How Do You Estimate Steel Stud Framing?

How do you bid steel stud framing?
by the Square foot? Linear Foot? or by the total sq/ft of the project?

I do it by cubic foot.Make more $$$$ that way.

Linear foot of wall. Different prices depending on height and wall type.
You can use the square foot of wall area method too. (measured one side.

You have to account for height, gauge, width, type of stud, bearing, etc. Lot of variables.

I like to take a 2x4 a weigh it on a scale.

Than I will take the specified gauge of the metal stud and weigh that on a scale.

I take the difference in weight and that is my price per stud.

I bid track the same way.

Channel, clips, bracing, iron, angle and such is priced according to how many I can fit in a row across the bed of my truck. I divide that number by 2 and WA-LA!!!

I always took the square footage of the building times the number of 25 ga. studs versus the number of 18 ga. stud and put that in my pocket. Then I divided the total of my childrens ages by the number of days that end with a Y and multiplied it by the speed of light , It comes pretty close either way!!!

1 Million Dollars.

Ahhhhhhh......

Pssst.....

It is 100 Billion Dollars.

You would normally create a list, or schedule of all partition types and analyze the different requirements of each...get a good idea of the differences between each partition type. After completing your takeoff you should have the length or linear footage of each different partition type (and the heights so you can multiply to get the area or square footage of each type). For example, partition type "A" is 2"x4" wood studs 16" OC with drywall on each side while partition type "B" is calling for 2"x6" wood studs at 16" OC with insulation and drywall on one side only ... you should quantify each partition type separately by each partition's overall area (length times height)...then figure out your unit pricing per square foot for each component in the partitions ...start with framing, then add drywall, insulation, and/or any other components as needed for each partition type.

the easiest and most competitve way to bid any job is: estimate how many man hours it will take to do the job then multiply the hours by your cost + profit margin desired. If you are also bidding materials then do a material take off and add your profit margin to the price quoted by your supplier.

In my opinion, though, if you are a drywall company you will find it hard to be competitive with framing companies. Stick to what you do best!

Charlie