Elevator estimating starts with finding the scope.
Elevator bids are driven by equipment specs and manufacturer pricing. The related scope is scattered across trades: pits and sumps, hoist beams, machine or control rooms, sill angles, standby power, shunt trip, recall and lobby protection. Those items are where budgets go wrong. Here's what to find, which code sections trigger it, and a checklist for the whole set.
Send one plan set. See what the AI extracts and what it flags for review. No obligation.
- Cars, stops, openings
- Hoistway and pit items
- Code triggers
- Trade interfaces
What gets quantified
| Item | Unit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cars, stops and openings (front and rear) | Each | Plans, sections, conveying spec (Div 14) |
| Hoistway entrances and frames | Each | Plans, door schedules |
| Pit ladders, sill angles, hoist beams, divider beams | Each / LF | Elevator and structural sheets |
| Pit depth, sump pit and drain | Each | Sections, plumbing sheets |
| Machine room or control room or space | Each | Plans, mechanical sheets |
| Power, lighting, recall and shunt-trip interfaces | Each | Electrical and fire alarm sheets |
| Emergency communication | Each car | Spec, telecom sheets |
What IBC Chapter 30 adds
These are from IBC 2024 Chapter 30. Check your jurisdiction's adopted edition and amendments.
- Referenced standard: elevators follow ASME A17.1/CSA B44. The current edition is A17.1-2025. Jurisdictions adopt editions on their own schedules.
- Stretcher car (3002.4): where elevators serve buildings four or more stories above or below grade plane, at least one car must fit a 24 in × 84 in ambulance stretcher and carry the star of life symbol.
- Hoistway count (3002.2): with four or more cars serving the same floors, there must be at least two separate hoistways, and no more than four cars in one hoistway.
- No plumbing or mechanical systems in the hoistway (3002.9), except floor drains, sumps and sump pumps at the base, indirectly connected.
- Standby power (3003.1): where it's provided, a single elevator must transfer automatically within 60 seconds, and machine-room ventilation or cooling goes on standby too.
- Machine and control room cooling (3005.2): independent ventilation or air conditioning. That's mechanical scope.
- Shunt trip (3005.5): where the hoistway or machine or control rooms are sprinklered, main-line power must disconnect before water is applied (NFPA 72 §21.4). That means electrical and fire alarm scope. Fire service access and occupant evacuation elevators prohibit it instead.
- Hoistway door protection (3006.2): required when a hoistway connects more than three stories and conditions apply, such as an unsprinklered building or a high-rise hoistway over 75 ft. The options are lobbies, extra doors, pressurization or smoke curtains.
- Fire service access elevators (3007): required by 403.6.1 in high-rises with occupied floors more than 120 ft above fire department access. They need a 150 sf lobby (minimum 8 ft dimension), 3/4-hour lobby doors, standby power and 2-hour wiring protection.
A five-story office
Elevator sub: 2 cars x 5 stops = 10 entrances; one car stretcher-size (>= 4 stories)
Structural: hoist beam, divider beams, sill support angles at 10 openings
Concrete: 2 pits (depth per equipment submittal), 1 sump pit
Plumbing: sump pump with indirect discharge
Electrical: 2 mainline disconnects with shunt trip, car lighting, pit/hoistway lighting and receptacles (NEC Art. 620)
Fire alarm: recall smoke detectors at lobbies, machine room, hoistway top; heat detectors
at sprinklers for shunt trip; monitoring
Mechanical: independent machine room cooling (+ standby connection if standby power)
Count check: 10 sill angles = 10 hoistway entrances
Pit depths, overhead clearances and power loads come from the selected manufacturer's submittal, so carry an allowance or qualify your number until those are known.
Where elevator scope goes missing
- "By elevator contractor" vs. "by GC" for sill angles, pit ladders and hoist beams. Read the Division 14 spec's "work by others" paragraph.
- MRL elevators move the controller into the hoistway or a control space, but the control space still needs cooling, power and fire protection.
- Pit waterproofing and sump often show up only in the structural or plumbing sections.
- Elevator inspections and permits may be the elevator sub's or the owner's. Confirm whose they are.
The quantities a trade estimator actually needs
These are the items RenderDraw proposes from the drawings, each linked to the sheet it came from, for your estimator to accept, correct or reject.
| Item | What is measured or counted | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Counts | Symbols, devices, fixtures and doors against the legend | Plans, legends, schedules |
| Lengths | Walls, runs, edges and linear items | Plans, details |
| Areas | Rooms, finishes, roofs, paving | Plans, finish schedules |
| Volumes | Concrete, earthwork, fill | Sections, schedules |
| Scope items | Requirements, exclusions and alternates | Specs, general notes, addenda |
From plan set to reviewed quantities.
AI-powered, human-approved. Each stage records what ran, what changed and who approved it.
Send one plan set
Upload the plan set, legends and schedules, the spec sections for your scope and any addenda. Add an addendum if you have one.
AI proposes quantities
Counts, lengths and areas come back with the source sheet and location attached to every row.
Estimator review
Low-confidence items surface first. Your estimator accepts, corrects or rejects each one.
Map to your assemblies
Approved quantities map to your items, assemblies and estimating assumptions.
Price reviewed rows
Labor units, material pricing and supplier quotes apply only to rows that passed review.
Hand off with evidence
Reviewed quantities move on to your estimate, catalog or quote workflow with the source trail still attached.
Supported files and tasks depend on your trade and implementation. Confirm them in the free sample run.
The AI drafts. Your estimator decides.
Speed is easy to promise. Defensible numbers are the job, so RenderDraw keeps the estimator in control of every quantity that gets priced.
- Source on every row. Each quantity keeps its source sheet, location and reviewer decision.
- Lowest confidence first. The review queue shows the drawing tile with the detection highlighted and the extracted value.
- Uncertain items flagged, not hidden. Anything the AI can't confirm goes to the estimator rather than being guessed.
- Nothing priced before approval. Rows move on to pricing only after they are accepted.
Questions estimators ask.
How is elevator work estimated?
Primarily from equipment specs and manufacturer pricing, plus installation and the related scope for other trades: pits, sumps, beams, power, shunt trip, fire alarm and machine room cooling.
When does a building need a stretcher-size elevator?
Under IBC 3002.4, when elevators are provided in buildings four or more stories above or below grade plane. At least one car must fit a 24 in × 84 in stretcher.
What is elevator shunt trip?
A means of automatically disconnecting main-line power to an elevator before sprinklers in the hoistway or machine or control room discharge, installed per NFPA 72 §21.4.
What is the current elevator safety code?
ASME A17.1-2025/CSA B44:25. Jurisdictions adopt editions on their own schedules.
Does RenderDraw price elevators?
No. Pricing stays with you and your suppliers. RenderDraw helps find and list scope across the set, with the source sheet for review.
What should we send for a sample?
Elevator sheets, sections, structural, electrical and fire alarm sheets, and the conveying spec.
See what the AI reads on your own drawings.
Send one representative trade plan set. RenderDraw reviews it and follows up with what the AI extracted and what it flagged for review. Your files remain private while the request is assessed, and there is no obligation.
- Upload the plan set, legends and schedules, the spec sections for your scope and any addenda.
- RenderDraw reviews the set and the scope you want tested.
- We follow up with extracted quantities, flagged items and next steps.
Where these numbers come from
We checked this guide against the standards, manufacturer documents and industry references below (last reviewed November 2026). Figures marked as rules of thumb are typical ranges, not requirements; your project documents, local code and your own cost history govern.