Mark Allan Contracting

A pre-construction engagement

Get the number before you commit

A defined, paid engagement that gets you a defensible budget and a real schedule before construction starts — and if we build the project, the fee comes off your construction cost.

The problem

You're being asked for a number before anyone knows the scope.

An owner or a lender wants a figure. The drawings are half-done, the use is not fully settled, and the existing conditions are a question mark. Guess low and you eat the change orders. Guess high and you lose the deal. Pre-construction is how you get to a number you can actually stand behind — as a defined piece of work, not a favor.

Two ways to start

Pick the depth your project needs

Feasibility & Budget Check

Does this project pencil?

For owners and brokers deciding whether a deal or a project is worth chasing.

  • Site walk and existing-conditions assessment
  • Order-of-magnitude budget
  • Feasibility read — does the building support the use
  • A rough schedule
  • A straight go / no-go
You walk away with

A short written budget and feasibility summary.

Full Pre-Construction

Most projects

A number and a plan you can build from.

For projects moving toward construction that need a defensible budget and a real schedule.

  • Everything in the Budget Check
  • Trade-by-trade budgeting
  • Value engineering, with the cost of each option
  • Full scope development a GC can bid
  • Permitting strategy for your jurisdiction
  • Matterport 3D scan of the space
  • A construction-ready schedule
You walk away with

A complete pre-construction package — budget, schedule, VE options, permitting roadmap, and scan.

What you walk away with

Real deliverables, not a verbal estimate

A scoped budget

Built trade by trade — not a per-foot guess — and defensible to an owner or lender.

A realistic schedule

A timeline that accounts for permitting and the long-lead items that actually move a date.

Value-engineering options

Ways to hit the same result for less — each with the cost, so the trade-off is yours to make.

A defined scope

A scope a GC can actually bid, so the numbers you compare are apples to apples.

A permitting roadmap

What your jurisdiction will require, mapped before you file — so review doesn’t stall the job.

A Matterport scan

An accurate 3D model of the existing space to build against — fewer field surprises.

How the fee works

A fixed fee, agreed up front. If we build the project, it comes off your construction cost.

No open meter and no surprise invoice — you know the number before we start. You get a defensible budget and a real plan either way. And if you hire us for the build, the pre-construction fee is credited back against construction, so the work pays for itself.

How the engagement runs
  1. 1

    Scope and fee

    We agree what the engagement covers and a fixed fee before any work starts. No open meter.

  2. 2

    Walk and assess

    We walk the space and dig into existing conditions, systems, feasibility, and the jurisdiction.

  3. 3

    Budget and plan

    We build the budget, schedule, and value-engineering options — the number and the plan behind it.

  4. 4

    Handoff

    You get the package and a clear decision. If we build the project, the fee credits back against construction.

Why bring us in early

Early, your decisions are cheap. Later, they’re expensive.

At the start of a project you can still influence the cost for almost nothing — it’s a redline, not a demolition. Once it’s built, the same change costs the most it ever will. Pre-construction is how you spend your influence while it’s still cheap.

A GC in the room during budgeting catches the conditions, the code triggers, and the long-lead items early — while they’re redlines, not change orders.

Your influence over costCost of a changeConceptDesignPre-constructionConstructionthe sweet spot
Illustrative — the classic reason to bring a builder in before the drawings are done.

Start with a call

Tell us about the project and we'll scope a pre-construction engagement — and what it'll cost.