Can anyone recommend a good company that provides material takeoff and cost estimating for commercial electrical work? I am a smaller company and on the commercial side, do mostly service work and smaller new construction such as retail space build outs (1000-2000 sq ft). I'm getting more opportunities for larger retail and new restaurants which have more unique installations and want to proceed with care.
you don't say where you contract at. it's a huge piece of the puzzle.
if it's california, you have T24 to contend with. prints aren't always compliant,
engineers sometimes don't blow the whistle correctly and letting your
wholesale house bid the lighting package without you CAREFULLY reviewing,
and understanding what you are doing, will not turn out well.
i recently watched a pretty good contractor flush $125,000 down the drain
on a 7,000 sq, ft. remodel here. it wasn't even a big error. just a small oopsie
in how he approached daylight harvesting.
big oopsies are accidentally putting 800 2x4 fixtures in a ceiling, not noticing
there was a mistake of a single digit in the part number. they put in fixtures
that were not specified in the print. it never even made it to lighting certification.
contractor called two days ago, canceling the certification. building inspector caught
it after the lights were wired when they called for ceiling inspection.
"blowing the bid" is the single largest cause of contractor death.
i'd never let someone bid something for me more than a couple days work.
