Roger McMannis

DRYWALL / WALL & CEILING CONTRACTOR OWNERS Drywall & Wall/Ceiling Owners — how disciplined is your estimating process? When you open a set of plans for Division 9 work: Do you review every architectural sheet before touching quantities? Do you read the front-end documents (insurance, schedule, liquidated damages, alternates)? Do you cross-reference specs with details? Do you involve your field supervisor before sending the bid? Or do you move straight to takeoff? Improving construction estimating is not about software. It’s about assessment and results. The first discipline in profitable estimating is document control — drawings, front-end requirements, specifications. We say this after 20+ years: • Architectural training (understanding design intent) • Project engineering for GCs (coordination pressure) • Managing wall & ceiling divisions (labor production reality) We’ve seen what loose estimating costs. We’ve seen what structured estimating protects. So here’s the mirror: Are you actively improving your estimating system? Or relying on what’s always worked? What could you tighten today? 📘 From Blueprints to Profits: 7 Steps to Read Plans, Price Work, and Protect Margins Free foundation → https://lnkd.in/gss8vi3m For owners serious about tightening structure now — training is available. 🌐 https://lnkd.in/gmgpbSjz What part of your estimating process needs the most discipline right now? #DrywallContractor #WallAndCeiling #ConstructionEstimating #Division9 #BidDocuments

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— DO YOU ESTIMATE WITH PURPOSE? Wall & Ceiling Contractor Owners — when you build an estimate, is it built to be tracked later… or just to arrive at a number? When you estimate: Do you separate • Layout labor • Framing labor • Hanging • Finishing • Finish materials • Track & studs • Ceiling grid Or do many of those end up grouped together? Because here’s the real question: If your estimate isn’t broken down by scope, task, and product — how will it be tracked in the field? Simple definitions Cost Codes = Number labels that mirror your estimate structure 401 – Layout 402 – Frame 201 – Finish compound Job Cost Tracking = Coding field labor hours and purchase orders to those same numbers Projection = Forecasting where the job will finish based on what’s spent and what’s left When we were PMs, our estimates had to align with reporting. We had to submit labor cost reports and cost-to-complete projections to leadership. We couldn’t guess. We had to prove it. That’s what helped us rise. Proof it works Watch the emotion in our 1-on-1 executive coaching clips — when owners see this connection, it changes how they estimate forever. The proof is in the pudding. 👉 https://lnkd.in/gmykE_3Y Honest question: Are you estimating with purpose — or just pricing to win? #wallandceiling #constructionestimating #jobcosttracking #costcodes #contractorowners

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Setting vehicular traffic rated boxes today and wanted to offer a couple quick tips. Top priority is to have a solid foundation underneath. Typical 57 stone is sufficient and easy to come by. Especially in type C soils settlement will occur rapidly as vehicle weight and vibration pushes the box below grade and causes a couple major problems. Once the box settles below asphalt level water begins to intrude into the box and under the asphalt as well as the box will rest onto the conduits below and eventual breakage is inevitable. We recommend a minimum of 6” of stone to be placed under the structure and 1’ beyond all sides.

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You can show a healthy profit on paper and still go broke. If money is not coming in fast enough to cover wages, suppliers, and overhead, you are in trouble. Long payment cycles in construction make this worse. If you do not enforce payment terms, you are letting clients use you as their bank, and you are paying the interest. Treat cash flow like oxygen. Without it, nothing else matters. BIG NEWS! My book The Subcontractor’s Edge is now available for pre-order! If you're ready to protect your margins, negotiate smarter, and take control of your construction business, this is for you. Lock in your copy here: https://lnkd.in/gPrDyePX Don’t miss your edge.

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If you are a solo roofing contractor/owner or a small roofing business that uses Sub-Contracted Crews---there is a reason you use those crews right. No overhead, no payroll taxes, no payroll costs, no benefits, no insurance etc. The list might be longer, but the big reason is you are only paying for labor costs when you have labor to be done---right. Why would you not want to hire not just an office person, but a whole team of office people the same way. Only pay them when you have sold a job that needs to be processed and scheduled. For all the same reasons of cost saving and time saving that you have with crews, leverage your office and admin tasks the same way. Let me show you how our services don't cost you a dime. And how you can apply the time saved to increased sales.

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