Inspiration

Construction cost estimating can become complicated when projects involve many different materials, quantities, and unit prices. We wanted to create a simple tool that makes early-stage cost estimating quicker and easier to understand.

What it does

Build Cost allows users to create a construction estimate by entering project items, quantities, units, and unit costs. It automatically calculates direct costs, contingency, overhead, profit, and the final estimated project cost. It also provides a visual cost breakdown and allows users to export their estimate.

How we built it

Build Cost was developed using Python and Streamlit. Pandas handles the project data and cost calculations, while Plotly creates interactive cost visualizations. GitHub is used for version control, and Streamlit Community Cloud hosts the web application.

Challenges we ran into

One of our biggest challenges was handling editable project data while keeping calculations updated in real time. We also worked through issues involving Streamlit's data editor and DataFrame state management.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We built and deployed a fully functional web application that takes user inputs and turns them into an organized construction cost estimate with automatic calculations and visualizations.

What we learned

We learned more about Python web development, data management, debugging, GitHub, and deploying a working application online.

What's next for Build Cost

We want to add saved projects, material/labor/equipment breakdowns, location-based pricing, Excel and PDF reports, cost-per-square-foot calculations, and a larger construction cost database.