Estimating & bidding · Specialty trades (glazing, drywall, flooring)
Bid every opportunity without adding estimators.
Invitations to bid stack up faster than estimators can run the takeoff and price the glass, gypsum, or flooring. Half get a no-bid for lack of hours.
The reality
Lost bids are bids you never sent.
Invitations to bid land from the GC's plan room with a tight due date. The estimator pulls the drawings, runs the takeoff on the storefront elevations or the wall types, prices the glass and aluminum or the gypsum and metal stud, adds labor, and races to submit. With a fixed headcount, half the opportunities get a no-bid simply for lack of hours.
The operator owns estimating end to end. It receives the drawings, performs the specialty takeoff by system, pulls current material pricing, applies the trade's labor units, and assembles the bid for review — so the shop can bid two and a half times the volume on the same team.
How the operator runs estimating & bidding
Bid 26-0884 · Takeoff
quantifying- Storefront elevations measured
- Curtain wall SF by type tallied
- Interior glazing openings counted
01Take off the drawings
Reads the architectural set and quantifies the storefront, wall types, or flooring by system from the plans and elevations.
Bid 26-0884 · Pricing
pricing- Aluminum and glass quoted from supplier
- Install labor units applied
- Direct cost rolled up by scope
02Price material and labor
Pulls current material pricing, applies the trade's labor units, and rolls up the direct cost by scope.
Bid 26-0884 · Submission
submitting- Inclusions and exclusions drafted
- Bid reviewed and approved
- Submitted to GC plan room on time
03Assemble and submit
Builds the bid form with inclusions and exclusions, flags it for review, and submits to the GC before the due date.
The outcome
2.5× bid volume without additional estimators
Competitive bids out on every opportunity.
- Every invitation to bid worked, not no-bid for lack of hours
- Takeoffs built by system straight off the drawings
- Bids submitted to the plan room before the GC's due date
Common questions
Estimating & bidding
- What does the Estimating & bidding operator do?
- The operator owns estimating end to end. It receives the drawings, performs the specialty takeoff by system, pulls current material pricing, applies the trade's labor units, and assembles the bid for review — so the shop can bid two and a half times the volume on the same team.
- What impact does the Estimating & bidding operator have?
- 2.5× bid volume without additional estimators. Competitive bids out on every opportunity.
- How does the Estimating & bidding operator work?
- Reads the architectural set and quantifies the storefront, wall types, or flooring by system from the plans and elevations. Pulls current material pricing, applies the trade's labor units, and rolls up the direct cost by scope. Builds the bid form with inclusions and exclusions, flags it for review, and submits to the GC before the due date.
More operators in Specialty trades (glazing, drywall, flooring)
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