Bidfident for masonry contractors
Estimating software for masons
Masonry contractors price brick and block by the square metre in Bidfident, with tending as its own line at the labourer's rate. The mast climber is charged for its own hours, not the bricklayers', and ties, cast stone sills and through-wall flashing sit on their own lines. Winter heat and hoarding go in by the week, and the cleaning sub's quotes sit side by side.
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Sound familiar?
Tending buried in the mason's rate
Labourers mixing and stocking for the bricklayers cost less per hour, but a blended rate hides it. In Bidfident tending is its own line at the labourer's rate, beside the brick at the bricklayer's.
The mast climber priced for every hour
The mast climber doesn't run for every hour the crew lays brick. In Bidfident the mast climber on a line can have its own hours per unit, so it's charged for the time it runs.
Winter heat guessed as a lump
Heat and hoarding run for the cold weeks, not the whole job, and a lump guess is rarely right. In Bidfident overhead goes in by the week, month, lump sum or each, so winter heat is priced for the weeks it's needed.
How Bidfident fits your work
The mast climber for its own hours
Give the mast climber on the brick line its own hours per square metre and it's charged for that time, not every hour the bricklayers are on the wall.
Bricklayers and labourers at their own rates
Price the brick at the bricklayer's rate and the tending at the labourer's. Each line takes its trade's rate from the library, and a line can carry its own rate when it needs one.
Winter heat by the week
Winter heat and hoarding by the week for the cold weeks, and the foreman by the week, linked to the job duration so a longer job is priced longer.
Square metres of wall, metres of sill
Brick and ties by the square metre, sills and flashing by the metre. Each line takes a quantity, hours per unit, a material price with a waste percentage, and equipment by the hour.
Cleaning bids side by side
Enter each bid for masonry cleaning and sealer, see the lowest flagged, and carry it or the one you pick.
Elevation by elevation
Tag each line with an area, such as the north elevation or the courtyard, and group the sheet by it with a subtotal for each.
Worked example: brick veneer for a three-storey seniors' residence
A made-up job, priced in Bidfident: 35 lines of your own work, 3 subtrades and 6 overhead items over a 14-week job. The 5 lines this page talks about are listed one by one, and the rest are added up in one row. It's the same job you can open as an example project in Bidfident, so every figure below matches it.
To open this job in Bidfident: sign in and set up your company in Canada, then on the Projects screen, under Example project, pick "Trade contractors" and "Masonry" and press Add example project.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Brick veneer, modular, running bond, 520 m2
| $91,702.00 |
Mason tending, 520 m2
| $17,732.00 |
Brick ties and joint reinforcing, 520 m2
| $5,720.00 |
Cast stone sills, 44 m
| $4,980.80 |
Through-wall flashing, 130 m
| $3,679.00 |
30 more lines of your own work
| $378,257.60 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Masonry cleaning and sealer
| $11,800.00 |
Scaffold at courtyard and entry canopy
| $14,800.00 |
Cast stone entry surround, allowance
| $6,500.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Site supervision, foreman
| $21,000.00 |
Winter heat and hoarding
| $22,800.00 |
Project manager, part time
| $7,753.85 |
Small tools, masonry saws and blades
| $3,640.00 |
Safety orientation, fall protection and PPE
| $1,330.00 |
Waste bins for broken brick and mortar
| $1,800.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Own work
| $502,071.40 |
| Excluded lines, not counted | $37,640.00 |
| Subtrades | $33,100.00 |
Overhead
| $58,323.85 |
Direct cost
| $593,495.25 |
Contingency
| $29,674.76 |
Fee
| $62,317.00 |
| Subtotal before bonding | $685,487.01 |
Bonding
| $6,854.87 |
Insurance
| $3,427.44 |
Bid total
| $695,769.32 |
GST, for reference
| $34,788.47 |
See it in Bidfident
Coming soon Ask your estimate anything. Claude first, ChatGPT to follow. See how it will work
Questions
Can tending be priced at a labourer's rate?
Yes. Put tending on its own line with the labourer's trade, and it takes the labourer's rate while the brick takes the bricklayer's.
Can I price brick per square metre or per thousand?
Yes. Units are free text, so m², sf, M and ea all work. Bidfident doesn't convert between units, so price each line in the unit its rate is in.
Can winter heat be priced for only part of the job?
Yes. Add it as a weekly overhead item with the number of weeks you need. Items linked to the job duration follow it instead.
Can the mast climber run fewer hours than the crew?
Yes. Give the line's equipment its own hours per unit. Leave it blank and it runs for the crew's hours.
Does it measure wall areas from the drawings?
No. Bidfident doesn't read quantities from drawings. Type your areas in, net of openings, or paste them from a spreadsheet.
Can ties and sills go on their own lines?
Yes. Brick ties by the square metre and cast stone sills by the metre each go on their own line, with their own hours per unit and material price.
Does Bidfident work with Claude or ChatGPT?
Not yet, but it's coming. You'll be able to connect Bidfident to your own Claude or ChatGPT account and ask about your estimates in plain English. The answers will come from Bidfident's own figures, so they match the estimate. It will use the account you already have: Claude first, ChatGPT to follow.
Price your next masonry bid in Bidfident
Enter your email and Bidfident sends you a sign-in link. New companies start with a starter rate library. Who runs Bidfident, and what it keeps about you.