Estimating Buddies puts together mechanical bid estimates, takeoffs, and cost breakdowns for contractors and subcontractors working across Chicagoland and greater Illinois - priced against real Illinois labor rates and checked against the current mechanical code before it lands in your inbox.
Estimate Snapshot - Sample
SHEET M-1
Item
Cost
Ductwork & sheet metal
$9,860
Mechanical equipment
$10,200
Piping & insulation
$3,340
Labor - journeyman
$28,700
IMC · Illinois Energy Code checked OK
Total
$52,100
24–48 hrs
Typical turnaround on standard bids
IL-wide
Coverage, Chicago to Springfield
2nd-check
QA on every estimate before delivery
Any Tier
Res · Comm · Industrial
Sheet 01 - What We Offer
From a first-pass budget number to a fully detailed bid package, we cover the full range of mechanical estimating services an Illinois contractor needs to price, win, and staff a job with confidence.
01
Competitive & negotiated bids
Full mechanical bid estimating from architectural and mechanical drawings - line-item pricing on ductwork, equipment, piping, insulation, and labor, formatted to drop straight into your bid form.
02
Material & labor takeoffs
Detailed counts of ductwork, equipment, piping, insulation, and accessories, broken out by floor, area, or phase so you can track exactly what's driving cost.
03
Coordinated with electrical & plumbing
Where a project needs mechanical estimating alongside electrical and plumbing scope, our MEP estimating services keep quantities and assumptions consistent across all three trades.
04
Built for how you bid
We support general contractors sourcing mechanical numbers for a GMP, and mechanical subcontractors preparing their own bids - our subcontractor estimating services match the level of detail each audience needs.
05
Early-stage cost estimate USA-wide benchmarks
Conceptual and schematic-phase pricing for owners and design teams who need a defensible construction cost estimate before drawings are finished.
06
Mid-project cost tracking
Fast turnaround pricing on scope changes, so change orders get priced and submitted before they slow the schedule down.
Sheet 02 - Who We Serve
Whether you're bidding the job or building the number for someone else, our estimating team fits into your workflow rather than asking you to fit into ours.
A · GC
Mechanical numbers for your GMP or lump-sum bid, formatted to sit alongside every other trade in your estimate.
B · HVAC
Full mechanical bid estimating so your team can focus on relationships and walk-throughs instead of takeoff hours.
C · OWNER
Independent, third-party construction cost estimate support to sanity-check contractor pricing before you sign.
D · DB
Estimating support that tracks with drawings as they develop, from schematic pricing through final bid documents.
E · ENG
Independent cost checks against your design, useful during value engineering or budget review meetings.
F · SHOP
Overflow estimating capacity for busy stretches, without the cost of a full-time in-house estimator.
Sheet 03 - Project Types
We estimate mechanical work across project types and delivery methods common to the Illinois construction market - from a single-family remodel to a multi-building industrial campus.
Residential & Multifamily
Commercial
Industrial
Institutional & Specialized
Sheet 04 - What's Included & Deliverables
Every mechanical estimate is built line by line, not pulled from a square-footage average. Here's what's inside the deliverable.
D-01
Ductwork, equipment, piping, insulation, hangers, fittings, and accessories, counted from the drawings.
D-02
Hours by task and crew classification, based on productivity rates for the Illinois market.
D-03
A written list of what's included, what's excluded, and any assumptions made where drawings were unclear.
D-04
Current supplier and distributor pricing on AHUs, RTUs, chillers, boilers, pumps, and specialty equipment.
D-05
Flags on any scope items affected by the current International Mechanical Code edition or an Illinois amendment.
D-06
Delivered in Excel, PDF, or your preferred bid form, organized by CSI division and area.
D-07
Pricing for owner-requested alternates, add/deduct items, and unit rates for anticipated change orders.
D-08
A point of contact who worked the takeoff, available to walk through numbers before you submit.
Sheet 05 - Sample Estimate
A simplified excerpt from a commercial tenant-improvement mechanical estimate, showing the level of line-item detail you'll see in a full deliverable.
Commercial Tenant Improvement - Sample
SHEET M-1 · CHICAGO METRO, IL
Division / Item
Qty
Unit Cost
Labor Hrs
Extended
23 31 13 - Galvanized Rectangular Ductwork
2,400 lbs
$4.05
48
$12,912
23 07 13 - Duct Insulation, 1.5" Wrap
3,100 sq ft
$2.10
44
$9,090
23 34 00 - HVAC Fans & Air Handling
3 ea
$8,420
36
$28,620
23 37 13 - Diffusers, Registers & Grilles
96 ea
$98
32
$12,544
23 21 13 - Hydronic Piping, Copper
860 ft
$12.40
52
$16,044
23 09 00 - HVAC Instrumentation & Controls
1 lot
-
28
$7,800
Estimated Subtotal
$87,010
Sample only - figures are illustrative. Your deliverable includes the full division breakdown, assumptions log, and alternates.
Sheet 06 - How the Process Works
The same steps whether it's a rooftop package in Chicago or a plant mechanical takeoff in Springfield.
1
Upload plans, specs, and any addenda - PDF, CAD, or a link to the project's plan room. We'll confirm scope and turnaround before starting.
2
Our estimator performs a full digital takeoff of mechanical scope, cross-checking quantities against the drawing set and specifications.
3
Material and equipment costs are priced against current supplier data, and labor hours are applied using Illinois productivity and wage benchmarks.
4
A second estimator reviews quantities, pricing, and assumptions before anything leaves our office - see the QA section below for detail.
5
You receive the completed estimate in your preferred format, plus a short call or written summary of any assumptions or open items.
6
Addenda, RFIs, or late changes get priced as add/deduct items so your number stays current through bid day.
Sheet 07 - Software & Pricing Sources
Consistent tools and current data sources, so an estimate holds up under scrutiny.
Estimating & takeoff software
Accubid
Mechanical estimating and takeoff
PlanSwift
Digital quantity takeoff
Bluebeam Revu
Markup and measurement
Trimble
Trade-specific estimating
On-Screen Takeoff
On-screen quantity takeoff
Excel / custom templates
Editable cost breakdowns
Pricing sources
Distributor & supplier price sheets
Current material and gear pricing from regional mechanical suppliers.
Illinois prevailing wage schedules
For public and prevailing-wage-covered work.
Local union and open-shop labor rates
Matched to the project's labor agreement or market.
RSMeans cost data
As a cross-check on unit pricing and productivity assumptions.
Sheet 08 - Accuracy & QA
An estimate is only useful if it holds up once the job starts. Every deliverable goes through the same checks before it reaches you.
2× - Second-estimator review
Every estimate is quantity-checked by a second estimator, separate from the one who built it.
100% - Drawing-traced line items
Line items are traced back to a specific drawing page or spec section, not a generic assumption.
Current - Refreshed pricing
Material and labor pricing is refreshed against current supplier and wage data before delivery.
Written - Documented assumptions
Every assumption and exclusion is documented, so nothing is buried in a spreadsheet formula.
Sheet 09 - Illinois Codes & Standards
Code changes affect quantities, ventilation requirements, and equipment selection - and they change what a job actually costs. We track the code your permit will be reviewed against.
STATE FRAMEWORK
The statewide energy code, based on the International Energy Conservation Code, sets equipment efficiency and insulation requirements that shape mechanical quantities and equipment selection.
MECHANICAL
Most Illinois municipalities adopt the IMC with local amendments - governing equipment sizing, ductwork, ventilation rates, and combustion air used in the takeoff.
CHICAGO
The City of Chicago maintains its own building and mechanical code, separate in several respects from the ICC-based codes used by other Illinois municipalities. Chicago projects are priced against that code.
PREVAILING WAGE
Public and prevailing-wage-covered work is priced against current Illinois Department of Labor wage schedules for the county where the project sits.
LOCAL JURISDICTIONS
Cook, DuPage, Lake, Will, and Kane counties, along with the City of Chicago, layer their own permitting and inspection steps on top of the adopted code - we flag where that affects scope.
REFERENCED STANDARDS
Referenced for equipment efficiency, ventilation rates, and mechanical system safety on commercial and institutional work where the adopted code points back to them.
Sheet 10 - Why Contractors Choose Us
Local pricing, trade-specific estimators, and a number you can defend - built around how contractors actually bid in Illinois.
/ 01
Labor and material costs reflect actual Chicago and greater Illinois rates, not a national average applied to every state.
/ 02
Estimating Buddies grew out of mechanical estimating services in Illinois into full mechanical and MEP estimating coverage - so we're used to keeping trades coordinated on the same set of drawings.
/ 03
Standard estimates in 24–48 hours, with rush options for tight bid schedules - you know the timeline before you commit.
/ 04
You know the cost of the estimate itself before we start - no surprise fees tied to your bid outcome.
/ 05
You'll always know who built your number and can reach them directly with questions before you submit.
/ 06
Deliverables formatted for how you actually bid - your spreadsheet, your bid form, or ours, whichever is easier for your team.
Sheet 11 - Service Area
We work statewide, with the deepest project volume across the Chicago metro. If your project sits in Illinois, we can estimate it - including public and prevailing-wage work.
Chicago
Aurora
Naperville
Joliet
Rockford
Springfield
Working outside these cities? We estimate projects statewide - reach out with your project location and we'll confirm coverage.
Sheet 12 - What Affects the Cost of an Estimate
Every project is quoted individually. These are the factors that most often move the number.
01
Square footage, number of areas, and how many mechanical systems (HVAC, piping, controls, exhaust) are included in the takeoff.
02
Fully detailed construction documents take less interpretation than early or incomplete schematic drawings, which affects both estimate cost and turnaround.
03
Labor rates vary by region and by whether a project is prevailing-wage, union, or open-shop - each changes the labor cost applied to the same scope.
04
Projects reviewed under the current IMC edition, Chicago Mechanical Code, or an Illinois energy-code amendment may need additional equipment or insulation scope reflected in pricing.
05
Equipment lead times and copper, steel, and refrigerant pricing can shift a material budget between design phases.
06
Standard bid timelines are priced differently than rush requests with a compressed deadline.
07
A rough conceptual number costs less to produce than a fully itemized, bid-ready mechanical estimate broken out by CSI division.
Send your drawings for a no-obligation quote before work begins.
Get a no-obligation quoteStart Your Mechanical Estimate
Upload your mechanical drawings and specifications through the form. Our team reviews the scope and follows up with a quote and turnaround time for your Illinois project.
Frequently asked questions about mechanical estimating services in Illinois.
A full material and labor takeoff, current pricing, a written list of assumptions and exclusions, and code compliance notes - delivered in a bid-ready format organized by CSI division.
Yes. General contractors use our numbers to build a GMP or compare subcontractor bids, and mechanical subcontractors use them directly for competitive and negotiated bidding.