Reference

Bidding and Takeoff Glossary

The words that come up when you compare construction bidding software, defined the way estimators use them.

087100 (Section 08 71 00, Door Hardware): The specification section that lists door hardware: the products, finishes and the hardware sets each opening gets. A Division 8 estimator reconciles it against the door schedule and the plans.
Addendum: A change to the bid documents issued before bids are due. Every addendum can move quantities, so a takeoff tool that compares revisions saves rework.
Alternate: A priced option the owner asks bidders to carry beside the base bid, such as a different product or added scope.
Assembly: In takeoff and estimating software, a saved group of items priced together from one measurement, such as a wall type that carries studs, board, screws and labor per linear foot.
Bid leveling: Comparing bids line by line so they cover the same scope before choosing one: finding what each bidder included, excluded or priced as an alternate. General contractors level subcontractor bids; bid management software helps. Procore Bid Management
Bid set: The drawings, specifications and addenda issued to bidders for pricing. A takeoff is only as current as the bid set it was taken from.
CPQ (configure, price, quote): Software that configures a product, prices it from price books and produces the quote. In Division 8, distributors use it to price openings from manufacturers' price books.
Detailing: After a Division 8 bid is won, turning the estimate into exact product, size and handing details for submittals and ordering.
Division 8 (Division 08, Openings): The MasterFormat division for openings: doors, frames, door hardware, and related items such as windows, storefronts and glazing. In estimating, “Division 8” usually means the door, frame and hardware trade. Best software for Division 8
Door schedule: The table in the drawings that lists every door by tag with its size, material, frame, fire rating and hardware set. It is often incomplete or out of step with the plans, which is why it is checked against them.
Electrified hardware: Hardware that needs power or connects to access control: electrified locks and strikes, power supplies, request-to-exit devices, door position switches. Its scope is split between Division 8, Division 26 (electrical) and Division 28 (electronic safety and security), and often falls between them.
Estimate: The takeoff with prices applied: material, labor, equipment, overhead and markup. The estimate becomes the bid once it is reviewed and sent.
Fire rating (label): How long a door or frame assembly is rated to resist fire, for example 20, 45, 60 or 90 minutes. A rated opening needs labeled components and the hardware the rating requires.
Handing: Which way a door swings and which side it hinges on. Much hardware is ordered by hand, so a wrong guess is a wrong order.
Hardware set (hardware group): A named list of hardware items (hinges, lockset, closer, stops, seals, kick plate) that applies to every opening assigned to it. Sets are written in 087100 and assigned to openings in the door schedule.
Invitation to bid (ITB): A general contractor's or owner's request for a price on a scope of work, sent with the bid documents and a due date.
MasterFormat: The Construction Specifications Institute's (CSI) numbering system that organizes a project specification into divisions and sections, such as Division 08 for openings and Section 08 71 00 for door hardware.
Match line: The line where one plan sheet continues onto another. Openings near it appear on both sheets, and counting both is a common source of duplicates.
Opening: The unit a door estimator counts: one doorway with its frame, leaf or leaves and hardware. A pair of doors is one opening with two leaves.
Owner standard: An owner's own required products and hardware sets, common for universities, hospitals and public agencies. On those jobs the owner standard can govern over what the project specification says.
Scope gap: Work that no bidder carried because each assumed another one would. Electrified hardware and items on the line between trades are frequent examples.
SOC 2 Type 2: An independent audit of a service provider's security controls over a period of time. Ask a vendor for the report rather than taking the badge on trust.
Submittal: Product data, schedules and drawings sent for the architect's approval before materials are ordered.
Takeoff (quantity takeoff): The count and measurement of everything a bid has to price, read off the drawings and specifications: square feet of drywall, linear feet of pipe, number of door openings. Takeoff software does this on digital plans instead of paper and a scale ruler. General vs trade-specific takeoff