Plumbing & drainage estimating · Residential & commercial · NZ & Australia
You're on the tools till five.
The tender closes Friday.
Send me the plans and the spec. I send back a priced bill of quantities you can submit — measured properly, rated with your rates, and broken down line by line so you can defend every number.
BoQs from $250 — the price is on this page, not behind a meeting. Working across New Zealand and Australia.
| Description | Qty | Unit | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100mm uPVC foul drainage, trenched & bedded | 47 | m | 128.00 | 6,016.00 |
| Inspection chamber, 450mm dia, to invert | 3 | no | 940.00 | 2,820.00 |
| Gully trap assembly, complete | 2 | no | 610.00 | 1,220.00 |
| PEX hot & cold rough-in, full dwelling | 1 | sum | 4,380.00 | 4,380.00 |
| Hot water cylinder 180L, supply & install | 1 | no | 2,240.00 | 2,240.00 |
| Sanitary fixtures, rough-in & fit-off | 9 | no | 385.00 | 3,465.00 |
| Total — carried to summary | $20,141.00 |
Example extract. Your BoQ comes back in Excel — rates unlocked, so you can tune them before it goes out.
What I do
Four thingsPriced bill of quantities
Plans and spec in, measured BoQ out. Every line item quantified and rated, with a summary you can drop straight into your tender. Labour, materials and margin split out so you know exactly where the job makes money — and where it doesn't.
Digital takeoff only
Quantities, no rates. You've got your own pricing and you trust it — you just don't have the four hours to measure 60 pages of drawings. I measure in Groundplan, you price. Comes back as a clean schedule with a marked-up legend so you can see exactly what I counted and where.
Variation claims
The work's done, the argument's about whether you get paid for it. I put the claim together properly — scope, entitlement, quantities, cost — referenced to the contract so the main contractor's QS has nothing easy to knock back. Most of what gets written off is written off because the claim was weak, not because the entitlement wasn't there.
Bid / no-bid advice
Before you burn a weekend pricing it: a straight read on whether the job is worth chasing. Scope risk, programme, payment terms, who's running it, and whether the margin survives contact with the contract. Sometimes the most valuable thing I'll tell you is don't.
What I price
Residential & commercialWho's pricing it
BackgroundI'm Shameer. I'm a QS in Auckland and I price plumbing and drainage all day, every day.
Six years of it, in-house for plumbing, drainage and civil subbies. Not a consultancy. Not the main contractor. I've been on your side of the table the whole time, so I've had the same arguments you've had — the variation that got knocked back for no good reason, the trench that came in deeper than the drawing said, the claim that went in late because everyone was too busy actually doing the work.
So I know what a bedding detail costs. I know what a rubbish set of drawings does to a price. And I know the gap between what the spec says and what you'll actually end up doing on site — because that gap is where your margin goes.
What I won't do: price a job I'm not the right bloke for. Commercial mechanical, structural, anything well outside plumbing and drainage — I'll tell you straight rather than take your money and hand you a number I don't trust.
Pricing plumbing, drainage and civil work in-house — subbie side, every day. Not a fortnight of it between other jobs.
- What I price
- Plumbing · Drainage · CivilResidential & commercial
- Contracts
- NZS 3910Claims, variations and final accounts — day to day, not from a textbook
- Software
- CostX · Groundplan · Simpro · Fergus · ExcelTakeoff, measurement and job costing
- Degree
- Bachelor of Construction (Quantity Surveying)Otago Polytechnic
- Based
- AucklandWorking all over New Zealand & Australia — it's all PDFs anyway
Rates
No quotes for quotes| Service | Basis | Includes | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bill of quantities | Fixed | Measure, rate, summary | from 250.00 |
| Digital takeoff only | Fixed | Quantities & marked-up legend | from 180.00 |
| Variation claims | Hourly | Build-up & contract reference | 95.00 /hr |
| Bid / no-bid advice | Hourly | Risk read & recommendation | 95.00 /hr |
| Retainer — on call | Monthly | Up to 3 BoQs per month | 500.00 /mth |
Fixed-fee jobs are quoted before I start — you'll know the number before you commit. Anything bigger or messier than a standard job gets priced up front too, not discovered on the invoice. Australian work is quoted in AUD.
How it works
In orderSend the plans
Email me the drawings, spec and anything else you've been given. PDFs are fine. If you've got a preferred rate schedule, send that too.
I confirm the fee
I have a look, tell you what it'll cost and when you'll get it back. If I think you shouldn't be pricing the job at all, I'll say that before you've paid me anything.
You get a priced BoQ
Excel file, rates unlocked, line by line. Any questions on how a number was built up, ring me — it's in the fee.
Straight up about the limits: estimates are built from the documents you send me. No site visit, no physical measure. If the drawings are wrong or the scope changes, the numbers change with them. Check the BoQ before it goes out — it's your tender and your name on it.
Fair questions
Asked and answeredCan't AI do this now for free?
Partly, and it's worth being honest about it. The AI tools going around will read a set of plans and spit out a spreadsheet in a couple of minutes. For a rough ballpark, they're not bad — and if that's all you need, use them. I'd rather tell you that than sell you something you don't need.
But read the fine print on them. They'll tell you the estimate isn't guaranteed, that they take no responsibility, that it's use at your own risk, and that they've stuck a fat percentage buffer on the pipe lengths to cover themselves. That's not an estimate. That's a guess wearing a disclaimer.
The difference is simple: nobody stands behind that number. I stand behind mine. If you're submitting a tender you'll be held to, that's worth $250.
Do you use my rates or yours?
Yours, if you've got them. Send me your rate schedule or your last few priced jobs and I'll use them — the estimate should reflect how your business actually works, not some industry average.
If you haven't got a schedule, I'll use current market rates and flag every one I'm not confident about so you can adjust before it goes out. Either way the Excel comes back unlocked. You always have the last word on the numbers.
You're in New Zealand. How does that work for an Australian job?
Measurement travels — 47 metres of 100mm drain is 47 metres either side of the Tasman, and AS/NZS 3500 is a joint standard, so we're working to the same document.
Rates don't travel, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. For Australian work I'd rather do the takeoff and let you apply your own pricing, because you know what your supplier charges in your city and I don't. If you want it fully priced, send me your rate schedule and I'll use it.
Will you price a job my competitor's also tendering?
No. One client per tender, first in. If someone else has already sent me the same job, I'll tell you it's taken — I won't tell you who, and I won't take yours as well.
Your rates are your business. They don't leave my machine and they don't inform anyone else's price.
What do you need from me?
Drawings and the spec, at minimum. Ideally also: the tender documents or conditions of contract, your rate schedule, and a note on anything you already know is unusual about the job.
If all you've got is a set of PDFs and a deadline, send that. I'll tell you what's missing.
Are you a registered QS?
Registration's in progress — my NZIQS membership is expected to come through shortly. Behind it: a Bachelor of Construction in quantity surveying and six years pricing this exact work in-house for plumbing and drainage subbies.
I'd rather tell you where that's at than have you find out later. In the meantime, judge the work — send me a job you've already priced and see how close I land.
You're doing this on the side. Is that a problem?
It's why you're paying $250 instead of $1,200. I've got no office, no overhead and nobody to feed but myself.
What it means practically: I work evenings and weekends, and I'll tell you honestly whether I can hit your deadline before you commit. If I can't, I'll say so on the first phone call rather than let you find out on Thursday night.
Send me the plans.
I'll tell you what it costs.
No obligation on the first look. If the job's not for me, I'll say so — and if I know someone better placed, I'll point you at them.