Division 14 conveying equipment
Elevator and conveying estimates priced from the hoistway up
An elevator quote is only the start of the conveying budget. The pit depth, overhead clearance, hoistway wall construction, machine room power, cab finishes and the first years of maintenance all land on someone's price sheet, and they rarely land on the same one. LEEDS quantifies Division 14 equipment by stops, capacity and speed, then carries the builder's work around it so nothing slips between the elevator contractor and your bid.
100%of cars carried with hoistway, pit and machine room interface scope
- 5.0 Google
- 4.9 Trustpilot
- 4.9 Clutch
Scope of takeoff
Conveying scope we quantify
Each car, unit and interface is counted from plans, elevations and the Division 14 specification.
Traction passenger elevators
Gearless and geared cars by capacity, speed, stops and openings, with controllers and dispatch
Elevator schedule and building sections
Hydraulic elevators
Holed and holeless jacks, pump units, oil lines and cab sizes for low-rise travel
Hoistway plans and spec data sheets
Freight and service elevators
Class A, B and C loading cars with heavy-duty doors and gate or door options
Loading class in specifications
Escalators and moving walks
Truss length, rise, step width, balustrade type and exterior or interior rating
Section drawings with floor-to-floor heights
Dumbwaiters and material lifts
Food and document lifts with landing doors and controls
Kitchen, library and back-of-house plans
Wheelchair and platform lifts
Vertical platform and inclined stair lifts for ADA access at renovations
Accessibility details and code notes
Hoistway construction
Rated shaft walls, divider beams, rail brackets, blocking and plumb tolerance
Wall type tags and hoistway sections
Pits and overhead
Pit slab depth, waterproofing, sump pump, ladder, drain and overhead beam support
Structural and pit detail sheets
Machine rooms and power
Feeder, disconnects, shunt trip, room HVAC, lighting and outlets
Electrical and mechanical riser diagrams
Cab interiors and entrances
Stainless, laminate or custom panels, handrails, flooring, lighting and hall fixtures
Finish schedule and spec allowances
Fire service and life safety interface
Phase I and II recall, firefighter operation, emergency lighting and communication
Fire alarm and elevator spec sections
Maintenance and testing
Warranty period, extended maintenance option and acceptance inspection fees
Division 14 requirements
Estimate types
What type of conveying systems estimating can you get?
Match the estimate to where your project is. Every option is priced as a flat fee before work begins.
Budget by stops and capacity
Early budget priced per car from stops, rated load and speed using recent manufacturer quote ranges, with a lump-sum allowance for hoistway and machine room work.
Accuracy
±12%
Turnaround
24 hours
Best for
Feasibility and early pro forma
98%
takeoff accuracy on awarded projects
Why LEEDS
Why contractors switch to LEEDS
An estimating desk that behaves like an extension of your team, not a software subscription.
Hoistway, pit and overhead construction priced, as builder's work, so your bid is not short once the elevator contractor's exclusions are read.
Equipment quoted by stops, capacity, speed and opening type rather than a flat price per car that hides the drivers.
Machine room power, ventilation, shunt trip, and fire alarm recall tied to the cars they serve across Divisions 21, 23, 26 and 28.
Scope matrix that shows who supplies rail blocking, sill supports, pit ladders, sump pumps and hoistway lighting.
Maintenance and warranty periods broken out, so owners can compare the first-cost price to the lifecycle cost.
Cab finish allowances separated from base equipment, which keeps value engineering decisions transparent.
Process
How our estimating process works
Four steps from upload to a bid-ready estimate, with a senior estimator signing off before anything leaves our desk.
- 1
Upload plans and scope
Send your drawings, specifications and bid invitation through the secure upload form. We confirm scope, deadline and a fixed price within two business hours.
- 2
Digital quantity takeoff
Estimators measure every item from calibrated plans in Bluebeam and PlanSwift, color-coding each layer so quantities can be traced back to the drawing.
- 3
Pricing and labor
Quantities are priced with location-adjusted material costs, crew productivity rates and equipment, then marked up to your overhead and profit targets.
- 4
Senior review and delivery
A second estimator audits quantities and pricing, documents assumptions and exclusions, and delivers your Excel workbook, PDF summary and marked-up plans.
Overview
What a conveying estimate has to capture
Conveying equipment is bought from a small number of manufacturers and installed by specialist contractors, so the equipment price is usually a quote. The estimator's real work is defining what that quote includes. Rated load, car speed in feet per minute, number of openings, door type, travel height and whether the machine is traction, geared, machine-room-less or hydraulic all change the number and the structure required around it.
The builder's scope is where bids go wrong. Hoistway walls need fire rating and plumb tolerance, pits need waterproofing, sump pumps and ladders, and overhead slabs must carry machine beam loads. Hydraulic jacks need drilled holes sometimes 40 feet or more. Elevator machine rooms require dedicated HVAC, lighting and a disconnect with shunt trip tied to the fire alarm. We price those items in their own divisions and tag them to the car they serve.
Escalators, moving walks, dumbwaiters and wheelchair lifts follow the same discipline at a smaller scale. We separate equipment, rigging and truss delivery, electrical feed, fire shutters and finish-out so the owner sees a conveying budget that matches how the project will actually be purchased, inspected and turned over.
Deliverables
What's included in your estimate package
Every deliverable is formatted so it can go straight into a proposal, a purchase order or an owner report.
- XLSX
Estimate workbook
Quantities, unit costs, labor hours and totals organized by CSI division, with subtotals, markups and a bid summary tab.
- PDF
Marked-up plans
Color-coded takeoff drawings showing exactly where every measured quantity came from.
- XLSX
Material procurement list
Consolidated material quantities with waste factors applied, ready to send to suppliers for quotes.
- XLSX
Labor hours by task
Crew-based labor hours and productivity rates so you can check the schedule against the estimate.
- PDF
Assumptions and exclusions log
Every clarification, allowance and exclusion documented so your proposal scope is defensible.
- PDF
Bid summary sheet
A proposal-ready one-page summary with overhead, profit, bonds and contingency applied.
Clients
Who relies on our estimates
From single-trade subs to national developers, every client gets the same measured-twice standard.
Reviews
What contractors say after their first bid with us
What general contractors, subcontractors and developers say after bidding with our numbers.
“We were turning down bids because our two in-house estimators were buried. LEEDS gave us division-by-division numbers in 48 hours that leveled cleanly against our sub quotes. We bid 40% more work last quarter and our hit rate went up, not down.”
Marcus Whitfield
Chief Estimator, Whitfield Commercial Builders · Charlotte, NC
“Washington energy code and seismic detailing were reflected in the pricing without us having to explain anything. That is rare for an out-of-state estimator.”
Kim Nakamura
Co-founder, Pacific Build Collective · Seattle, WA
“We use LEEDS for independent bid reviews on every multifamily deal. Their preliminary numbers have landed within 6% of final GMP on three projects in a row.”
Priya Raman
Development Manager, Northgate Partners · Denver, CO
Project types
Project types we estimate
The same measured-twice standard applies whether the scope is a tenant improvement or a ground-up campus.
FAQ
Conveying Systems Estimating FAQs
What drives the price of an elevator estimate?
Number of stops, rated capacity, car speed, travel height, machine type and door configuration set the equipment price. Cab finishes, controller options and custom entrances add allowances. We also price hoistway walls, pit, overhead and machine room work separately so the full conveying budget is visible.
Do you include the hoistway and pit construction?
Yes. Rated shaft walls, pit slabs, waterproofing, sump pumps, ladders, rail blocking and overhead beam support are quantified as builder's work and tied to each car. This is where most elevator budgets come up short against the contractor's quote.
Can you estimate elevator modernization in an occupied building?
We can. Modernization estimates cover controllers, machines, door operators, fixtures and code upgrades, plus phasing, temporary cars and after-hours labor premiums. We flag unknown conditions such as pit depth or guide rail wear as allowances until the contractor surveys the existing equipment.
Do you price escalators and moving walks?
Yes. We use floor-to-floor rise, truss length, step width and balustrade type, then add the structural support, pit pan, fire shutter, electrical feed and rigging path. Exterior-rated units carry extra weather protection, heating and drainage.
How are manufacturer quotes handled?
We use current manufacturer and installer budget ranges for pricing, then level actual quotes against a scope matrix when you receive them. The matrix highlights differences in cab options, maintenance terms, controls, testing and who provides hoistway lighting and pit equipment.
Is ASME A17.1 reflected in the estimate?
We follow the code's requirements for pit, overhead, machine space, fire service and emergency operation as written into the specification and local amendments. We do not certify compliance. Your elevator contractor and the authority having jurisdiction remain responsible for final approvals.
Related
Related estimating services
Most projects need more than one trade. Bundle them into a single upload and we price the whole scope together.
Blog
Insights from the estimating desk
Practical guidance on bidding, takeoffs and protecting margin.
Ready for a conveying systems estimating quote?
Upload your plans and get a fixed quote within 2 business hours. Most estimates are delivered in 24–48 hours.