Frequently Asked Questions

Estimate 1st is our preconstruction method, and it is how we recommend starting any commercial project. From very minimal information — often nothing more than a napkin sketch, a site address, and an intended use — we produce two things: a detailed, CSI-level conceptual budget and an early design concept. Both land before design, before regular estimates, before the bid process, which is the entire point. The number arrives while every one of your options is still open. The full method lives on our Pre-Construction Services page.

Nothing, and no. There is no fee, no contract, and no obligation to build with us. We put a defensible number in front of you before there is any guarantee of the work because the estimate is the audition — a contractor willing to show real numbers up front is demonstrating estimating capability rather than describing it. Send us what you have and we will get to work.

Because the pricing comes from our own project history rather than a published national index. We have been building along the Wasatch Front since 2008, and every completed job feeds a cost database of what this market actually charges for this specific scope. That lets us run the same estimating discipline a general contractor normally applies at construction-document stage at concept stage instead. Our Our History page covers where that discipline came from.

A sketch, a parcel or address, an intended use, and a rough size is enough. You do not need drawings, a program document, or a consultant team — the premise of the method is that you should not have to buy information just to find out whether the project is worth buying information about. Call us at 801-756-7000 or send the details through our contact form.

They answer different questions at different moments. A bid tells you what the market will charge for a design you have already paid to produce. A conceptual budget tells you whether to produce it. An Estimate 1st package carries a full CSI-division breakdown with every line on its own cost basis, cost per square foot split between shell and tenant improvement, and a supporting document that typically runs ten or more pages — enough to underwrite against with a lender or partner, and enough to hand an architect as a real ceiling to draw to. See everything the package includes.

A general contractor is the single accountable party for the build — selecting and coordinating subcontractors, holding the schedule and the budget, overseeing quality on site, and answering to the owner for the outcome. We take a broader view of the job than that. A general contractor is hired to represent the owner's best interest: to check that every charge is fair and push back when it is not, rather than hiring subs and passing change orders through. That is why so much of our work is repeat business. See all of our services.

Four core services: Pre-Construction Services, the home of Estimate 1st; Design-Build; Commercial General Contracting; and Construction Management. Most owners start with preconstruction and carry the same team straight through the build, but each service stands on its own if that is what your project needs.

It comes down to how much cost certainty you want and how early you want it. Design-bid-build finishes the design, then discovers the price. Design-build puts design and construction under one contract with one accountable team, so estimating sits inside the design process from day one — fewer handoffs, fewer change orders born of drawings that ignore construction reality, and a budget that holds because cost was a design input rather than an afterthought. If you already have an architect you like, run Estimate 1st first and hand them a real ceiling to draw to.

Yes — demolition, drywall, and electrical. Our own demolition crew means tear-out and framing can begin almost immediately instead of waiting on an outside subcontractor, which gets a project moving on day one. An established electrical company joined Complete Contracting, giving us in-house electrical capability on our own jobs. The gain is speed, control, and depth on the trades that most affect a project's pace and finish quality. More on our self-performed trades.

Yes. Phasing an occupied or operating building is routine construction management work for us — we build the master schedule, sequence the trades, and plan site logistics and access so your doors stay open and your people keep working while the build happens around them. Remodels and build-outs in live retail centers and operating offices are a regular part of our portfolio.

Six categories cover most of our work: Event Centers, Restaurants, Retail Spaces, Corporate Offices, Institutional work for schools and community facilities, and Medical Office. No project is too small to start a relationship — one long-running client began with a single monitor installation and grew into a remodel of their entire 120,000-square-foot building.

Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, and Wyoming. We are headquartered in Highland, Utah, and the Wasatch Front from Provo to Salt Lake City and up to Park City is our home base — but we take commercial work anywhere in the state and across the surrounding Mountain West. See the full service area, or just tell us where the project sits and we will say straight away whether we are the right fit.

Yes. Complete Contracting Company is a licensed, bonded, and insured commercial general contractor holding active commercial contractor licenses in Utah (9636265-5501), Idaho (RCE-55754), and Arizona (ROC-330775), and we carry general liability, workers' compensation, and commercial auto coverage. We also hold that a general contractor earns its fee by taking on real risk and standing behind the work — more on how we operate.

We opened on May 1, 2008, in the middle of the recession, originally under the name R4 Constructors — same company, same tax ID, one continuous history since. Our project galleries show finished work by category, our client reviews are verbatim from Google, and our Our History page covers the team and the history behind them.