For residential contractors specializing in a specific trade, would it be better to order the Residential Cost Data or the book for the trade such as Concrete and Masonry, Plumbing or Electrical?
The answer to this question depends on what the contractor is looking for and how he uses the database. The Residential Cost Data base is fast and easy to use and even includes Square Foot prices for completed buildings. It is also based on Open Shop labor in the hard copy book. It does not, however, include all the information available in RSMeans for the sub contract trades. For all available RSMeans plumbing information one would need the Plumbing Cost Data, likewise for Electrical, Mechanical, Concrete & Masonry etc.. Specific trade data found in any publication other than the Prime database is greatly condensed partial information that has been extracted from the total available. The Prime books are however, based on Union labor and so for residential Open Shop estimates it would be necessary to work the estimate in labor hours as explained elsewhere in this list of questions.
Related Questions
- For residential contractors specializing in a specific trade, would it be better to order the Residential Cost Data or the book for the trade such as Concrete and Masonry, Plumbing or Electrical?
- Is it worth the extra cost to purchase the sniper log / data book made from Rite in the Rain paper?
- How much of my printed Means cost data book do I get when I order it on Means CostWorks?
