Metal Stud Partitions

Comptroller Bob

Greetings fellow contractors.

I'm have been an accountant (trained via job learn as I go) for the last year and a half. With me at the helm of the accounting we have manged to recover from a really bad job. My boss and I have decided to redo our estimating department.

The way thing where being done at the time was killing the business. After refiguring our Drywall complete (Hang, Tape, 2 coat mud sand etc.) price was wrong (was $1.06/sqft. Now is $1.30/sqft more intune with current local pricing for commercial jobs) 2 other individuals and I are learning how to estimate (all previous estimators where let go).

We have a bid to complete in three days and we need to do a steel stud partition takeoff for the drywall framing. The three of us have never done any framing take offs cause the boss has a "guy". However his "guy" is unavailable until after the bid is due. Can anyone give us some help on how to do a stud framing takeoff?

1KingOfDrywall

Well, as we have been discussing here in other areas on this board, as far as the drywall is concerned "going rate" is not accurate. To be quite truthful,....there is no going rate per say. There are far too many factors. If I was you, I'd get a few contractors in there and find out what they expect to put in it as far as man hours go. Also find out how many guys will be on the job. Use some finesse when asking these questions......make small talk with them....don't pry or act suspiciously.
Now break down the material cost and subtract that from the total you were estimated. Now compare man hours and the approximate hourly salary being paid out per worker. NOW....adjust the hourly pay rate to what you think these guys in this trade make. For example you might be coming up with 4 guys making $55 an hour a piece. Give them the benefit of the doubt and adjust the hourly to $30 an hour and multiply it by the estimated hours til completion they gave you. NOW add 20-30%....that's about where you should be. I hope this was helpful. If you were talking about a formula to help you bid, use the same technique. Materials+manhours+20-30% should be a fair price. Best of Luck

Mud Master

Commercial by SQFT???? Wow bud, you are cheating yourself.

You have no idea what you will be getting into when you get there. It may be as simple as striking lines and shooting down the track, or you may find that the slab is poured off level and you need to make adjustments. Do you know how long it takes your guys to frame? Are you attaching to bar joists or beams? is it fire rated or not? is it going to be a structrual partition or a light gauge partition? Are you stick building it or raising it? Is the wall standing alone or do you need to attach it to an exsisting LB wall? Price it T&M, you will be much better off. You still however need to understand how long it will take to frame the partition(s).

If I were you, i'd find someone in your area knowledgeable in metal framing and commercial fit-out estimating and ask for some guidence, because if you don't know what your getting into, your bound to be taking a loss on this job. This is something I do everyday, and it is what keeps my company going. I'd help you out, however I do not know what the specs are, if you can give me a lil more info, I may be able to be of some more help.

Good Luck!

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Comptroller Bob

Thanks for the advice guys.