What contingency is for
Some costs are likely but not measurable at bid time. The drawings are incomplete. A site condition cannot be seen. A material price may move before you buy. Contingency puts a number on that risk.
What contingency is not
- It is not profit. Profit is what you plan to keep.
- It is not an allowance. An allowance is a stated sum for a named item.
- It is not a cover for a rushed takeoff.
- It is not money for owner changes. Those are change orders.
Who carries it
Owners carry contingency in the project budget. GCs carry it in their estimates. A sub in a hard bid often cannot carry much, because the price must stay competitive. On design-build and negotiated jobs, a sub can show it openly.
How to size it
There is no standard number. Size it from the risks on the job. List each risk, judge how likely it is and what it would cost. A complete set of documents for work you do often needs little. A schematic set with no spec needs more.
Better tools than contingency
Contingency is the last tool, not the first. Try these before you add money.
- Ask a question. A written answer from the design team removes the unknown.
- Write a qualification. State the assumption your price depends on.
- Write an exclusion. Put the unknown item outside your price.
- Offer a unit price for work that cannot be measured yet.
- Carry contingency for what is left.
Each of the first four moves the risk into the open, where the GC can see it. Hidden contingency only makes your number higher.
Bidding and estimating · Updated 11 Nov 2026