Division 26 / Estimated
Division 26 electrical estimating
An electrical plan draws a homerun as a tick mark and a fixture as a symbol. Neither is a quantity. The route is, and the schedule is.
What we measure, and in what units
- LF conduit by size and type
- LF wire by size and insulation
- EA devices, boxes and plates
- EA fixtures by type
- EA panels, disconnects and starters
- EA equipment connections
- LF cable tray
- EA site lighting poles and bases
What the deliverable looks like for this division
Conduit and wire along the actual route, not the straight line, with homeruns measured to the panel. Fixtures counted by type against the schedule, not by symbol alone. Equipment connections listed against the mechanical and plumbing schedules so equipment furnished by others is connected by someone.
Scope items routinely missed on this division
Only someone who has priced the work knows what falls through the gaps. No competitor publishes this list.
- Homerun lengths, drawn as a tick mark and measured as a route.
- Fixture counts by type against the schedule, not by symbol count alone.
- Equipment connections for mechanical and plumbing equipment furnished under other divisions.
- Feeder lengths through actual routing rather than a straight line.
- The fire alarm boundary between Division 26 and Division 28.
- Site lighting, pole bases and their concrete.
- Concrete housekeeping pads.
- Temporary power for the duration.
- Testing, and an arc flash study where specified.
- A watch item from real work: a graphic scale bar printed at a different scale to the sheet. Anything scaled off the bar comes out wrong. Scale is verified against a printed dimension, in both axes, before measuring.
Documents needed to price it
- Electrical plans, lighting and power
- Panel schedules
- The single line diagram
- The fixture schedule
- The specification
Questions people in this trade actually ask
How are conduit and wire lengths derived from a plan?
By routing each run the way it would be installed, with the rises and drops, and measuring that route. Homeruns are measured to the panel they land in. A straight line between symbols is not a length.
How are fixture counts reconciled against the schedule?
Counted by type from the plan, then checked against the fixture schedule and the lighting plan. Where the two disagree the disagreement is listed rather than resolved silently.
Who prices equipment connections when equipment is furnished by others?
They are listed against the mechanical and plumbing schedules and carried here, explicitly, because equipment furnished under 23 and connected under 26 is the classic item priced by neither.
The service behind this
Estimating & TakeoffBidding Division 26 work?
Send the documents and the bid date. A written fee and turnaround come back before anything is measured.