As construction professionals we are often asked questions like, "Hey Justin, what would it cost to build an office building in Dallas, Texas?" Truthfully few people can quickly access accurate information to answer questions like this one. Sum Estimation is devoted to making products that will allow customers to quickly produce conceptual estimates on the go using their iPhone.
Our first product, Sum Estimate, enables users to create a quick, conceptual, summary level cost estimate using only the customers mobile device. Once logged in, app users will define key parameters such as the location and project size by selecting options from drop down menus or manually entering text. Currently, the application offers 10 different project types for the customer to choose from:
Assisted Living
Grocery Store
Higher Education Classroom Building
Hotel
Medical Office Building
Parking Garage
Retail Shopping Center
School
Shell Office Building
Student Housing
Once the app operator has chosen the type of building, the location of the hypothetical project and entered the size of the project, the application will call up a starting estimate, which are based on average unit costs by building type. At this point in the application, the unit costs have been adjusted to account for the project location using geographical multipliers published by Engineering, News and Record Magazine (ENR). App user can then adjust unit costs in each category of work such as site construction, concrete and interior finishes. Categories are broken down into Construction Specification Institute Master Format divisions, up to 50 divisions in all. The conceptual estimate is displayed on the final screen and can be emailed to a colleague or client with the touch of a button.