Guide
Steel package tender checklist, what we need to price your scope
A steel quote is only as good as the documents behind it. When the tender package is complete, the price is firm, the exclusions are short, and there are no change-order surprises after award. When it is thin, every fabricator bidding fills the gaps with different assumptions and the GC ends up comparing numbers that are not for the same scope. This checklist is what our estimating desk in Burnaby actually needs to price a structural steel package properly the first time.
The short version: structural drawings, architectural sheets touching steel, the spec sections, the schedule dates, and the site constraints. Send all five and the number you get back is one you can hold.
1. Structural drawings
- The full S-series, plans, sections, details, and general notes. The general notes sheet matters more than most people think: it carries the design standards, bolt grades, weld requirements, and inspection level.
- Connection design basis. Are connections detailed by the engineer of record, or delegated to the fabricator's engineer? If delegated, the drawings must show the design forces. This single item changes both price and schedule.
- Revision status. Tender set, IFC, or somewhere in between. We price what is issued and reconcile against IFC later, but we need to know which world we are in.
2. Architectural drawings that touch the steel
- Sheets showing exposed steel, anything the public sees needs an architectural finish and tighter tolerances than hidden framing.
- Stairs, guards, ladders, and canopies, these often appear only on architectural sheets. Our canopy structures page covers why canopy scope hides in the A-series.
- Cladding and soffit interfaces, where steel meets envelope, someone has to own the connection detail.
3. Specification sections
- Structural steel and metal fabrications sections, they define submittal requirements, material standards, and quality expectations.
- Coatings, shop primer, hot-dip galvanizing per ASTM A123, powder coat, or intumescent fire protection. Finish systems are a real share of the price, an unspecified finish is an allowance waiting to become a change order.
- If no specs exist, say so, we will state the basis of the price: C.W.B. fabrication to CSA W47.1, shop primer, standard structural grades.
4. Schedule dates
- Foundation pour dates, anchor bolt layouts have to release before them.
- Steel-on-site date, we work backwards from it through finishing, fabrication, and submittal review to check the whole chain fits.
- Phasing, if the building erects in stages, the fabrication and delivery sequence follows the stages, and the price should too.
5. Site constraints
- Crane situation, tower crane on site we can book picks on, or mobile crane we should carry in the price?
- Access, lane closures, night-work windows, hoarding, and delivery restrictions. A downtown Vancouver site and an open Langley site do not install at the same cost.
- Laydown space, no laydown means sequenced just-in-time deliveries, which is workable and worth knowing up front.
What you get back
A scope letter that lists what is included, what is excluded, and what is assumed, priced against your documents. Residential and small commercial scopes get budgetary pricing in 2 to 5 business days; tenders are returned within the tender window. After award, the process runs the way the structural steel for general contractors guide describes: anchor bolts first, submittals tracked, steel sequenced to your erection plan.
Send the package to the quote request form or straight to info@jeffandsimon.com. If half the checklist is missing, send what you have, we will tell you which gaps actually matter for your scope and which ones can wait.
FAQs
Can you price a steel package from incomplete drawings?
Yes, with stated allowances. We price what the documents show and list the assumptions in the quote, connection design carried by the engineer of record, finishes assumed as shop primer unless specified, and so on. The more complete the package, the fewer allowances, and the fewer surprises after award. A budgetary number from concept drawings is possible; a firm tender price needs the structural set.
Do you need the architectural drawings or just the structural set?
Both. The structural set defines the members and connections. The architectural sheets catch what structural drawings miss: exposed steel with an architectural finish, soffit conditions, cladding interfaces, and dimensional constraints. Misc. metals often live entirely on the architectural sheets.
What steel spec sections should be in the tender package?
Typically the structural steel section, the metal fabrications (misc. metals) section, and the painting or coatings section. The specs settle questions the drawings do not: inspection level, finish systems, submittal requirements, and delivery expectations. When there is no spec, we say what standard the price is based on, CWB fabrication to <a href="https://www.csagroup.org">CSA W47.1</a> and shop primer, unless told otherwise.
How long does a commercial steel tender price take?
We price within the tender window. For residential and small commercial scopes, budgetary pricing turns around in 2 to 5 business days. Larger tender packages depend on size and how clean the documents are, sending the full package at once is faster than sending sheets in waves.
Should misc. metals be tendered with the structural package?
Usually yes. One fabricator carrying both means one submittal stream, one delivery coordination, and no scope gaps between the structural and misc. packages, the classic gap being embeds and lintels that each sub assumed the other owned. We price them together or separately, but together is where GCs save coordination time.
What schedule information affects the steel price?
The dates that matter are foundation pour dates (anchor bolts must release before them), the steel-on-site date, and any phasing or sequencing constraints. Compressed schedules can be met, but acceleration has real costs, overtime, split deliveries, priority slots at the galvanizer, and it is cheaper to price acceleration up front than to discover it mid-fabrication.
Get in touch
Need a fabrication quote?
Send drawings, photos, or even a rough description. We will review what you have and follow up with a quote or a conversation about next steps.