Structural steel estimating software for steel fabricators, erectors and general contractors. Members measured off the framing plans by section and length, converted to tonnage by weight per foot, with connections, deck, joists, stairs and miscellaneous metals counted as their own scope.
Structural steel is priced two ways at once. The material is bought by weight, so tonnage matters. The fabrication and erection are driven by piece count and connection complexity, so a light frame made of many small members can cost more to build than a heavier one made of fewer long spans. An estimate that reports only tons has priced the mill order and guessed at the shop.
BidcoreAI measures the framing plans member by member: section designation, length, level and grid location. Weight per foot converts those lengths to tonnage by section, so the estimate can be checked against a mill quote. At the same time the piece count is retained, and connections are counted from the typical details and the connection schedule — shear tabs, moment connections, base plates, stiffeners, bracing gussets — because they are what fills a shop.
The rest of Division 05 is measured on its own terms rather than folded into a tons figure. Metal deck by type, gauge and area with side lap and end lap allowances. Open-web joists and girders by mark, span and depth from the joist schedule. Stairs, rails, ladders, embeds, bollards and lintels as a miscellaneous metals package, which on a fit-out or a parking structure is often larger than the frame itself.
Finishes and treatment are separated as well. Shop primer, galvanising, intumescent and spray-applied fireproofing each carry their own cost per square foot of surface area, which does not track tonnage — a job full of small members has far more surface area per ton than one made of heavy sections, and pricing fireproofing by weight is how that difference gets missed.
Framing plans, sections, connection details, joist and deck schedules, all read together.
Beams, columns and bracing measured by section and length across every framing level.
Weight per foot applied by section designation to give tonnage a fabricator can quote against.
Counted from the typical details and the connection schedule, because they drive shop hours.
Decking by type, gauge and profile with lap allowances rather than a raw plan area.
Open-web joists taken from the joist schedule by mark, span and depth.
The Division 05 items that make up a whole package on fit-outs and parking structures.
Built for the two numbers that actually price a steel package: tons and pieces.
Members detected across the framing plans with section designation, length and grid position proposed for confirmation.
Standard section weights applied automatically by designation, with grade and specification kept separate.
Connection types counted from typical details and schedules, so shop labor is priced from complexity rather than assumed from weight.
Deck areas measured by type and gauge with side and end lap allowances applied and shown as applied.
Joist and girder marks, spans and depths extracted from the schedule and reconciled against the framing plans.
Stairs, rails, ladders, embeds and supports tracked as a separate package with their own units and rates.
Painted, galvanised and fireproofed surface area calculated from section geometry rather than inferred from tonnage.
Fabrication and erection hours estimated separately, by piece count and connection type, against your own productivity data.
A re-issued framing plan is compared against the previous one so a changed section size is flagged rather than missed.
Quantities summarised by shape and length for a mill or service centre quote, alongside the estimate itself.
Member lists, tonnage summaries and priced estimates exported to Excel or CSV with sheet references intact.
Crane time, lifts and access priced as their own lines rather than absorbed into a per-ton erection rate.
Structured to Division 05, with the Division 03 and 09 interfaces kept visible.
Frames, mezzanines, canopies and stair packages across commercial, industrial and institutional work.
Framing plans and schedules in; tonnage, piece count and a priced package out.
Chiefly, that the shop is priced from what the shop actually does.
Fabrication hours track pieces and connections, not weight. Keeping both numbers is what stops a light, fussy frame being priced like a heavy simple one.
Summaries by shape, grade and length go straight to a service centre for pricing, instead of being reverse-engineered from a total.
Fireproofing and galvanising follow surface area, which diverges sharply from tonnage on light framing. Calculating it properly removes a routine underbid.
Stairs, rails and embeds tracked as their own package rather than a lump allowance, which on a fit-out is often the larger half of the scope.
Lap allowances applied and visible means the deck order matches the deck installed, rather than arriving 6% short.
A re-issued framing plan is compared against the last, so a section size change is a flagged difference instead of an expensive surprise.
Because a steel bid needs two quantities, and most tools only carry one.
Both are measured and both are reported, so material pricing and shop pricing each get the number they need.
Counted by type from the details, which is the closest available proxy for shop hours before detailing starts.
Coatings and fireproofing priced from geometry rather than from a per-ton rule that flatters heavy frames.
Stairs, rails, ladders and embeds measured properly instead of carried as an allowance and argued about later.
No workstation licence, and the marked-up framing set opens on a tablet in the shop or on site.
Steel packages can be measured and priced for you through professional takeoff services.
Send the framing plans, connection details and schedules, and have the package measured for you: member list by section, tonnage by shape, connection counts, deck and joists, and a miscellaneous metals package — priced against your own shop and field rates.
One platform, one cost database, one set of drawings — whichever scope you are pricing today.
Check the tonnage by shape and the connection count against the package you last sent to a mill.
