The Construction Cost Standard
Contractors, Owners, Architects, Engineers, Facilities Managers, Oversight Groups, and Building Users alike consider RSMeans Cost Data to be the authoritative source of facility construction, renovation, and repair cost information. RSMeans, providing its clients with the most detailed, trusted construction cost data for more than 69 years, is recognized as the North American standard.
Since 1942, RSMeans has been actively engaged in construction cost publishing and cost estimating services throughout the United States, and today, RSMeans’ primary objective remains the same: To provide you, the construction and facilities professional, with the most current and comprehensive construction cost data possible. That’s why more than 40,000 construction professionals turn to RSMeans and its validated cost research methodology to engage in trillions of dollars of construction, operations, and maintenance related activities.
RSMeans continually polls the construction marketplace for ever changing material, labor, and equipment costs. Add to this, researching new building methodologies, building productivity rates, and local market conditions—and you have the recipe for the most trusted and reliable construction cost information. All building construction, renovation, and repair data is researched and updated annually, while the RSMeans City Cost Indexes (CCIs) are distributed quarterly. This dynamic vs. static construction cost information helps you assure that your cost data reflects recent equipment, material, and labor trends on a localized basis.
4Clicks and RSMeans Strategic Partnership
4Clicks, a RSMeans Business Partner for approximately ten (10) years, is now the largest reseller of RSMeans electronic cost data. Our exclusively enhanced RSMeans 400,000 line item cost database is just one example of our expertise in working with and supporting RSMeans cost data.
Industry thought-leadership is a role of that both RSMeans and 4Clicks take seriously. It is centered upon proven expertise and ability to deliver comprehensive solutions. Our integrated, total solutions approach spans the creation of standard and custom unit price books (UPBs); leading software for cost estimating, project management, document management, detailed line item cost data including full descriptions, graphics/pictures, and specifications; and professional training and support for software/program implementation, and continuous monitoring as required.
Products and Services
- Printed RSMeans Cost Books
- Electronic RSMeans Cost Books
- Detailed line items broken down by quantities and task-specific modifiers, which take into account material cost, labor rate, and equipment rental rates.
- Total line item count expanded from 80,000 to approximately 400,000 line items. Plus multiple factors such as city cost indexes, productivity rates, crew composition, contractor’s overhead and profit rates
- City Cost Index (CCI) – RSMeans’ City Cost Index (CCI) is based on an average of 30 major American cities, and further detail is available at a zip code level for over 900 locations, with indices for materials, labor, and equipment, as well as composite indices. Use of the RSMeans CCI has been validated via third party research as a method for adjusting construction cost estimates by project location.
- Client-specific, custom unit price books (UPBs)
- Local market construction assessment including overheads, profit, and restrictive union practices.
- Customized material prices and equipment costs based on local market conditions.
- Client-specific construction tasks for inclusion in the UPB based on review of Client standards and specifications.
- Cost verification of the Client construction tasks using RSMeans senior cost engineering team for quality assurance and completeness.
- Compliance with Masterformat 2010, the Construction Specifications Institutes (CSI) most recently issued format.
- Locate and use full line item descriptions, images, and references quickly.
- Enjoy full line item descriptions, images, references… faster, easier, and more accurately!
Choose from over 8,000 environmentally responsible green line items
New line items are highlighted for your reference
Displays the quick look to the electronic reference.- Notice the “I” by the Item number indicating the image displayed in the top right corner above.
- Modifiers are ready to use so you don’t have waste time making calculations. You don’t have to multiple this % times that amount and this amount plus that dollar figure.
Get started today utilizing the most comprehensive RSMeans databases in the industry, be a cost estimator not a costing engineer.
RSMeans’ Cost Data Research Methodology
RSMeans conducts primary research on over 120,000 unique unit prices commonly used on horizontal and vertical construction and maintenance. The primary research is conducted in over 50 major metropolitan areas with supplemental research to index local costs to over 900+ zip codes.
Each task contains a task description, unit of measure, and unit price. RSMeans differentiates itself from the competition by making more detail available for each construction task— including the material price, labor cost, equipment rate, crew and productivity rate of installation. Each unit price is developed taking into account local material pricing, prevailing wage rates and market conditions.
RSMeans cost research methodologies are considered the industry standard for accuracy and completeness of the cost data, using its extensive network of contractors, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and specialty estimators.
