General conditions calculator for construction estimates
Build your general conditions from the schedule, line by line: site staff and rentals by the month, plus one-time and quantity-based items. The calculator totals them, shows your monthly burn and prices a schedule slip, with every formula printed below the results.
Reviewed by the Ruh construction team · November 2026
Calculated with the free general conditions calculator at ruh.ai
Project and Schedule
Dollar defaults are illustrative. Replace every one with your own.
Site Staff
Subtotal $254,000Loaded monthly cost x share of time x months on site.
| Role | Loaded $ / month | Share % | Months | Extends | Remove |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Role | Loaded $ / month | Share % | Months | Extends with schedule | |
| Role | Loaded $ / month | Share % | Months | Extends with schedule | |
| Role | Loaded $ / month | Share % | Months | Extends with schedule |
Site Rentals and Utilities
Subtotal $45,000Monthly cost x months.
| Item | $ / month | Months | Extends | Remove |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item | $ / month | Months | Extends with schedule | |
| Item | $ / month | Months | Extends with schedule | |
| Item | $ / month | Months | Extends with schedule | |
| Item | $ / month | Months | Extends with schedule | |
| Item | $ / month | Months | Extends with schedule |
One-Time Items
Subtotal $7,500Added once, whatever the schedule.
| Item | Amount ($) | Remove |
|---|---|---|
| Item | Amount ($) | |
| Item | Amount ($) |
Quantity Items
Subtotal $10,000Quantity x unit rate. These move with the size of the job, not its length.
| Item | Quantity | Unit | $ / unit | Remove |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Quantity | Unit | $ / unit |
Your General Conditions
- Staff
- $254,000
- Rentals and utilities
- $45,000
- One-time
- $7,500
- Quantity
- $10,000
- Contingency (5%)
- $15,825
Your general conditions come to $332,325 over 10 months, an average of $33,233 a month. The time-based lines burn $31,500 a month, so a 2-month slip adds $63,000 before contingency if every time-based line runs on.
How This Is Calculated
- Staff line: loaded monthly cost x share of time / 100 x months on site.
- Rental line: monthly cost x months. One-time line: the amount. Quantity line: quantity x unit rate.
- Subtotal: every line added up. Contingency: subtotal x contingency percent. Total: subtotal plus contingency.
- Monthly burn: each staff line's monthly cost x share of time, plus each rental line's monthly cost.
- Slip cost: the burn of the lines that extend with the schedule x the months of delay, before contingency.
- Average per month: total / project duration. Share of construction cost: total / construction cost x 100.
That answers one job's general conditions. Get a takeoff on your own drawings, free.
Send one set of drawings from a job you are bidding and we take it off free, every quantity tied to the sheet it came from.
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Book a walkthroughHow to Estimate General Conditions
Estimate general conditions from the schedule, not from a percentage. Take the months the job runs, price each staff role and site rental at its monthly cost for the months it is on site, then add one-time items and anything that scales with the work, like final cleaning.
- 1Take the duration from your schedule. It goes in Project duration, and new lines start at that many months.
- 2Price site staff. Loaded monthly cost x share of time x months, in Site staff. Loaded means wages plus payroll taxes, benefits and anything else your company charges to the job for that role. Shared staff go in at their share of time, for example a project manager split across two jobs at 50 percent.
- 3Add rentals and utilities. Monthly cost x months, in Site rentals and utilities.
- 4Add one-time and quantity items. Mobilization and the project sign in One-time items, final cleaning by the square foot in Quantity items.
- 5Add contingency only if your company carries one here. It goes in the contingency field as a percent.
The full method sits in the cost estimating guide, and loaded rates are covered under labor costs.
A Worked General Conditions Estimate
On an illustrative 10-month job, three staff roles, five monthly site items, two one-time items and final cleaning add up to $316,500, or $332,325 with a 5 percent contingency. These are the calculator's defaults, so you can check each line against the tool.
Illustrative figures| Group | Line | Working | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff | Superintendent | $12,000 x 100% x 10 | $120,000 |
| Staff | Project manager | $14,000 x 50% x 10 | $70,000 |
| Staff | Project engineer | $8,000 x 100% x 8 | $64,000 |
| Staff subtotal | $254,000 | ||
| Rentals | Jobsite office trailer | $900 x 10 | $9,000 |
| Rentals | Temporary toilets | $400 x 10 | $4,000 |
| Rentals | Dumpsters and hauling | $1,200 x 10 | $12,000 |
| Rentals | Temporary power, water and internet | $1,500 x 10 | $15,000 |
| Rentals | Temporary fencing rental | $500 x 10 | $5,000 |
| Rentals subtotal | $45,000 | ||
| One-time | Mobilization, trailer setup and removal | $6,000 | |
| One-time | Project sign | $1,500 | |
| One-time subtotal | $7,500 | ||
| Quantity | Final cleaning | 40,000 sq ft x $0.25 | $10,000 |
| Subtotal | 254,000 + 45,000 + 7,500 + 10,000 | $316,500 | |
| Contingency | $316,500 x 5% | $15,825 | |
| Total general conditions | $332,325 | ||
That is an average of $33,233 a month over 10 months. The time-based lines burn $31,500 a month, $27,000 of staff and $4,500 of rentals, and the total is 5.5 percent of a $6,000,000 construction cost. Your own rates and schedule replace every number here.
Time-Based, One-Time and Quantity-Based Costs
Most general conditions are time-based, so they grow with every month the job runs. One-time items such as mobilization stay fixed, and quantity-based items such as final cleaning move with the size of the building, not the length of the schedule.
Time-based
In: Site staff, Site rentals and utilities
- Superintendent
- Project manager
- Project engineer
- Trailer
- Toilets
- Dumpsters
- Temporary power, water and internet
- Fencing rental
- Site security
One-time
In: One-time items
- Mobilization and demobilization
- Trailer setup and removal
- Project sign
- As-built and closeout documents
Quantity-based
In: Quantity items
- Final cleaning by the square foot
- Floor protection by the square foot
Some contracts list what counts as a general condition, so check yours. General conditions are also often billed as their own schedule of values line.
What a Schedule Slip Costs in General Conditions
Multiply your monthly burn by the months of delay. In the example the time-based lines burn $31,500 a month, so a 2-month slip adds $63,000 before contingency if every time-based line runs on, with no added scope to bill against.
The burn counts every time-based line at its monthly cost and share of time. Untick Extends with schedule on any line that will not run on, such as a role that leaves on a fixed date, and the slip cost drops that line. Rebuild the sheet whenever the schedule changes, as the general conditions glossary entry also says.
General Conditions, Overhead, Fee and Bonds Are Separate Lines
General conditions are the cost of running this one job. Company overhead, your fee, and bonds and insurance priced as a share of the contract are separate lines that many estimates add after general conditions, so this calculator leaves them out.
Home-office staff and rent are overhead, not general conditions. See overhead and profit, and price your fee with the markup and margin calculator. The general conditions of the contract, such as AIA A201, are a legal document, not a cost list. The glossary entry above covers both meanings.
Check the Total Against Your Own Past Jobs
Use the share of construction cost as a check, not as the method. Published percentages vary with job size, length and type, so the useful comparison is your own finished jobs of a similar size and duration.
The Share of construction cost result does this check. If it is far from your past jobs, look for a missing role, a wrong duration or a line counted twice. The one published range on this page is in the FAQ below.
What This General Conditions Calculation Leaves Out
The arithmetic is exact, but it only prices the lines you enter. Anything left off the sheet stays out of the total.
- Rate escalation on long jobs. Enter a higher monthly rate if you expect raises.
- Weather protection and winter conditions, unless you enter them as lines.
- Permits and fees your contract assigns to you.
- Sales tax on rentals, where it applies.
- Fee, bonds and insurance, which are separate lines.
- Contingency beyond the one percentage field.
From General Conditions to a Complete Bid
Ruh AI's Estimating Agent prices from your own rate book and history, and your estimator can change any price or add their own costs.
General Conditions Calculator FAQs
How do you calculate general conditions in construction?+
Price each line from the schedule. Staff cost is the loaded monthly cost times the share of time on the job times the months on site, rentals and utilities are the monthly cost times the months, and one-time and quantity-based items are added on top. The total is the sum of the lines plus any contingency you carry.
What should a general conditions estimate include?+
The cost of running this one job: site staff, the trailer and temporary facilities, temporary utilities, waste and cleanup, safety and security, and mobilization. Your contract may list what counts, so check it. The full definition is in our general conditions glossary entry.
Should general conditions be a percentage of construction cost?+
Use a percentage as a check, not as the method. General conditions follow the schedule, so a job that runs longer costs more to run even when the building is the same. One law firm, Ogletree Deakins, wrote in 2018 that they may run 6 to 12 percent on typical commercial jobs, without publishing data behind it, and our general conditions glossary entry covers that range. Compare your total with your own past jobs of a similar size and length.
What is the difference between general conditions and overhead?+
General conditions are the costs of one job, such as its superintendent and trailer. Overhead is the cost of running the company, such as the home office and estimating staff, spread across all jobs. They are priced separately, and overhead belongs with your markup.
How do I price a superintendent in general conditions?+
Use the loaded monthly cost, meaning wages plus payroll taxes, benefits and anything else your company charges to the job for that role. Multiply it by the share of time on this job and the months on site. A superintendent at $12,000 a month, full time for 10 months, is $120,000.
What happens to general conditions when the schedule slips?+
Every time-based line keeps running. Multiply your monthly burn by the months of delay to see the added cost. At a burn of $31,500 a month, a 2-month slip adds $63,000 before contingency, if every time-based line runs on.
Is the general conditions calculator free?+
Yes. There is no sign-up. Change any line, add your own, and download the result as a CSV file built from your inputs.
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Figures on this page are illustrative. Construction estimates depend on project-specific conditions, source documents, market pricing, and professional judgment. Ruh's AI assists the estimator and does not replace professional review: your team reviews, validates, and approves every estimate, bid, and pricing decision.