Short answer
Send the complete tender package exactly as you received it, including the geotechnical report and the pricing schedule you have to fill in, and tell us three things: when it closes, which scope is yours, and what is supplied by others.
A complete package gets a better estimate and a faster one. Here is what to send, why each part matters to the number, and what can wait.
Drawings
- Civil plans, long sections and details for every trade in your scope. The long sections give drainage depth, and depth is where the cost is.
- Earthworks and bulk earthworks plans, with cut and fill levels and any staging.
- Pavement details and typical sections, so asphalt and base can be priced in tonnes at the right thickness.
- Pit, pipe and structure schedules, and the standard drawings they call up.
- Retaining wall, culvert and headwall drawings where they are in your package.
- Traffic staging and road occupancy drawings on live road work, if they have been designed.
- The drawing register, so every sheet and revision priced can be checked.
Specification and tender documents
- The specification and the standards it calls up, such as council, TfNSW or water authority requirements.
- The pricing schedule or form of tender, so the estimate comes back in that shape. We also fill in client pricing schedules.
- The preliminaries and contract conditions: working hours, staging, liquidated damages, defects period.
- All addenda and clarifications, and any that arrive before close.
Ground and site information
- The geotechnical report and borehole logs: rock, groundwater, reactive clay and fill.
- Contamination or acid sulfate soil reports, where they exist. They decide where spoil can go and what it costs.
- Existing services information and survey, so crossings and potholing can be allowed for.
- Site photos and anything about access, working-hour limits, neighbours or road closures.
Your commercial settings
- Your labour and plant rates, crew sizes and layout, if you want the estimate to read like one of yours.
- Your supplier and subcontractor prices, where you already have them.
- Work you always subcontract, such as asphalt, line marking or concrete pumping.
Your margin and risk allowance stay with you. We give you the cost, built up line by line, and you set the price.
What can wait
You do not need everything on day one. If a document is missing we price on stated assumptions and list them, so you can see exactly what would change when it arrives. If the design is still early, a budget estimate is the honest product, not a tender price.
How to send it
PDF and DWG are both fine, and a download link works better than large attachments. Send your RFQ and we will come back the same business day with a fixed fee and a delivery date, before anything starts.
Common questions
What documents does a civil estimator need?
The complete tender package as issued: civil drawings including long sections and details, the specification, the pricing schedule or form of tender, all addenda, and the geotechnical report. Add the answers to three questions: when it closes, which scope is yours, and what is supplied by others.
Why does the geotechnical report matter so much?
Rock, groundwater, reactive clay and fill change the cost of earthworks, drainage and pavements more than anything else. Without the borehole logs an estimator has to assume, and assumptions about the ground are where tenders are won or lost.
Can you price from early or incomplete drawings?
Yes, on stated assumptions. Anything missing is listed in the estimate, so you can see exactly what would change when the document arrives. For very early designs, a budget figure is the honest product, not a tender estimate.
What file formats can I send?
PDF and DWG are both fine. A download link to a folder or tender portal works better than large email attachments.
How quickly will I hear back?
The same business day, with a fixed fee and a delivery date before anything starts.