General Conditions

What are general conditions?

General conditions (often called GCs in estimating, not to be confused with general contractor) are the indirect costs of running a specific project: site supervision, temporary power, dumpsters, portable toilets, safety meetings, project software, and daily cleanup.

They are not the lumber in the wall. They are what it takes to put the lumber in the wall on schedule and legally.

General conditions vs general requirements

Both show up in commercial estimates and schedules of values.

Common general conditions line items

• Project manager and superintendent time
• Temporary fencing, signage, and security
• Scaffolding, lifts, and hoisting
• Jobsite office, connectivity, and printing
• Daily cleanup and mobilization / demobilization
• Small tools and consumables allocated to the job

Missing general conditions is a classic way to win the bid and lose the job.

Pricing general conditions

Estimate GCs from duration and intensity of the project:

• Longer schedule means more months of supervision and temp facilities
• Urban or occupied sites cost more for logistics and protection
• Higher inspection counts add coordination labor

Use historical job costing from similar projects instead of a flat percentage guess.

General conditions vs overhead

General conditions belong to one project. Overhead (shop rent, admin salaries, marketing) spans all jobs. Some contractors mark up GCs separately; others fold part of company overhead into each estimate. Either way, know which dollars are covered.

General conditions are real money spent on every job site. Budget them explicitly or they come out of your trade margin invisibly.