HVAC estimating software for mechanical and sheet metal contractors. Equipment counted from the schedules with its connections, duct measured by size and converted to pounds of metal by gauge, hydronic and refrigerant piping measured by system, and controls priced as their own scope.
An HVAC package is really three estimates sharing a cover sheet. The equipment is a counted list off the schedules with connection, rigging and start-up scope attached. The ductwork is a fabrication estimate priced by weight of metal, gauge, seam type and lining. The piping is a mechanical estimate priced by size, material and fitting count. Each has its own units and its own labor logic, and folding them into a single square-foot rate is how a mechanical bid ends up either uncompetitive or unprofitable, with no way to tell which until the job is running.
BidcoreAI keeps them separate. Equipment — air handlers, rooftop units, VAV boxes, fan coils, pumps, chillers, boilers, exhaust fans — is counted from the schedules by tag, with electrical connection, structural support, curbs, rigging, start-up and commissioning carried per unit. Lead times are noted, because on current schedules a rooftop unit delivery is a project constraint rather than a procurement detail.
Ductwork is measured by run and size, then converted to pounds of metal by gauge according to SMACNA construction class, with fittings counted rather than added as a blanket percentage. Liner and external insulation are calculated by surface area from the same measurement. That is what makes the number quotable by a fabrication shop, and comparable against a shop's own price, instead of being a linear-foot figure only the estimator can interpret.
Piping is measured by system — chilled water, heating hot water, condenser, refrigerant, condensate — by size and material, with fittings, valves, hangers and insulation quantified. Controls are scoped separately by point count and device type, along with dampers, sensors, test and balance and commissioning, all of which are routinely under-carried because they appear on a different set of drawings than the ductwork does.
Mechanical plans, equipment schedules, duct layouts, piping diagrams and the controls drawings.
Counted by schedule tag, with the connection and start-up scope each unit brings with it.
Measured by run and size, converted to pounds of metal by gauge and construction class.
Counted individually, because a fitting-heavy layout costs far more than its linear feet suggest.
Measured by system, size and material with fittings, valves and specialties counted.
Scoped by point count and device type rather than carried as a percentage of the mechanical value.
The end-of-job scope that is real work and is almost always under-carried at bid.
Sheet metal weight, equipment schedules and control points — the three units the trade actually prices in.
Duct runs detected and measured by size across the mechanical plans, with fittings identified and counted individually.
Measured duct converted to weight by gauge and SMACNA construction class, which is how a fabrication shop prices it.
Units extracted by tag from the schedules, reconciled against the plans, with connection and start-up scope per unit.
Internal liner and external wrap calculated by surface area from the same duct measurement, not estimated separately.
Hydronic, refrigerant and condensate runs measured by size and material, with fittings, valves and specialties counted.
Control points, sensors and actuators counted by device, so the BAS scope is priced rather than allowed for.
Counted at rated assemblies from the plans and the rated wall types, with access panels carried alongside them.
Shop fabrication and field installation hours estimated separately against your own productivity data.
Crane picks, roof access and equipment routing priced as their own lines instead of assumed into an equipment rate.
A re-issued mechanical plan compared against the previous one so a re-routed duct main is flagged, not missed.
Duct schedules by size and weight, equipment lists and priced estimates exported with sheet references.
Duct summarised by size, gauge and weight for a shop quote, alongside the estimate itself.
Division 23, with the controls and commissioning sections kept visible instead of assumed.
Offices, hospitals, schools, labs and industrial plants — where the equipment schedule sets the tone for the whole bid.
Equipment first, then metal, then the scope hiding on the controls drawings.
Each of the three sub-estimates gets priced in its own currency.
Pounds of metal by gauge and class is the number a fabrication shop prices from. Linear feet is a number only the estimator can interpret.
A tight mechanical room with forty fittings per hundred feet costs nothing like an open ceiling run. Counting them is the only way that shows up.
Point-count scoping replaces the percentage-of-mechanical habit, which is consistently low on projects with dense terminal units.
Equipment delivery is now a schedule driver. Capturing it during the estimate turns it into a planning input rather than a mid-job surprise.
Test and balance, duct leakage testing and commissioning support are real hours that get remembered after award if they are not counted before it.
Fabrication and installation productivity differ. Estimating them separately is what makes the labor number reviewable.
Because an HVAC bid has three units of measure and one of them is weight.
Duct converts to pounds by construction class, the unit a fabrication shop actually quotes against.
Equipment extracted by tag with connections, curbs, rigging and start-up carried per unit rather than remembered.
The BAS scope is estimated as devices and points, not as a percentage of everything else.
Fabrication and installation hours estimated separately against your own productivity history.
No workstation licence; measure from the office, the shop or a jobsite trailer.
HVAC packages can be measured and priced for you through HVAC estimating services.
Send the mechanical set and schedules and have the package measured for you: equipment by tag with its connections and rigging, duct by size converted to pounds of metal, piping by system, controls by point count, and commissioning carried rather than forgotten.
One platform, one cost database, one set of drawings — whichever scope you are pricing today.
Compare the pounds of metal, the fitting count and the controls line against what you submitted.
