HVAC & mechanical estimating services
Ductwork by gauge and weight, equipment by schedule, hydronic piping by size, with insulation, controls and terminal devices counted separately.
What an HVAC & mechanical package looks like
Ductwork is measured by area and converted to weight by gauge, because sheet metal is bought and fabricated by the pound. Rectangular, round and oval carry different fabrication labour, and fittings carry far more than straight runs, so each is measured separately.
Equipment comes from the schedule, item by item, with rigging and connection scope stated. Hydronic and refrigerant piping is measured by diameter and material with insulation by service, and controls are counted by point rather than allowed for.
Measured in
Common HVAC & mechanical estimating mistakes
- Duct priced by linear foot rather than weight by gauge
- Fittings counted at straight-run rates
- Fire and smoke dampers missed at rated penetrations
- Rigging and roof curbs left out of equipment pricing
HVAC & mechanical
- Rectangular, round and oval duct by gauge, converted to weight
- Duct fittings, transitions and takeoffs counted separately
- Duct insulation, lining and wrap by area
- Air handling units, RTUs, fans and coils from the schedule
- Chillers, boilers, pumps and heat exchangers
- VAV boxes, terminal units and reheat coils
- Diffusers, registers, grilles and louvres by each
- Hydronic and refrigerant piping by diameter and material
- Pipe insulation by service and thickness
- Dampers, actuators and fire and smoke dampers
- Controls, sensors and BMS points
- Rigging, curbs, vibration isolation and start-up
Turnaround
48–72 hours on most mechanical packages
Who it is for
Mechanical and sheet metal subcontractors, HVAC service contractors and general contractors.
Every HVAC & mechanical package ships the same four things
Whatever the trade, the deliverable is consistent, so a package from us always drops into how you already work.
Excel workbook
Line-item detail with quantities, wastage, labour hours and material priced on separate columns.
Colour-marked sheets
Every measured item marked on the drawing with a count legend, so any figure can be checked against the plan.
Assumptions & exclusions
Written down, including anything the drawings did not answer, rather than absorbed into a rate.
Planswift source file
On request, so your team can re-measure a revision without coming back to us.
Common questions on HVAC & mechanical takeoffs
By measuring duct area and converting to pounds by gauge, with fittings counted separately from straight runs. Sheet metal is fabricated and priced by weight, so a per-linear-foot rate cannot reflect gauge or fitting density.
Controls are counted by point and device where the drawings show them. Where the control scope is design-build, it is stated as an exclusion with the point count noted, rather than covered by a silent allowance.
Yes. Equipment is taken from the mechanical schedule item by item, with rigging, curbs, isolation and connection scope stated as their own lines.
Packages that usually travel with this one
Most enquiries cover more than one division. Bundling them into a single engagement keeps the assumptions consistent across the whole bid.
Services, sectors and further reading
HVAC & mechanical is usually bought as part of a wider service. These are the pages that sit around it.
Services
- Quantity takeoff servicesAny stage
- Construction cost estimating servicesBid stage
- Bid validation & estimate review servicesBid stage
Sectors where this trade matters
- Commercial construction estimatingOffices, retail & warehouses
- Industrial & process estimatingProcess, structural & plant MEP
Further reading
- Waste factors by materialReference
- Labour: hours, not lump ratesEstimating
Send us one HVAC & mechanical package.
A fixed fee, a firm delivery date and a written scope statement, usually back the same working day. Judge us on the file that comes back.
CSI Division 23 · 48–72 hours on most mechanical packages · Unlimited revisions within scope