A steel estimating spreadsheet that counts more than tons.
Weight is only part of a steel bid. This workbook carries piece marks, connections and shop hours next to the tonnage, keeps miscellaneous metals separate, and rolls everything into a summary you can price from.
- Member list with weights
- Connections & shop hours
- Misc metals sheet
- Bid summary
Get the template. Free, no sign-up.
Example values are placeholders. Replace them with your own rates, units and company details.
| Mark | Designation | lb/ft | Length | Qty | Weight (lb) | Conn. | Shop hrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | W12x26 | 26.00 | 24 ft | 8 | 4,992 | 16 | 12.0 |
| C1 | W10x49 | 49.00 | 28 ft | 4 | 5,488 | 8 | 12.0 |
| BR1 | HSS6x6x3/8 | 27.48 | 18 ft | 4 | 1,979 | 8 | 8.0 |
Files open in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers, Word or Google Docs.
Four sheets, one bid.
Members
Piece mark, type, designation, lb/ft, length and quantity, with weight, connection count and shop hours per row.
Misc Metals
Rails, lintels, embeds and ladders priced by the piece or foot, with separate shop and field hours.
Summary
Material, shop labor, erection, finish, overhead and markup roll into a bid price. Price per ton is shown only as a check.
Start here
How to fill it in and where each number should come from.
Steel bid sanity checks.
- Piece count vs. erection drawings. Totals can match while sizes have swapped.
- Connections from details. Shear tabs, clips, base plates and moment connections each carry shop time.
- Revisions logged. Note the sheet and revision on every row so addenda can be repriced quickly.
- Exclusions written down. Deck, joists, misc metals, galvanizing, and who handles erection.
A template organizes the numbers. RenderDraw fills them from the drawings.
RenderDraw proposes member and connection quantities from the structural drawings with the source sheet on every row. Your estimator approves them, and they land in a workbook like this one, mapped to your pricing.
- Source on every row. Each proposed quantity keeps the sheet and location it came from.
- Estimator approval before pricing. Your estimator accepts, corrects or rejects proposals; nothing is priced until it is approved.
- Addenda through the same review. Changed sheets go back through takeoff and estimator review.
- Your assemblies, your rates. Approved rows hand off to your assemblies, labor units and pricing inputs.
Steel estimating spreadsheet, answered.
What should a steel estimating spreadsheet include?
Piece marks, member designations, weights, lengths and quantities, plus connections and shop hours, because those drive cost more than tonnage. Keep miscellaneous metals separate and roll everything into a summary with material, labor, erection, finish, overhead and profit.
Why not just price steel per ton?
Two jobs with the same tonnage can have very different piece and connection counts. Price per ton is a useful check, but the bid should come from the parts.
Where do I get lb/ft values?
From the AISC Steel Construction Manual or shapes database. For W-shapes the nominal weight is the number after the x: W12x26 is 26 lb/ft.
Does the template work in Google Sheets?
Yes. It uses plain formulas (SUM and arithmetic) with no macros.
Can I add my own rates?
Yes. The yellow cells are inputs. Every example rate is a placeholder.
Send one plan set. Judge the result yourself.
A focused, no-obligation evaluation on your own drawings. Your sample files remain private while we assess the request.
- Upload one representative plan set (a legible PDF set is the most reliable starting point), plus an addendum if you have one.
- RenderDraw reviews the set and the scope you want tested.
- We follow up with what was extracted, what was flagged for review, and the most useful next step.