Construction estimating in the US and UK: Two markets. Same measurement, different conventions.
A slab is measured the same way in Texas and in Kent. What changes is the unit, the structure the numbers are reported in, the words on the page and what the tax line means. Getting those wrong makes a correct estimate unusable.
What changes between a US and a UK estimate
These are conventions, not rules. Plenty of UK clients want CSI and plenty of US clients have their own template. The point is that the choice is made deliberately, before measuring starts.
| United States | United Kingdom | |
|---|---|---|
| Units | Imperial: LF, SF, CY, tons, each | Metric: m, m², m³, tonnes, nr |
| Currency | USD | GBP |
| Estimate structure | CSI MasterFormat divisions | Elemental breakdown, CSI, or the client’s own cost plan format |
| Measurement rules | No single national method; quantities follow the drawings, specification and trade practice | Bills of quantities are commonly prepared to NRM2, published by RICS |
| Pricing a job | Bid | Tender |
| The lead builder | General contractor | Main contractor |
| Site overheads | General conditions | Preliminaries |
| Changes after award | Change order | Variation |
| Work outside the building | Sitework | External works and groundworks |
| Interior partitions | Drywall | Drylining |
| Money for undefined work | Allowance | Provisional sum |
| Tax on the price | Sales tax, carried as its own line where it applies | VAT, normally excluded from tender prices |
Terminology overlaps more than this table suggests, and many firms use both sets of words. The estimating glossary gives both where they differ.
How we handle each market
Tell us where the job is.
The location sets the units, the rates and the format. Send it with the drawings and the quote comes back in the right conventions from the start.
US and UK · Fixed project fees · Unlimited revisions within scope