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Estimating & Biddingaka: project overheadaka: field overheadaka: job overhead

General Conditions

In Plain English

The overhead costs of running a construction project — supervision, trailers, utilities, and similar items.

Definition

General conditions are the costs associated with managing and administering a construction project that are not tied to any specific physical work item, such as project management, supervision, temporary facilities, and insurance. They are estimated as a separate line item in a contractor's bid. General conditions typically represent 5–15% of total project cost.

Why It Matters in Bidding

General conditions are one of the largest non-trade line items in a bid, so accurately estimating them based on project duration and staffing is essential to staying competitive without underfunding site management. Because they scale with schedule, any delay or extension directly increases general conditions burn, making them a focal point in change orders and delay claims.

Example

Estimating a 14-month school project, the estimator builds general conditions from a staffing plan covering a full-time superintendent, project trailer, temporary power, and dumpsters, totaling about 9 percent of the bid.

Related Terms

OverheadDirect CostsIndirect CostsGeneral Contractor

Frequently Asked Questions

Most estimators build general conditions bottom-up from the project schedule and staffing plan, pricing each item, such as supervision, the trailer, temporary utilities, and cleanup, by the months it is needed. Time-dependent costs scale with duration, so an accurate schedule is the foundation; a flat percentage is only a rough check.
They overlap heavily and the terms are often used interchangeably. General requirements typically refers to the CSI Division 01 specification items, while general conditions is the estimating and cost term for the project overhead those requirements drive. In practice an estimator prices Division 01 to build the general conditions line.
Because many general conditions costs accrue per day or month, an owner-caused delay extends them directly. Contractors quantify extended general conditions, the daily site overhead, when seeking time and money for delays. A well-documented general conditions estimate strengthens the basis for these claims and time-impact analyses.

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