Construction General Conditions Calculator

General conditions (GCs) are 6–14% of hard cost, mostly fixed-time.

Project months

Monthly PM + super

Site office + trailers / mo

Utilities / mo

Equipment / mo

General labor / mo

Total general conditions

$588,000

Monthly total

$49,000

Per month avg

$49,000

How the math works

Monthly = PM + super + site office + utilities + equipment + general labor.

$32k + $1.8k + $2.2k + $5k + $8k = $49k/mo × 12 mo = $588,000 GCs.

How to Use

Enter project months.
Enter monthly pm + super.
Enter site office + trailers / mo.
Enter utilities / mo.
Enter equipment / mo.
Enter general labor / mo.
Read total general conditions.

Frequently Asked Questions

General conditions components?

Project manager: $12–22k/month. Superintendent: $9–16k/month. Project engineer: $5–12k/month. Site office trailer: $400–1,500/mo. Storage trailer: $200–500/mo. Sanitation: $200–600/mo. Power/water during construction: $800–3,000/mo. Material handling equipment: $1.5–8k/mo. General labor (cleanup, errands): $4–15k/month. Insurance allocations: 1–2.5% of hard cost. Schedule extension cost: 1.0–1.5x base monthly.

How does this impact project budget?

Construction budgets layer hard costs (50–65%), soft costs (15–25%), financing (5–10%), contingency (5–10%), and developer fee (3–5%). Schedule risk often equals or exceeds cost risk — every month delay carries carry cost (interest, real estate tax, insurance, opportunity cost) of 0.5–1.5% of project budget. This calculator quantifies one cost component.

Owner-controlled vs GMP vs CM-at-risk?

Lump sum/GMP: contractor takes risk above guaranteed maximum price, owner pays for change orders. CM-at-risk: open book, fee + GMP, more transparent. Construction management: agent for owner, GC subcontracted directly. Design-build: single accountability, faster but less price competition. Match delivery method to project complexity and owner sophistication.

Schedule and cost contingency?

Standard contingency: 10% of hard cost for entitlement, 5–8% for construction. Schedule contingency: 60–90 days buffer past target completion. Force majeure provisions: weather, material lead time, labor strike, permit delay. Track via critical path method (CPM) schedule. Major lender draws contingent on schedule + cost variance to budget remaining within 5%.