Bidding Exterior Cold Formed Metal Canopies/Storefronts Etc.

studmancny

How are you commercial drywallers bidding Exterior metal stud walls, canopies, storefronts etc. I do alot of retail which includes "Landlord" work (Storefronts, Demise walls, Bathrooms etc.) If i have the time i like to actually come up with good LF quantities and price it that way. Alot of times i figure SQ/FT of sheathing and apply a $# based on gauge, welding, height, complexity, etc. Either way it seems to come in around the same % of profit, as far as i can tell. What rates are you guys charging for similar type applications (Framing, sheating, welding, plywood for parapets, blocking, canopy ceilings)?

Any good estimating tecniques in doing this? Any good software that will get this done? Any input appreciated.

Mud Master

Your price is all going to depend on your personal business. Your OH, your labor, your size, your burden, your desired profit margin,etc...what I charge will not be what you charge.

You need to take into account gauge, thickness of flat stock, fasteners,etc..Also need to think about the way your doing it..were the exteriors stick framed & secured therfore you have to hang on scaffolding facing the building? Was it framed on the ground so you can just lay the sheet ontop, bend over & screw? Where is the waste going? Do you have a dump to haul it away, or is the GC letting you use the sites roll off? If your setting the exterior walls, do you have to scrape the splashed concrete? Set it with a chain fall or a craine? Tyvek it? Tape it off(yes, sometimes you do)? Are the walls panalized because of glass, or built floor to decking? Are they all the same size, or different lengths? What do the specifications say?

I could go on for pages, but the point is....There are SOO many variables to take into account for this type of application. Basically..YOU need to charge what YOU need to make the profit YOU want..not charge what everyone else is, because it may not be enough, or it may price you out of the game. I would go over every obstacle, every step, every hour it will take..and than define your price. Even with good estimating software, it still wont work efficiently until you know what YOUR price needs to be.

I wish you the best!!!!

__________________

Abram Germano

I agree with mud-master, figure your overhead and profit, then your productions rates. Exterior framed assemblies are usually more per sf,lf then the interior ones. One great tool to use and build your assemblies with is oncenter software. I am a big fan and have been using for a year now. I can build a wall and save it...plug in it's hight and take off right on my computer. When I bid on a different job and can just bring up that old assembly and modify to fit the specifacations.
Look into oncenter's products
onscreen takeoff and quick bid
There is a learning curve and it is expensive, but worth the investment for any estimator.

studmancny

mud master and or abram have you ever done a bed bath and beyond storefront, Wal mart enterances etc.? That is the type of framing i am talking about. The profit i want and the profit's the competition are willing to give up are the problem.
Are you saying you price it more by the sq/ft? What are you getting for 6"x16ga straight drops, 2x2x6" 16ga angle clipped to structural angle. let's say it is 10' up in the air to the bottom and the drop is 10' tall, track on T&B, all screwed. and then installing 5/8" densglass. All work done out of lifts.
Just gathering information don't mean to pry. I bid alot of jobs, 90% have exterior framing (so far so good) i am just trying to figure out what everyone else is doing.

Abram Germano

Yea we have done jobs simular, for storefronts and parapit framing type details. 16gage framing is slower for sure when framing out of lifts. Yes, I would find the total square footage and figure my guys at a slower production rate then most of my other assemblies. 400 s/f a day (8 hour day) 1 man

studmancny

Abram say there is a ceiling same game 6"x16ga do you figure the ceiling in as total sq/ft along with the drop. ie-the drop=500sq/ft, ceiling=500sq/ft, so total=1000?
what do you do if it has a build out on the top?