How to Bid a Concrete Job: A Guide for Subcontractors

Learn how to bid a concrete job accurately. Step-by-step guide for subcontractors covering material takeoffs, labor, equipment, and markup.

How to Bid a Concrete Job: A Step-by-Step Guide for Subcontractors

Bidding concrete work is not complicated, but it is easy to get wrong. Miss your material quantities by 10% or forget to account for equipment time and you lose money on the job. This guide walks you through how to bid a concrete job the right way, from reading the plans to sending a client-ready proposal.

Start With a Thorough Scope Review

Before you touch a calculator, read the plans and specs carefully. You need to know exactly what you are pricing.

Ask yourself:

  • Is this flatwork, footings, walls, or a combination?
  • What is the concrete mix design and PSI requirement?
  • Are there reinforcement requirements like rebar or wire mesh?
  • Who is responsible for formwork and finish work?
  • Are there special conditions like fiber additives, vapor barriers, or control joint patterns?

Missed scope items are one of the biggest reasons subcontractors lose money on concrete jobs. Get clear on what is and is not in your work before you price anything.

Calculate Your Material Quantities

Concrete is sold by the cubic yard. To figure out how much you need, use this formula:

Length (ft) x Width (ft) x Thickness (ft) / 27 = Cubic Yards

Convert your thickness to feet first. A 4-inch slab is 0.33 feet. A 6-inch slab is 0.5 feet.

For example, a 1,000 square foot slab at 4 inches thick:

1,000 x 0.33 / 27 = 12.2 cubic yards

Always add 5 to 10% for waste and overrun. Short loads from the ready-mix plant cost you more per yard, and running out of concrete mid-pour is a costly problem.

Beyond concrete, list out every other material you need:

  • Rebar or wire mesh
  • Vapor barrier
  • Form lumber or form rentals
  • Anchor bolts or embeds
  • Curing compound
  • Control joint supplies
  • Concrete sealer if included in scope

Price each item at your current supplier costs, not last year's prices.

Estimate Your Labor Hours

Labor is where most concrete bids go sideways. You need to know your crew's production rates based on real job history.

Common benchmarks for experienced concrete crews:

  • Flatwork (place, screed, finish): 0.05 to 0.10 labor hours per square foot depending on complexity
  • Formwork for walls or footings: 0.15 to 0.25 hours per linear foot
  • Rebar installation: 0.03 to 0.06 hours per square foot

If you do not have your own historical data yet, these are reasonable starting points. Build your own numbers over time by tracking actual hours on every job.

Multiply your total labor hours by your all-in labor rate. That means base wages plus burden, which includes payroll taxes, workers comp, and benefits. Burden typically adds 25 to 35% on top of base wages.

Account for Equipment and Subcontractor Costs

Concrete jobs often involve equipment you own or need to rent:

  • Concrete pump rental
  • Screed or power trowel rental
  • Laser level or screed rail setup
  • Saw cutting for control joints

If you are bringing in a pump truck, call and get a firm price. Do not estimate it from memory. Equipment costs change, and locking in a number protects your margin.

If any portion of the work is subcontracted, get a written quote from your sub before you bid. Never plug in a number you hope is close enough.

Add Your Overhead and Markup

Your direct costs cover materials, labor, and equipment. But you also have real costs just to run your business: office expenses, insurance, vehicles, estimating time, and owner salary.

Your overhead markup should cover those costs and still leave you with profit. Most specialty concrete subcontractors run a combined overhead and profit markup somewhere between 15 and 30% depending on job size, risk, and market conditions.

Smaller, riskier jobs justify higher markup. Large volume work with repeat GC clients might support a tighter number. Know your own cost structure before you decide.

Put Together a Professional Proposal

Your number only matters if you can present it in a way that builds confidence with the GC or owner reviewing your bid. A sloppy handwritten quote or a vague lump-sum email hurts your credibility before the job even starts.

A solid concrete bid should include:

  • Itemized breakdown of materials, labor, and equipment
  • Clear scope inclusions and exclusions
  • Concrete mix specs and quantities
  • Lead time and schedule assumptions
  • Your company contact information and license number

This is where TradeBid helps. TradeBid is built for specialty trade subcontractors who need to create clean, itemized, client-ready bid PDFs fast. You enter your line items, quantities, and costs, and TradeBid formats a professional proposal you can send the same day. No spreadsheet wrestling, no formatting headaches.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Forgetting to include pour day labor for a full crew even if the pour is short
  • Underestimating truck washout fees and short load charges from ready-mix suppliers
  • Not accounting for site access issues that slow your crew down
  • Leaving out profit because you want to win the job at any cost

Winning a job you lose money on is worse than not winning it at all.

Final Thought

Bidding concrete work accurately comes down to doing the takeoff right, knowing your real labor costs, and building in enough margin to keep your business healthy. Follow a consistent process on every bid and your numbers will get sharper over time.

Ready to send faster, more professional bids? Try TradeBid free at tradebid.org and start creating itemized, client-ready concrete bid proposals today.