If your question is not here, reach out. The first conversation is about the project and whether Cornerstone can add real value to it.
No. Cornerstone does not prepare bids, calculate material quantities, or produce takeoffs. What Cornerstone builds is the framework that supports the estimate — the schedule that shows the CM how the work will be executed, the financial forecast that shows the owner when their largest draws will land, the means and methods document that describes how the work will be performed, and the scope documents that define exactly what is and is not included in the price your estimator produced.
The estimate is yours. Cornerstone makes sure what surrounds it is as strong as the number itself.
No. The CPM schedule is one of several tools Cornerstone builds and maintains — but it is not the service. The schedule is first a roadmap. It tells the PM what is coming, drives the weekly look-ahead, and keeps the project moving in sequence. Roadblocks from any direction — a late approval, a predecessor trade that falls behind, a delivery that does not arrive — are documented against that baseline as they happen.
Maintained correctly over the life of a project, the schedule becomes a defensible project history. That is not why it is built. It is what it becomes.
Yes. The qualification is not union or non-union — it is whether the project and the contractor are the right fit for the engagement. Union contractors doing complex work at a high level are welcome. The conversation starts the same way regardless: with the project, the team, and whether Cornerstone can add real value to both.
The pre-award fee covers the work Cornerstone performs during the bidding phase — the schedule, the financial forecast, the means and methods document, the scope documents, and the full pre-award presentation package. That work is done regardless of the outcome. If the project is not awarded, the pre-award fee stands.
The documents themselves are project-specific and do not carry forward. What carries forward is the experience of having approached a project at that level — the discipline, the sequencing, the questions that got asked before anyone was under pressure to answer them. That preparation shows up in how the next conversation goes.
Cornerstone is not on site. That is by design. The PM is on site — that is their job. Cornerstone equips the PM with a structured set of questions answered at the end of each site meeting, formatted as their own meeting notes so there is no additional work. Those responses come back to Cornerstone the same day.
Cornerstone also maintains independent access to the project management platform, so deliverables, approvals, and returns are visible directly — not solely dependent on what gets reported. Meeting minutes provide an additional reference point for anything that was directed, decided, or disputed at the table. The combination gives Cornerstone an accurate picture of the project every week without pulling the PM away from the field.
Not necessarily. Cornerstone's relationship is with the contractor exclusively. The CM sees organized project controls, prepared look-aheads, and a contractor who arrives at every meeting ready. Where that preparation comes from is the contractor's business. If the contractor chooses to share that Cornerstone is part of their team, that is their call. Cornerstone operates in the background and the contractor gets the credit.
It depends on the entry point. At the pre-award phase Cornerstone can begin within days of receiving the bid documents. The pre-award package is typically ready before the bid is due.
At award or NTP the Start Up phase runs two to four weeks — the deliverable log is completed from the executed contract documents, the schedule is expanded to working level, the SOV is built and submitted for CM approval, and the PM question protocol is distributed. The first weekly look-ahead is issued within one week of the Hand Off meeting. From that point active maintenance is running.
Cornerstone works with building envelope subcontractors in the $5M to $20M contract value range. Below that threshold the complexity typically does not justify the engagement. Above it the scope and risk profile are well within Cornerstone's experience. Projects outside that range are evaluated case by case.
Yes. Cornerstone is not a local service. The engagement runs remotely by design — the deliverable log, the schedule, the weekly look-ahead, and the monthly report card are all produced and distributed digitally. The PM is on site. Cornerstone does not need to be. Factory visits are the one exception where travel is required. If the project is in the right range and the contractor is the right fit, geography is not a factor.
A minimum 30-day written notice is required. Within that period Cornerstone delivers a complete handoff package — the current schedule, the deliverable log with all statuses current, the unit tracker, the delay log, and a summary of everything outstanding and who owns it. Closeout deliverables prepared during the engagement are included and ready to submit.
The record Cornerstone built belongs to the contractor. It leaves with them organized, current, and complete regardless of when or why the engagement ends.
A capable building envelope contractor who is ready for the work but not yet set up to document it at the level the work requires. That looks like three situations most often. A contractor breaking into a larger market who has the trade knowledge but not the project controls infrastructure to match. A contractor who recently started their own firm and does not have the back office in place yet. An established contractor whose PM is stretched across too many projects to manage the documentation the way it needs to be managed.
The common thread is not company size or union status. It is a contractor who understands that what happens in the field and what gets documented about what happens in the field are two different things, and that both matter.