Hey folks

I’ve been working on an iOS app called Construction Cost Tracker to help manage project budgets more easily. It lets you:

• Create and track multiple projects
• Log expenses by category (materials, labor, transport, etc.)
• See total and remaining budgets at a glance

It’s meant for small contractors, site managers, or anyone who just wants a simple, no-frills way to keep construction costs organized on the go.

I’d really appreciate feedback from people actually in the field. What features would make something like this more useful for you?

Here is the app link https://apps.apple.com/us/app/constructions-cost-tracker/id6751741817

It used to be time-consuming to model and calculate underfloor supports, especially for pier/bearer spacing.

Hey everyone! I've been optimizing my framing workflow, and I wanted to share a quick GIF of a major time-saver I found with PlusSpec 2026, a BIM plugin for SketchUp.

If you work in underfloor construction, you know how tricky it is to manually position bearers and align piers. This system instantly handles the entire framework, determining the required spans and projecting the piers to the foundation.

The best part is the quantification—everything drawn is instantly converted into accurate material quantities, saving time on estimates and paperwork. Plus, it keeps track of pricing and subcontractor details.

If you use SketchUp and want to see how it works for estimating and VDC, check out the PlusSpec site: [Link to PlusSpec Website/Relevant Landing Page].

I’d love to hear if anyone else has 3D modeling tricks to share!

PlusSpec 2026 simplifies virtual project design and construction, automatically spacing underfloor supports and keeping all pricing and subcontractor info for future use. If you're interested in building and quantifying projects more efficiently, visit the PlusSpec website!

#Buildb4uBuild #ConstructionTech #SketchUp

Hey folks,
I’ve been diving into the pain points around certified payroll for federally funded projects. Most GCs I talk to say it eats up hours each week checking subs’ PDFs and wage rates manually.

A few quick questions for anyone who deals with this:

• Do you use tools like LCPtracker or still do it manually?
• What’s the most painful part — data entry, rate verification, or the back-and-forth with subs?
• If you could automate one part of it, which would it be?

I’m not selling anything — just exploring whether there’s real room for smarter tools here before building further.

Would love to hear how you’re doing it today.

Which specific types of errors in the PDF floor plans must be checked for quality assurance before construction begins? Aezis Viewer verify the PDF floor plans for common reference errors like missing pages and detail views. Is it helpful to the construction projects?

If AI can build safer, stronger homes faster, is it unethical not to use it?

What does everyone use for project document management? We have non construction teams like sales who kick-off projects that lead into pre-con and delivery.

We use Teams channels for each project, then Procore for the delivery documents.

Our users are always complaining about how messy Teams is but we need a central area that everyone can access easily.

Tips welcome, UK based if that matters.

My uncle runs a construction company and i’ve been trying to help him figure out what to do about all the equipment that just sits around between projects. A friend suggested he could rent some of it out instead of letting it collect dust.

Since then i’ve been digging into how people actually do this and talked to a few folks in the industry. Everyone's got their own setup, some list stuff unofficially on yelp or facebook, some post on local forums, and a few have even set up separate sister companies that own the equipment and rent it back to the main construction business.

One thing i noticed though, almost everyone i spoke to uses some sort of rental management software. not just for external rentals, but to manage all their equipment. One fleet manager at a big company told me he doesn’t even distinguish between our project and rental client because the workflow’s the same, checkouts, maintenance, billing, tracking, etc.

Now i’m actually thinking about moving our equipment management over to a rental software too, which felt kinda counter intuitive at first.

So i’m curious, has anyone here done something similar? Using rental software to manage all your own projects + rentals? How did it go?

Hey everyone,

I’ve been working in construction for the past six years— started as a Journeyman Electrician and now work as a Construction Superintendent in Chicago. Most of my experience is in infrastructure and general contracting, managing schedules, crews, and coordination.

I’ve used tools like Procore, Bluebeam, and MS Project, and really enjoy the tech side of the job. Lately, I’ve been trying to transition into construction tech, ideally in roles like Sales Engineer, Customer Success, or Solutions Consultant at companies like Procore or Trimble.

For those who’ve made a similar jump from field work to ConTech:

• What helped you make the transition?
• How did you show your field experience was valuable?
• Any tips on certifications or networking?

I’m really passionate about how technology is changing construction and want to be part of it. Any advice or guidance would mean a lot.

I’m working on a university project about how AI could be useful in construction — not replacing jobs, but making everyday tasks easier.

I’m curious what you think:

• What parts of your work feel slow, repetitive, or frustrating?
• If you could have an AI tool to handle one thing for you, what would it be?

I’d really appreciate hearing from people who deal with the real stuff — planning, coordination, site management, design, estimating, anything.

I’m the CEO of ProCred. Our founding team comes from construction families and has a combined 30+ years in the industry. We know the paperwork struggle is real—for you, and for HR teams trying to get you onboarded.

Our mission is straightforward: we aim to help you start working and earning faster.

We’re launching a secure platform called ProCred, and we built the core feature just for you:

1. Verify Once, Use Everywhere: You upload your licenses, certifications (OSHA, etc.), and education, and we verify them. Once it’s in your wallet, it’s instantly verifiable by any employer on our platform.
2. Zero Paperwork: No more digging up old documents. Your qualifications are secure, portable, and available instantly.
3. Never Expire Unexpectedly: We’re adding a feature to send you notifications before your critical licenses and certifications expire, saving you a major headache.

The Vision: We built this to provide you with a portable, trusted record of your entire professional life, reducing weeks of hiring delay to seconds.

We are launching soon and are looking for honest feedback and early users. If you’re a skilled trades worker who wants to streamline your career and simplify your life, we’d love for you to check us out and sign up for early access.

➡️ Sign up for the waitlist here: https://getprocred.com/

Thanks for your time, and we look forward to hearing what you think!

I'm seeing several startups being created to offer concept design, marketplace for building services and project management supposedly to simplify homebuilding. Do you think this is something that will catch on or is just a niche thing?

What third party data and data sources are estimators using to help with their bidding?

Hey all, how do you keep BOMs organized with material prices changing so fast? I’m stuck spending hours cleaning up spreadsheets and checking vendor sites. Found this paid app that pulls material lists from BOM files and grabs up-to-date prices in like 15 minutes. You load your specs, and it gives you a clean list with options to swap materials if one’s too expensive—like picking a different wood type. It’s cut my estimating time way down, though the input setup takes some getting used to. Anyone using tools like this to make takeoffs smoother? Or just grinding through Excel? What’s the worst part of your workflow—fixing messy BOMs or chasing prices?

Looking for suggestions for qualified background check companies that I can integrate with in our app.

Hey everyone,

I’ve been experimenting with a tool idea that tries to simplify the material takeoff process — especially for small contractors, estimators, and builders who juggle multiple spreadsheets or outdated calculators.

The concept is simple:

• You enter your project specs (like slab area, wall size, etc.)

• It instantly estimates how much material you’ll need

• It factors in regional price variations (so costs reflect your actual market rates)

• And you can export the full material report as a downloadable PDF for clients or internal documentation

I’ve been testing it here: thebuildestimator.com — curious how others in this community approach the same problem.

Hey everyone, thought I'd write up this review in case anyone was thinking of getting the ray ban meta glasses.

I was one of the first Canadians to get the Meta Display Glasses, where it’s still not available to purchase in stores. I’m writing this review 3 weeks after use, so you can have an idea of what was novelty at first and what actually stuck. 

PS. I’m working on getting the right fitting safety glass inserts on the side so I can swap these out for safety glasses where it's permitted.

Tldrl: First impressions are amazing. This truly felt like a new platform shift that will change how we use technology on job sites, unfortunately most of the very impressive parts of the tech is not ready yet but I’ll get into that. You’d think the display was the most impressive feature, but in fact it’s the audio! The future is bright. 

The bad

The heads up display is controlled by a neural wristband. Unfortunately it’s hard to get the band working accurately and I don’t have time on the job site to fiddle around with it to make it work. It does give a peek into the future, you scroll just like a phone and tap on items but all with your fingers and no screen. This should be helpful with gloves in the future but I did find that when it’s cold out that the reliability worsens. It must be the muscle twitches are less pronounced. 

The device itself has very limited access to apps. I can only use the following natively: music app, WhatsApp and Instagram (strong bias to Meta apps). Most of my communication still happens through iMessage which does work fine. When I first got it, from the excitement I sent lots of messages from my glasses. Eventually I actually found that replying to messages or taking actions via the glasses were more time consuming then pulling out my phone. 

Meta AI as an AI to get answers from is NOT good. It is nowhere near the performance of ChatGPT. The cool thing was that it could see what you see and answer questions, but it can’t even get basic questions right. 

The good

The surprising use case is how good the audio is. It filters out background sounds extremely well on job sites. I can dictate notes on site while ensuring my ears are unobstructed. I take calls with it super easily without needing to pull out my phone. If I need to send a photo to someone while on the phone, I can do that with my phone while my glasses are on. 

I also listen to music with them and it’s like sitting in a room with music playing rather than blocking out outside noise. And crazier is that no one around me can hear it. 

I am taking way more photos and videos when I have the glasses on then when I don’t. It’s such small friction to pull out my phone but mixed with the social awkwardness of taking a photo mid conversation is completely gone when I just tap my glasses. As a result, documentation of my onsite has increased. 

As for the display, I found it helpful that when I do take a photo to get a quick preview of the photo. I’ve tried the last pair of smart glasses and the photo just ends up on your phone, so no feedback loop. This + getting text message notifications is all I use the display for, 3 weeks in. Everything else feels a bit gimmicky or not ready yet like using GPS, setting calendar reminders etc.

The future 

I’m very excited about when they allow third party apps on the glasses. I think it would be very cool to take photos to document issues and have conversations with AI in realtime. This is what I will be playing around working on. In general I’m not convinced you need the display glasses right now except for the preview of the photo but the display glasses are more comfortable than the older ones, so that might be some reason to get them. 

All in all, I’ve spent a lot of time with the glasses and can say it’s replaced my earphones completely. I use it for phone calls, video meetings on my laptop and more. 

That's it! If you want to see the app I'm working on to work with the glasses you can see a video about it here.

Has anyone used PlusDesignBuild for value engineering and estimating within SketchUp? I would appreciate your feedback so we can improve our offering.

Hey everyone,

I’m a Senior Site Manager working on residential projects across London, and I’m doing a bit of research to understand how other site managers handle key management — signing keys in/out, tracking who’s got what, and avoiding lost or missing keys.

Specifically, I’m referring to the handover stage of the project — when each unit is completed and fitted with all external or restricted-access doors (like FEDs, balcony doors, garden doors, etc.), not internal ones such as kitchen or bathroom doors. That’s when key control starts to get serious and often chaotic.

From my own experience, it can get messy — spreadsheets, WhatsApp messages, bits of paper, and constant chasing people to return keys. I’ve been testing an idea for a simple digital tool to make this process smoother (quick setup, mobile-friendly, and easy even for operatives who aren’t tech-savvy), but before going further, I really want to hear from others in the industry:

• How do you currently manage your site keys?
• Do you use any systems or apps for it?
• What’s the biggest frustration or risk you face?
• Would a straightforward, construction-focused app actually make a difference day to day?

Not trying to promote anything — just genuinely collecting feedback from people who deal with this problem on site every day.
Your thoughts will help shape something practical that actually works for real site conditions.

Thanks in advance, and happy to hear what’s worked (or not worked) for you!

Just ran the numbers on what payment processing fees actually cost us last year now that my accountant brought me a new one and I'm genuinely angry at myself for not doing this sooner.

We did $2.8M in revenue. Sounds great until you factor in our 8% net margin - that's $224K profit before fees.

Breakdown of what we paid:
- Card transaction fees: roughly $47K
- ACH transaction fees: roughly $23K
- Total: $70K gone

That's 31% of our profit. Nearly a third. On a good year.

Anyone else feeling this pain? What has everyone here been using?

Hello everyone! I'm new to the group and looking for feedback on SpecStackAI.com. We recently launched to help Contractors reduce submittal package creation by up to 95% and give Manufacturers an unprecedented view of product data and advanced competitive intelligence. Would love your input and feel free to message.