Estimating

Question 1

When preparing a bid, a contractor must consider

Answer 1

profit, overhead, labor and mateiral, and evaluate the effect of unexpected delays on costs

Question 2

space holder

Question 3

if you place an advertisement which offers a home improvement service for $95 and have no intention of signing a contract for that low of a price this is

Answer 3

a misdemeanor and cause for disciplinary action

Question 4

a cotractor signs a home improvement contract and accepts a down payment, but never shows up to do the work. what is the fine

Answer 4

contracotr is subjected to a penalty of $100-$5000 and or one year in jail

Question 5

you are bidding on a state college job and the work involves new construction. you decide to use subcontractors to do some of the work. you do not however submit the names of any subcontractors

Answer 5

you will be responsible for completing the whole contract yourself

Question 6

a contractor finds a 12” discrepancy on a set of drawings for an office building. the contractor should

Answer 6

contact the architect or designer

Question 7

when preparing a bid, which of the following is normally the most difficult to estimate

Answer 7

labor

Question 8

if a contractors bilingual salesperson makes a presentation to a customer in spanish, the home solicitation contract must also be

Answer 8

written in spanish

Question 9

the homeowner has drawn plans for the job that you are bidding on and the dimensions on the plans are not accurate. you should

Answer 9

notify the homeowner that you cannot bid until proper corrections are made

Question 10

every contractor and estimator considers cost estimating a challenge

Answer 10

due to weather, location, number of employees, and each job is different

Question 11

you have prepared a bid which enables you to make a profit, however fthe customer cannot afford it. what should you do

Answer 11

do not change your bid unless the scope of the job is reduced

Question 12

what is job costing?

Answer 12

-it assists you in defining costs for future bidding
-assures that cost estimates will be accurate
-it assists you with the labor and material costs

Question 13

if you are doing a complete package bid including all phases of the new house so that you can give the customer a price that will be complete and you forgot to charge for one phase, what should you do

Answer 13

do all of the phases including the one that you forgot to charge for regardless if it means that you will have to absorb the loss

Question 14

the benefit of using job cost cards is

Answer 14

to keep accurate costs records for bidding in the future

Question 15

labor costs can be established by

Answer 15

taking the hours from the detailed job cost time cards from past jobs

Question 16

how do you prepare a bid accurately

Answer 16

factor in effects of the unexpected cost of delays

Question 17

job costing is helpful in

Answer 17

determining the profit or loss on the job

Question 18

you would not include which of the following in a bid

Answer 18

possible legal fees

Question 19

the reason for standardizing bidding with your company is that it

Answer 19

guarantees the accurancy of cost estimates

Question 20

you know if you are bidding correctly when

Answer 20

the job and estimated costs correspond

Question 21

what is the best way to access the job that you are bidding on

Answer 21

you inspect the job

Question 22

what is the most difficult item to estimate

Answer 22

labor

Question 23

a contractor should include material, labor and direct costs, permits, profit and ____ when bidding on a home improvement contract

Answer 23

overhead costs

Question 24

in order to ensure no errors in the bid, you should

Answer 24

double check the bid prior to submitting it

Question 25

what does direct labor consist of

Answer 25

actual cost of the labor payroll

Question 26

when bidding a job, it is alright to

Answer 26

double check your estimate

Question 27

job costs cards do not provide any benefit in

Answer 27

keeping cost records that are accurate for bookkeeping

Question 28

what is the usual procedure for the contractor if changes have been made to the original construction documents after the project has been issued and work has commenced

Answer 28

the contractor should have a signed change order for the additional costs

Question 29

the most important element of a contract between the parties involved is

Answer 29

mutual agreement

Question 30

which of the following generally summarizes the work and closeout of the project

Answer 30

general requirements

Question 31

on large jobs, the person usually in charge for guaranteeing that the project drawings are in accordance with the building codes and local ordinances is

Answer 31

the architect/ engineer

Question 32

when a contractor agrees to fulfill work or services for a given labor rate per hour and a 15% profit on the cost of materials, this is called a

Answer 32

cost plus fee contract

Question 33

the two basic types of construction contracts are

Answer 33

competitive bid and negotiated

Question 34

construction estimating is the analysis of all the elements in the cost of a project. which of the following is the best description of this

Answer 34

material, labor, equipment, job and company overhead and profit

Question 35

once the documents for a construction projects are completed, bids taken, the contract issued and ____ then the contractor can commence construction

Answer 35

the contract is signed

Question 36

the purpose of an addendum to the bidding and construction documents is

Answer 36

to make changes to the documents prior to the contractor being awarded the contract

Question 37

which of the following is awarded the contract, when the construction documents state a lump sum bid

Answer 37

low bid

Question 38

which of the following is ussually awarded a building construciton contract

Answer 38

the low bidder

Question 39

when working with construction contracts which of the following best depicts front end loading

Answer 39

the practice of contractors overpricing items of work in the beginning of the job

Question 40

the term "time is of the essence in this agreement" is best described by which of the following

Answer 40

specified completion dates must be met

Question 41

a competative bid contract is

Answer 41

a lump sum and unit price contract

Question 42

do most construction contracts allow the owner to change work durring construction

Answer 42

Yes, if the contractor is compensated

Question 43

Construction estimating is best defined by which of the following

Answer 43

analyzing all elements involved in the cost of a building construciton project

Question 44

which of the following person is hired as a full time employee by the contractor preparing materials lists, labor units and other costs for the project that the firm has bid on

Answer 44

estimator

Question 45

when a contractor is submitting a competitive bid on a construction project a ____ is necessary

Answer 45

set of construction documents

Question 46

after a material takeoff, the unit prices are generally put in and the material prices extend to reach a complete cost of material for the job. generally, the next step in the estimate is

Answer 46

to figure the labor units (generally in hrs)

Question 47

who should be contacted if the working drawings are unclear durring the process of takeoff and bidding

Answer 47

the architect

Question 48

a lump sum contract is best described by which of the folloowing

Answer 48

one in which the contractor agrees to perform specific work or services in place of a fixed amount of money

Question 49

Space holder

Question 50

the first step in determining an accurate cost of a construction project iss

Answer 50

making a complete material takeoff

Question 51

a contractors gross profit for a project is determined by which of the following

Answer 51

amount of contract - direct costs - indirect costs gross profit

Question 52

it is the ____ responsibility for the subcontractors work in a standard building construction contract

Answer 52

general contractors

Question 53

the two basic types of construction contracts are

Answer 53

competitive bid and negotiated

Question 54

eevery contractor and estimator consideres cost estimating a challenge

Answer 54

-due to weatehr location, proper numbers of emloyees and otehr problems -because each job is different therby making it difficult to make a takeoff, assignment of labor units and the pricing of construction costs uniform

Question 55

____ shows all bids recieved with teh name of each contractor and the amount of each bid

Answer 55

a bid opening report

Question 56

items which must be included in the bid are costs for permits, borrowed funds and additional insurace and other fees which are all considered ____ costs

Answer 56

indirect

Question 57

which of the following should be charged to individual jobs and not be included in direct labor estimates

Answer 57

supervision

Question 58

when preparing an estimate and the cost of labor and materials are known but the total estimate is not known, you should use ____ to calculate overhead and profit to arrive at the total price

Answer 58

the mark up equation

Question 59

if mistakes happen and all of those bidding did not receive identical bidders documents, it is sufficient cause to have bids cancelled and the entire project

Answer 59

re-bid

Question 60

when preparing an estimate, there are times when a contingency factor might be neccessary. what is a contingency factor

Answer 60

an estimated value figured into a bid that allows for unexpected delays and costs

Question 61

upon competion and acceptance of the job or upon final payment, the owner may request ____ from the contractor

Answer 61

a waiver and release

Question 62

which of the following is not a good practice when bidding on a job

Answer 62

figuring out how to beat the competition

Question 63

If the second lowest bidder challenges the bid and the low bidder is non-responsive, the contention of an award may result in potential:

Answer 63

-litigation -forfeiture of the award -advertising the contract again

Question 64

When preparing an estimate, in what category would you consider equipment and general maintenance

Answer 64

indirect costs

Question 65

which of the following includes all payrool taxes, insurance and employees' benefits assessed against the labor payroll

Answer 65

direct labor burden

Question 66

on a public works job, the prime contractor has ____ after receipt of bids, to submit requested subcontractor information

Answer 66

24 hours

Question 67

to provide a good accurate bid, the contractor must ____ the construction process on paper

Answer 67

plan

Question 68

after receiving all bids, what is the phase of elevation of bids called

Answer 68

bid opening phase

Question 69

when preparing an estimate, which of the following would you factor into the cost of doing the job

Answer 69

cost of performance bond

Question 70

when preparing a bid for a contract, which of the following is most difficult to calculate

Answer 70

labor

Question 71

contract ____ generally exceed the profits and represnt a claim of the working capital

Answer 71

retentions

Question 72

when preparing an estimate, general administration, office help and bad debts are considered an

Answer 72

overhead cost

Question 73

which of the following is essential to the continuation of business and must be included in all bids

Answer 73

profit

Question 74

mike has reviewed plans and specification for a remodeling job for an architect and would like to bid the job. what is his next step

Answer 74

walk the jobsite

Question 75

in order to provide a good accurate bid, it is neccessary for the contractor to carefuly review the job through ____ inspection

Answer 75

on the site

Question 76

durring bidding time when contracts are updated with change orders, all contract bidders will be mailed the updates by

Answer 76

certified mail with a return receipt requested form

Question 77

if you have lost practically every bid that you have placed in the past 3 months, which of the following is most likely the reason

Answer 77

you are trying to make more profit than is realistic

Question 78

what is considered a cost management system

Answer 78

a computer record of all costs of previous jobs

Question 79

work classification calculated provides information on bids for

Answer 79

labor

Question 80

____ should be charged to individual jobs and should not be included in direct labor estimates

Answer 80

supervision

Question 81

overhead and profit are added to the job estimate using ____ based on the total job estimate

Answer 81

a mark up percent

Question 82

____ must not be taken in material cost estimates unless the contractor is certain that sufficient funds are available

Answer 82

cash discounts

Question 83

____ bid is one that meets all of the requirements specified in the notice inviting bids and instructions to bidders

Answer 83

responsive

Question 84

how can a contractor make sure that they will receive progressive payments on time

Answer 84

have the owner open a third party escrow account