Construction Consulting & Estimating
We provide expert construction consulting and estimating in Toronto and across the GTA. Independent estimating, budget validation, value engineering and constructability review can be handled by our team. Here at Myhal Construction, owners and developers get a construction consultant with more than twenty years of estimating and delivery behind the advice. We hold no construction contract on the project, and our estimates come from people who have priced work for builders and for owners.
Numbers you can take to a board
Independent estimates built from real scopes and current market pricing, plus the reviews, validations and second opinions owners need between milestones, delivered quickly. A budget from us holds up in a board meeting or a lender review because it was built the way a contractor builds one.
One-off or ongoing
Many clients start with a single estimate or review and expand the engagement only if the project calls for it. Consulting stands on its own, and it extends naturally into preconstruction planning or full owner’s representation with no lost context.
We’ve built estimates from both sides of the table.
Our team has priced work on the contractor’s side and the owner’s, so we know how a construction number is put together and where it’s usually soft. We build your estimate from real scopes and current pricing, with contingencies that hold up in a board meeting or a lender review.
That experience was built at PCL Constructors and Oxford Properties, across more than $3 billion of office, residential, retail and industrial projects, from first pro forma to final claim.
See the track record →Construction consulting services. One estimate or the whole project.
Independent estimating
Quantity-based estimates at any design stage, from land acquisition to tender, priced against current trade and market data.
Budget validation
A second set of experienced eyes on a number before you commit to it, or take it to a partner, a board or a lender.
Value engineering
Options analysis that improves value without hollowing out the design — better systems and methods, not just cheaper ones.
Constructability review
A practical read of the drawings that catches conflicts, gaps and costly details while they’re still lines on paper.
Procurement & schedule strategy
Delivery models, sequencing and buy-out strategy structured for the best price at the least risk.
Project advisory
Ongoing counsel through delivery: progress reviews, change and claims support, and reporting you can act on.
Site analysis
Constructability insight during site selection, so the land you buy can carry the building you intend to put on it.
Project audits
Detailed audits of cost, quality and schedule on a live or completed project, with findings you can act on.
Reading the numbers yourself. Our guides to estimates, budgets and change.
How to read a construction estimate
Where to look first, which exclusions to ask about, and how to tell a carefully built number from a quick one.
Why independent estimates pay for themselves
Where a second number earns its fee, from the first budget through to tender.
How much contingency is enough?
How to size contingency to what you don’t know yet, and how to manage it as the design firms up.
Value engineering that doesn’t wreck the building
Where real savings usually sit, and the test to put every value engineering item through.
Where change orders come from
The four sources of change on a project, and what you can do about each of them before construction starts.
CCDC 2 explained for owners
What each part of the contract does for the owner, how changes and payment work in Ontario, and what to settle before you sign.
Advice that can become representation.
Consulting engagements stand on their own. But when a project needs more than answers, they extend naturally into preconstruction planning or full owner’s representation — with no lost context, because the same people carry it forward.
Owner’s representation →Common questions.
What is construction consulting?
Senior construction expertise without a construction contract: estimating, planning, reviews and advice for owners who want an experienced read on their project before they commit.
What does a construction consultant do?
We build independent estimates, check budgets before you commit to them, review drawings and schedules, and give advice at the points where a decision costs money. We work for the owner and hold no construction contract on the project. The work can be one estimate, a review at each design stage or regular advice through to handover.
What do construction consultants charge?
It depends on the work. A single estimate or review is usually a fixed fee, and ongoing advice is usually a monthly fee, both scaled to the size and stage of the project. Tell us what you’re building and where it stands on our contact page, and we’ll come back with a quote for your project.
What is a Class D estimate?
A Class D estimate is the earliest estimate in the Class A to D system used on Canadian public projects. It’s prepared at concept stage, before there are detailed drawings, from the program and the cost of similar buildings. It’s a check that the project sits in the right range, and it gets firmer as the design develops through Class C, B and A. Our guide to reading a construction estimate covers the classes in more detail.
How is this different from hiring a construction manager?
A construction manager is hired to deliver the build. We advise the owner on the decisions around it: the budget, the design, the procurement and the changes. Having estimated for both builders and owners, we can tell you how a number was put together and which parts of it are still soft.
Can you do a one-off estimate or review?
Yes. Many clients start with a single estimate or review and expand the engagement only if the project calls for it.
When should we bring you in?
Before the decision you want to de-risk. The earlier the question is asked, the cheaper the answer is to act on — see preconstruction planning.
Need a number you can trust? Or a second opinion on one you’ve been given?
Send us the drawings and the deadline. We’ll tell you what’s realistic.