Sales/Estimating
Getting the Numbers Right Before the Work Begins
Most millwork problems start with a bad estimate. Scope gets missed, materials get substituted, and by the time a project is half done, the numbers are nowhere near what anyone agreed to. We have seen it happen to contractors who worked with the wrong vendor, and we have spent 40 years making sure it does not happen to contractors who work with us.
CBBE has been doing commercial millwork in the Southeast since 1985. Banks, corporate offices, hospitals, schools, hotels, churches, we have built for all of them. And every single one of those projects started with someone on our team sitting down with the drawings and doing the work to understand what is actually being asked for.
How We Approach a Bid
When you send us a set of plans, our estimating team reads them. Not just the millwork sheets, the full set. We want to know what the space is doing, who is going to be using it, and what the general conditions look like. A teller counter in a bank branch that stays open during construction is a different animal than the same counter installed in a brand new shell. The materials might be identical but the way we plan the work is completely different.
We do our own take-offs from scratch. We do not guess on square footage or assume a spec means the cheapest available option. If an architect calls out a particular veneer or a specific hardware series, we price exactly that. If there is something in the drawings that does not make sense or looks like it will cause a problem in the field, we say so before the bid goes in, not after the contract is signed.
Our team has priced projects involving wood veneer casework, solid surface countertops, custom reception desks, acoustical panels, upholstered seating, and specialty materials including 3form and Lumicor. We know what things cost and we know what things take. That knowledge comes from running our own 50,000 square foot shop in Canton, Georgia with skilled tradespeople who actually build what we estimate.
We Do Not Lowball to Win Work
Some shops submit a low number to get the contract and then make it back through change orders. We do not operate that way. The number we give you reflects what it actually costs to do the job correctly with good materials and proper installation. If we can find a legitimate way to save you money without compromising the finished product, we will tell you about it. But we are not going to quote you a price that we know is not real just to get your signature on a contract.
We also do not pad estimates to protect ourselves from unknowns we are too lazy to research. If there is something unclear in the documents, we pick up the phone and ask. We would rather spend 20 minutes getting clarity than build a job wrong or spend three months arguing over change orders.
Working With General Contractors and Architects
Our sales team has been working with GCs and architects in this region for a long time. We understand how commercial construction moves, we know how to respond to RFIs quickly, and we know how to keep our part of the schedule from becoming somebody else's problem. When a bid deadline is coming up fast, we prioritize getting you a complete, accurate number on time.
If you are an architect writing specs, we are glad to talk through what is realistic for a given budget or how a particular detail is going to come together in production. We are not going to push you toward something that does not work just because it is easier for us to build.
Talk to Us About Your Project
Whether you have full construction documents ready to go or just a rough scope and a budget number, reach out and we will tell you what we can do. We work with contractors and owners across Georgia and the Southeast.
Call (770) 924-1242 or email info@cbbe.net to get started.