00:00 AMMelbourne, AUS
Journal

Notes from the estimating desk

Written byRichard Valioukhov, Estimating Manager and Founder
PostsTwelve
SubjectsTendering, cost plans, bills of quantities, D&C
WhereMelbourne, servicing Australia wide

Twelve posts from the desk on how tenders are actually priced, what the drawings leave out, and why the clarifications matter more than the number.

The reading order

Set out in the order they are best read, not the order they were written. Start with what the document is, then how it gets protected, then what it takes to price a job that is still being designed. The date of each post sits on the right.

What is a bill of quantities? Two hundred years on, the answer has not changed
A plain answer to the oldest question in cost management.
Jul 2026
Tender clarifications: if you did not add the clarification, you just accepted it
Silence in tendering is not neutral. It is acceptance.
Feb 2026
Go to site: standing in your assumptions is where cost plans get their accuracy
Standing in your assumptions is the fastest way to test them.
Nov 2025
Design and construct tender pricing when the design is still moving
Confident in the number, while the design kept moving under us.
Aug 2026
Refurbishment estimating under D&C: scope first, measure second
The drawings give you maybe 70 percent. The rest is assumptions.
Jul 2026
AI construction estimating: what is actually happening at the desk
Asked every week. Here is the honest answer.
May 2026
Estimating fees: we do not compete on being the cheapest
There is always someone cheaper. Cheaper rarely carries the same responsibility.
Mar 2026
Construction estimating across Australia: preconstruction does not have postcodes
Every state, three ways to use us, and an off switch.
Jun 2026
What is a bill of quantities (BOQ)? A plain explanation
The document, the letters, and what it is for.
Aug 2026
Provisional sums explained, and why they blow out
The line in the bill that is not a measurement.
Aug 2026
Takeoff, estimate or bill of quantities: which one do you need?
Three documents, three jobs, and the order they belong in.
Aug 2026
What does construction estimating actually involve?
The process end to end, including the parts nobody photographs.
Aug 2026
Get in touch

Talk to us about a tender, a bill of quantities, a cost plan, or a straight answer on your numbers.

Send the drawing set and the tender date. We will tell you what we can measure and when you will have it.