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What Is Preconstruction in Construction?

Preconstruction is the phase of a construction project before work starts on site, when the contractor or construction manager budgets the project, estimates it, reviews the design for constructability, proposes value engineering, plans procurement and builds the schedule. It ends with a price and a plan the owner can sign, such as a bid, a negotiated contract sum or a guaranteed maximum price.

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Updated November 2026 · Reviewed by the Ruh construction team

Also called preconRuns alongside designEnds in a bid or a GMPAIA form A133-2019

Precon turns a design into a price and a plan

BudgetingEstimatingConstructability review and value engineeringProcurement planning and schedulingA price: a bid or a GMP
The definition

Preconstruction, Explained.

Preconstruction, or precon, is everything a builder does to price and plan a project before mobilizing. How much of it there is depends on when the builder joins the project.

On a design-bid-build job the contractor sees finished drawings, so precon is short: a takeoff, an estimate, sub quotes and a bid. On construction manager at risk and design-build jobs the builder joins during design and advises the owner and architect for months before the price is fixed. The AIA's A133-2019 agreement, used when an owner hires "a construction manager to provide both preconstruction advisory services and construction", splits the work into a preconstruction phase and a construction phase. The two phases can overlap on fast-track work.

Precon is where the estimate is built: the quantity takeoff, the general conditions, the contingency and the fee or markup. Mistakes made here show up later as change orders, overruns and disputes.

Precon also prices the cost of running the site, covered under general conditions. The two phases come from AIA A133-2019.

How it is measured

Preconstruction is measured by how well each estimate tracks the design and the owner's budget, and in the end by whether the signed price holds up during construction. Under AIA A133-2019 the construction manager updates the estimate at schematic design, design development and construction documents "with increasing detail and refinement", and must tell the owner when it runs over the approved budget. Teams also track whether long-lead items were ordered in time and how many trades have real sub quotes before the price is set.

What Are the Phases of Preconstruction?

Preconstruction has six parts: budgeting, estimating, constructability review, value engineering, procurement planning and scheduling. They are not strictly in order. Each repeats as the design moves from concept to construction documents.

  1. 1

    Budgeting

    What the precon team does
    Tests the owner's program, schedule and budget against each other
    What it produces
    A budget the design can be held to
    Where AIA A133-2019 requires it
    §3.1.2
  2. 2

    Estimating

    What the precon team does
    Prices the design at each stage, from area and volume numbers to a detailed takeoff
    What it produces
    An estimate per design stage, and a warning when it runs over budget
    Where AIA A133-2019 requires it
    §3.1.6
  3. 3

    Constructability review

    What the precon team does
    Checks that the design can be built as drawn, in sequence, with available labor and materials
    What it produces
    Design comments back to the architect
    Where AIA A133-2019 requires it
    §3.1.3.2 and §3.1.7
  4. 4

    Value engineering

    What the precon team does
    Finds cheaper ways to deliver the same function
    What it produces
    Priced alternatives for the owner to accept or reject
    Where AIA A133-2019 requires it
    §3.1.3.2 and §3.1.6.1 (alternative designs, materials and cost reductions)
  5. 5

    Procurement planning

    What the precon team does
    Lines up subcontractors and orders long-lead items early
    What it produces
    A subcontracting plan and a procurement schedule
    Where AIA A133-2019 requires it
    §3.1.11 and §3.1.12
  6. 6

    Scheduling

    What the precon team does
    Builds the project schedule, including fast-track and phasing
    What it produces
    A project schedule that includes the GMP proposal date
    Where AIA A133-2019 requires it
    §3.1.4 and §3.1.5

Each part repeats at every design stage

Each estimate class has its own method, covered in the types of construction estimates guide. The value engineering definition is from OMB Circular A-131.

Budgeting

The precon team checks whether the owner's program, schedule and budget fit together before anyone draws in detail. A133-2019 asks for exactly that: "a preliminary evaluation of the Owner's program, schedule and construction budget requirements, each in terms of the other."

Estimating

Early estimates use area, volume or similar conceptual methods, often starting from a ROM estimate. As the drawings develop, the estimate moves to a full takeoff priced line by line. The types of construction estimates guide covers each class.

Constructability review

Constructability is "the optimum use of construction knowledge and experience in planning, design, procurement and field operations to achieve the overall project objectives", in the Construction Industry Institute's definition. In practice the builder marks up the drawings for clashes, hard sequences, access problems and details the trades cannot build as drawn.

Value engineering

Value engineering looks for a cheaper way to deliver the same function, not a cheaper building. The federal definition, in OMB Circular A-131 (revised 2013), is reaching "the essential functions at the lowest life-cycle cost consistent with required levels of performance, reliability, quality, or safety". Each idea goes to the owner and architect as a priced alternative.

Procurement planning

The precon team decides how the work will be bought: which trades to package, which subcontractors to invite, and which items to order before construction because their lead times run past the start date. A133-2019 asks the construction manager to "develop bidders' interest in the Project" and to prepare a procurement schedule for items ordered in advance. When the price is set, the actual purchasing is called buyout.

Scheduling

The precon schedule ties design, procurement and construction together. Under A133-2019 it includes the date of the GMP proposal, each subcontractor's start and finish, and the ordering of long-lead products, and the construction manager advises on fast-track and phased construction.

Who Does Preconstruction?

The builder's precon team does most of it, working with the owner and the design team. On a CM at risk job that team belongs to the construction manager, and on a design-build job to the design-builder.

  • Preconstruction manager or director

    Runs precon on a project: leads the estimate at each stage, runs constructability and value engineering reviews, and presents the budget or GMP to the owner. On smaller teams the chief estimator often holds the role.

  • Estimators

    Run the takeoff and price it, by trade.

  • Scheduler

    Builds the precon and construction schedule.

  • MEP and field leads

    Review the design for coordination and sequence, often a future superintendent.

  • The owner, architect and engineers

    Accept or reject each recommendation.

  • Key subcontractors

    Brought in early on some jobs for design-assist pricing on trades such as mechanical, electrical and curtain wall.

What Is a Preconstruction Services Agreement?

A preconstruction services agreement is the contract that hires a builder to advise during design and sets what it must deliver and how it is paid. On AIA paper it is usually built into A133-2019, which covers both the preconstruction and construction phases in one agreement.

Under A133-2019 the construction manager's precon duties sit in §3.1, from the first budget check to the procurement schedule. Precon services are paid under their own article, Article 5, separate from the construction phase fee. Two clauses matter most to the estimator:

Estimates are advice, not a guarantee
§3.1.1 says the construction manager "does not warrant or guarantee estimates and schedules except as may be included as part of the Guaranteed Maximum Price."
Precon ends with a price
§3.2 has the construction manager propose a guaranteed maximum price, built from its estimate of the cost of the work, its contingency and its fee. It becomes binding when the owner signs the GMP amendment.

How the price that ends precon is built is on the GMP glossary entry. Sources: AIA A133-2019 and the AIA's B133-2019 and A134-2019 family page.

The architect's matching agreement is B133-2019, and A134-2019 is the version without a GMP. Some owners also sign a short standalone precon agreement before choosing a builder for construction. Its terms vary by owner, so read the scope of services, the fee and who owns the estimates.

What Is a Preconstruction Meeting?

A preconstruction meeting, often called the precon meeting, is a kickoff held after the contract is awarded and before work starts on site. It is a single meeting, not the preconstruction phase.

The owner, contractor, design team and often key subcontractors meet to confirm who has authority to approve what, the schedule, the submittal and RFI process, safety and site rules, and how payment applications will be handled. On US federal contracts, FAR 36.212 has the contracting officer give the winning contractor a preconstruction orientation, by letter or at a preconstruction conference, covering items such as labor standards, subcontracting plans and who holds authority.

The meeting sets how each submittal moves through review. Source: FAR 36.212.

Worked example

A Preconstruction Example: Bringing an Estimate Back to Budget

Precon earns its fee when the first estimate comes in over budget. Here is how a team closes the gap before the price is set. These figures are illustrative, not market rates.

An owner plans a 30,000 square foot office building with an illustrative construction budget of $12,000,000. At schematic design, the construction manager's conceptual estimate is an illustrative $415 per square foot, or $12,450,000. That is $450,000 over budget, so the team takes three value engineering and constructability ideas to the owner and architect:

Estimate at schematic design$12,450,000
Estimate after the three ideas$11,995,000
Owner's budget: $12,000,000. Illustrative figures.
Storefront in place of curtain wall on the two side elevations$260,000
A single-ply roof membrane in place of the specified built-up roof$120,000
Resequence steel and deck to cut 3 weeks of general conditions at $25,000 a week$75,000
Total$455,000

The owner accepts all three, and the estimate drops to $11,995,000, $5,000 under budget. That margin is too thin to carry into design development, so the team also uses procurement planning: it recommends the owner release the electrical switchgear and the storefront early, because both have lead times past the planned start, which locks in two of the biggest price risks before the guaranteed maximum price is set.

How Ruh handles it

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Preconstruction: Frequently Asked Questions

What does preconstruction mean in construction?+

Preconstruction is the planning phase before work starts on site. The contractor or construction manager budgets, estimates, checks the design for constructability, proposes value engineering, plans procurement and builds the schedule, so the owner can sign a price and a plan.

What does a preconstruction manager do?+

A preconstruction manager runs a builder's precon work on a project. They lead the estimate at each design stage, run constructability and value engineering reviews with the architect, line up subcontractors and long-lead orders, and present the budget or GMP proposal to the owner. On smaller teams the chief estimator often holds the role.

What are preconstruction services?+

They are the advice and pricing a builder provides during design, under contract and usually for a fee. In AIA A133-2019 they include a first check of the owner's program, schedule and budget, estimates at each design stage, constructability and cost advice, a project schedule, a subcontracting plan and a procurement schedule for items ordered before construction.

What is a preconstruction meeting?+

It is a kickoff held after the contract is awarded and before work starts. The owner, contractor and design team confirm who approves what, the schedule, submittals, safety, site rules and payment steps. On US federal contracts, FAR 36.212 has the contracting officer give the winning contractor a preconstruction orientation, by letter or at a preconstruction conference, covering items such as labor standards, subcontracting plans and who holds authority.

Who pays for preconstruction services?+

The owner, when precon is part of the contract. Under AIA A133-2019 the owner pays the construction manager for preconstruction phase services under Article 5, separate from the construction phase fee. On bid work, a contractor's estimating is usually its own overhead, recovered only through the jobs it wins.

Is preconstruction the same as estimating?+

No. Estimating is one part of preconstruction. Precon also covers budgeting against the owner's program, constructability review, value engineering, procurement planning and scheduling, and on a CM at risk job it ends with a guaranteed maximum price proposal.

How long does preconstruction take?+

As long as the design and the delivery method need. On a bid job it is the weeks between the invitation to bid and the bid date. On a CM at risk or design-build job it runs alongside design, from early concept to the guaranteed maximum price. Under AIA A133-2019 construction can even start before precon ends, on fast-track work.

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Related Terms

Quantity takeoffROM estimateGMP (guaranteed maximum price)BuyoutGeneral contractor (GC)SubcontractorContingencyMarkup

Keep going: A Preconstruction Example: Bringing an Estimate Back to Budget, The construction bid process, step by step or explore Construction Estimating Software.

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