Practice Test Geeks(CCS) Certified Construction Specifier Practice Test
← All CCS Flashcard Decks

Cost Estimation Flashcards

7 cards from real CCS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Cost Estimation flashcards as text

  1. A specifier notices that a bid price for structural steel is 18% below the average of other bids. The BEST immediate action is to:

    Answer: Investigate whether the bidder omitted scope or used incorrect material grades before recommending award

    An unusually low bid may signal omitted scope, arithmetic error, or use of non-compliant materials, all of which require investigation before award recommendation.

  2. In cost estimating, 'indirect costs' typically include:

    Answer: Supervision, temporary facilities, insurance, bonds, and general conditions

    Indirect costs (general conditions) cover project overhead items like supervision, site trailers, temporary utilities, and insurance rather than installed work.

  3. Which estimating technique involves breaking a project into individual components, quantifying each, and pricing each line item separately?

    Answer: Detailed quantity takeoff (bottom-up estimate)

    A bottom-up estimate developed from a detailed quantity takeoff provides the highest accuracy by pricing every measured component individually.

  4. The RS Means cost data 'city cost index' is used to:

    Answer: Adjust national average unit costs to reflect local labor and material conditions

    City cost indexes factor local wage rates, material pricing, and market conditions into RS Means national averages to produce location-specific cost estimates.

  5. A 'guaranteed maximum price' (GMP) contract shifts which risk compared to a lump-sum contract?

    Answer: The owner retains savings if actual costs fall below the GMP, and the contractor bears cost overruns above the GMP

    Under a GMP, the contractor is at risk for costs exceeding the ceiling while any savings below it are typically shared or returned to the owner per contract terms.

  6. Which cost category is classified as a 'soft cost' in construction project budgeting?

    Answer: Architectural and engineering fees

    Soft costs are non-construction expenses such as design fees, permits, legal costs, and financing charges, as opposed to hard costs tied to physical construction.

  7. When preparing a cost estimate, escalation should be applied from which reference point to the midpoint of construction?

    Answer: The date the estimate is prepared

    Escalation is calculated from the estimate date to the midpoint of the construction period, when the bulk of procurement and installation expenditures occur.