primary drainage sized for the region’s rainfall, green roof assemblies where specified.
Interiors
Partitions, interior doors and glazing, specialties, casework and millwork, including exposed mass timber finish protection where applicable.
Finishes
Flooring, base and trim, ceilings, wall finishes, paint and coatings, acoustic treatment appropriate to exposed structure conditions.
Services
Mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection carried at the level the drawings support, plus elevators and low-voltage systems.
Sitework
Grading, stormwater management sized to local requirements, paving, site utilities, landscape, and infill-site logistics allowances.
Indirect
General conditions, insurance and bonds, permits and fees, design contingency, escalation, overhead and profit.
Deliverables
A complete package the design team can present and the contractor can bid from - same numbers, two views.
System summary showing cost and cost per square foot by building system, formatted for an owner presentation.
Detailed line-item estimate in Excel with quantities, units, material, labor, equipment, and subcontract cost on every row.
CSI division view of the same numbers, for teams building toward bid packages.
Marked-up drawing set in colour-coded PDF, so any quantity can be traced back to the sheet.
Material list sorted for supplier quoting, by size, type, and specification.
Basis of estimate narrative: what was included, excluded, assumed, and carried as allowance.
Reconciliation sheet comparing this estimate against the previous milestone, with each variance explained.
Option pricing where alternates or value engineering items were requested, shown side by side.
Sample output
A condensed system summary of the kind we would issue at design development for a mass timber office building. The real deliverable runs to several hundred priced lines.
Illustrative summary - 52,000 SF five-story mass timber office building
PORTLAND, OREGON · DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
Building system
Basis of measure
Quantity
Cost
$/SF
Shoring and foundations
Infill site, soldier pile shoring
1 ls
$1,142,000
21.96
Mass timber superstructure
CLT floors, glulam columns and beams
52,000 sf
$4,368,000
84.00
Seismic lateral system
Steel braced frames, connections
1 ls
$1,872,000
36.00
Rainscreen envelope
Metal panel and glazing, WRB, flashing
31,400 sf
$2,512,000
48.31
Roofing and drainage
Membrane roof, overflow scuppers
10,900 sf
$436,000
8.38
Interior construction and finishes
Partitions, exposed timber protection
52,000 sf
$1,924,000
37.00
Conveying systems
Two traction elevators
2 ea
$486,000
9.35
Mechanical and plumbing
VRF systems, dedicated outdoor air
52,000 sf
$2,652,000
51.00
Electrical and low voltage
Service, distribution, lighting
52,000 sf
$1,612,000
31.00
Fire protection
Wet sprinkler, timber fire strategy
52,000 sf
$364,000
7.00
Site improvements and stormwater
Infill logistics, on-site detention
1 ls
$886,000
17.04
General conditions and requirements
Downtown site supervision, cranes
1 ls
$1,248,000
24.00
Design contingency and escalation
DD stage allowance
1 ls
$1,092,000
21.00
Total construction cost - excluding land, design fees, FF&E, and owner soft costs
$20,594,000
$396.04 / SF
Figures are a worked illustration of format only, not a quotation or a cost benchmark. Every project is priced from its own drawings, specifications, site conditions, and current Oregon market pricing.
Clients
Architects, developers, owners, and contractors each hand an estimate to a different desk. The package is built for that handoff.
Independent cost input at each milestone, so you can present a defensible budget without carrying estimating staff in-house.
Feasibility numbers early, hard numbers later, and a cost model that stays current through land use review and design.
Bid-stage takeoffs and pricing when the estimating department is at capacity, or a second set of eyes on a large pursuit.
Independent cost checks on panel packages and erection sequencing for teams bidding CLT and glulam structures.
Third-party cost review before signing a GMP, and capital planning across a portfolio of buildings.
Independent estimates for reconciliation against trade pricing during preconstruction.
Budget estimates for funding requests and bid evaluation, with prevailing wage assumptions documented for the record.
Pre-construction cost for custom homes, additions, and ADUs, priced per plan for builders repeating a design.
Project types
Multifamily, mass timber, commercial, industrial, residential, and seismic retrofit - each estimated around the systems and site conditions that show up on that type of Oregon job.
How it runs
Six steps from the plans you send to a priced estimate you can walk a client through.
01
A full set, DD drawings, or concept plans and a written program. Tell us the location, the stage, and what the number needs to do.
02
An estimator reviews scope and drawing completeness and returns a fixed price and delivery date. No hourly billing, no surprises.
03
Digital measurement in Bluebeam or PlanSwift, or model-based extraction from Revit, colour-coded by system so nothing is counted twice.
04
Current supplier and subcontractor pricing for the region, with labor rates matched to Portland metro, the Willamette Valley, or Central and Southern Oregon as applicable.
05
A second estimator checks quantities against the drawings, writes the basis-of-estimate narrative, and reconciles against your previous milestone.
06
Full package plus a call to walk through assumptions, options, and risk items, so you can present it to your client with confidence.
Turnaround
If you are working to a client presentation date, tell us and we build the schedule around it.
24 hours
ADU, addition, or small residential
24 to 48 hours
Commercial building, single discipline
2 to 4 business days
Full multi-trade commercial estimate
3 to 5 business days
Mass timber, institutional, or campus work
Usually same day
Revision after an addendum or design change
Tools
Bluebeam Revu and PlanSwift for PDF takeoff, Autodesk Revit and AutoCAD for model-based quantities, and Excel for the estimate itself. Costs are built from live regional supplier and subcontractor pricing, mass timber panel quotes where relevant, and your own historical unit costs where you have them.
Bluebeam Revu
PDF takeoff and markup
PlanSwift
Quantity takeoff
Autodesk Revit
Model-based quantities
AutoCAD
Drawing-based quantities
Excel
The estimate itself
Regional supplier pricing
Live Oregon material and labor rates
Mass timber panel quotes
CLT and glulam where relevant
Historical unit costs
Your own costs, where you have them
Engagement
We quote a fixed fee per project, always before work begins, so estimating cost is a known line in your fee proposal rather than an open-ended expense. First-time clients often start with one live project to compare our number against their own before committing to anything larger.
Per project
Milestone package
Monthly retainer
Fees
A single-family home or small tenant improvement is typically a few hundred dollars. Multifamily, mass timber, institutional, and larger commercial projects are priced per project based on square footage, drawing completeness, and the number of design options to price.
01
The volume of drawing to measure.
02
A preliminary budget takes less time than a CD takeoff.
03
Mass timber and complex seismic systems take longer to price accurately.
04
Dimensioned, coordinated sets cost less to estimate than scans.
05
Each priced alternative is additional work.
06
Standard delivery against a same-day rush.
Included
The full deliverable set, not a summary page
A walkthrough call to review assumptions with your team
One revision pass after addenda or a bounded design change
A signed NDA, on request, before drawings are sent
A commitment not to estimate the same project for a competing bidder
Client feedback
From mass timber offices in Portland to repeating ADU plans in Bend.
Portland
“They priced the mass timber structure against the actual panel supplier’s quote instead of a wood-frame factor. That was the number that finally matched our GC’s.”
Principal architect
Eugene
“The reconciliation sheet showed exactly what the seismic upgrade added between schematic and DD. That is what got the owner comfortable signing off.”
Development manager
Bend
“We build the same ADU plan on a dozen lots a year. Having one estimate we can reuse and adjust per site saved real time.”
Residential builder
Coverage
We work remotely and deliver statewide, across all 36 Oregon counties. These are the markets we estimate in most often.
Portland metro
Willamette Valley
Central Oregon
Southern Oregon
Working somewhere not listed? Send the drawings anyway - coverage is statewide, including the coast and rural counties where freight and travel need to be priced in.
Request a fixed fee
A full architectural set, design development drawings, or concept plans with a written program. Tell us the project location, the construction timeline, and whether you want a preliminary budget, a quantity takeoff, or a detailed bid estimate.
Questions
Architectural cost estimating turns your drawings into a priced construction budget. We measure quantities from the plans, price them to current Oregon material and labor rates, and report the result by building assembly so the design team can see what each decision costs. It runs from an early preliminary number off a site plan and program, through design development, to a detailed estimate from finished construction documents. Matching trade quantities are covered by our piping estimating services.
We quote a fixed fee per project once we have reviewed the drawings. A single-family home or small tenant improvement is typically a few hundred dollars. Multifamily, mass timber, institutional, and larger commercial projects are priced per project based on square footage, drawing completeness, and the number of design options to price. Firms estimating regularly can move to a monthly retainer. A connected scope is available through our Xactimate estimating services.