Specialties, equipment, and furnishings takeoff

The dominant unit is the item count, one number per discrete item: RICS NRM2 Work Section 32 (furniture, fittings and equipment) measures every fixture, fitting, sanitary appliance, notice, sign, and piece of catering equipment as a number, and Work Section 40 measures a whole lift or escalator as one number. A few units depart from this. Lockers are counted by opening, conveying by system, and seating per seat, while the only geometry edges are partition panel area, sign area, and continuous handrail length on the slope. The wrong unit corrupts both the quantity and the cost basis, because a locker prices per opening, a partition per compartment, an elevator per system and per stop, and a sign per sign and per type.

These items are drawn twice: as symbols on the plans and as rows in a schedule. The schedule is the authoritative source for types and properties (mounting style, material, sign type, equipment family, furnish-or-install responsibility), while the count of instances is reconciled against the plans. Several counts are additionally derivable from code or from another trade's count: accessible compartments from the fixture count, tactile signs from the door, room, exit, and elevator counts, and the accessible-stall accessory set from the accessible-compartment count. A schedule that omits a code-required item is a flag to correct, since the regulatory minimums are computable and routinely under-counted.

Toilet partitions are counted per compartment, not by panel area: each standard compartment, accessible compartment, ambulatory compartment, and urinal screen is counted separately. NRM2 Work Section 32 enumerates cubicles as a number, under CSI MasterFormat 10 21 00. Operable, folding, and demountable partition systems are sometimes priced by panel area instead, under the general NRM2 net-area rule in which voids up to 1 square metre are not deducted; state which basis the bid uses. Partitions also segregate by mounting style (overhead-braced, floor-mounted, ceiling-hung, floor-to-ceiling) and material (powder-coated steel, plastic laminate, solid-plastic HDPE, phenolic, stainless), because mounting style is the primary cost and structural-support driver and ceiling-hung partitions require supplemental ceiling structure as a separate builder's-work quantity. Operable partitions segregate further by acoustic rating and height, where Sound Transmission Class is defined by ASTM E413 and measured under ASTM E90 (in the UK and Europe the equivalent rating is Rw under ISO 717, measured under ISO 10140).

Accessible and ambulatory compartment counts are derived from code, not chosen. In the United States at least one wheelchair-accessible compartment is required per toilet room, and an ambulatory accessible compartment is additionally required where the total of water-closet compartments and urinals is 6 or more (ADA 2010 Standards 213.3.1, ICC A117.1 604.9, referenced by the IBC). The trigger counts compartments plus urinals, not compartments alone, so a room with 4 compartments and 3 urinals reaches 7 fixtures and still requires the ambulatory stall. A urinal screen sits between each pair of adjacent urinals. Outside the United States and Canada the triggers differ (UK Approved Document M and BS 8300, Australia and New Zealand AS 1428 and the NCC, Canada CSA B651), so the count is taken as drawn.

Restroom accessories are counted each and segregated by type: grab bars, mirrors, dispensers, hooks, hand dryers, shelves, and baby-changing stations. Each is a different product and price, so a single lumped allowance loses the per-type cost and misses items. NRM2 Work Section 32 enumerates sanitary fittings and accessories as a number, under CSI MasterFormat 10 28 00. The accessible-stall set is derived from the accessible-compartment count: each accessible and ambulatory compartment carries a defined set of side and rear grab bars and compliant dispenser and mirror locations under the United States Access Board ADA guidance and ICC A117.1, which catches the omission where those sets are not separately scheduled. The classic miss is assuming accessories are owner-furnished, so furnish-or-install responsibility must be read off the documents.

Mounting heights are validated against code as a compliance check, separate from the count. The heights are fixed: grab-bar heights and reach ranges (ADA 603, 604, 609), accessory operable-part reach ranges (308), and the tactile-sign baseline at 48 inches minimum to 60 inches maximum above the floor (703.4.1). This flags issues such as a dispenser scheduled above the reach maximum. Wall backing and blocking is its own quantity: grab bars, heavy accessories, wall-hung lavatories, and partitions need solid backing (wood blocking, steel plate, or extra studs), which is builder's work in connection in a different trade and is carried as its own item under NRM2 Work Section 41. The amount is project-specific, so the rule is to capture it once, neither double-counted with the framing takeoff nor missed.

Signage is counted per sign, by type, from the signage schedule. NRM2 Work Section 32 enumerates notices, signs, and signwriting as a number, under CSI MasterFormat 10 14 00. A sign-area measure is a different number, used for dimensional or channel letters priced by area, or for zoning-code sign area (the smallest rectangle enclosing the message), which comes from municipal definitions that vary by jurisdiction; state which basis the bid uses. Signs segregate by type (room ID and tactile, exit and egress, directional and wayfinding, code and regulatory, dimensional and graphics), because each differs by an order of magnitude in cost and fabrication.

The code tactile-sign minimum is derived from the openings. Under the United States Access Board ADA Standards (216 and 703), there is one tactile sign, raised characters plus braille, at the latch side of each permanent-room door, one at each exit-stair, passageway, and discharge door, two tactile floor-designation signs at each elevator hoistway entrance (one on each jamb, 407.2.3) plus a tactile star at the main level, and restroom pictogram and tactile signs. The regulatory minimum is therefore computable from the door, room, exit, and elevator schedule, a strong cross-check that is routinely under-counted. Directional and wayfinding signage is additional, from the schedule. Outside the United States and Canada this is taken from the design instead, since Approved Document M, BS 8300, AS 1428, the NCC, and ISO 21542 differ from the United States rules.

Lockers are counted by opening, not by bank: openings equal frames times tiers, so a single-tier bank of 6 frames is 6 openings while a triple-tier bank of 6 frames is 18. Group by tier (single, double, triple, box) and material (steel, plastic laminate, solid-plastic HDPE, phenolic), and count fillers, end panels, sloped tops, bases, and benches as separate accessory items. NRM2 Work Section 32 enumerates fittings with type and quality stated, under CSI MasterFormat 10 51 00.

Division 11 equipment is enumerated per the equipment schedule and segregated by family (foodservice, commercial and residential appliances, laboratory and scientific, medical, athletic, vehicle-service, laundry, theatrical), each counted by manufacturer or schedule reference. NRM2 Work Section 32 distinguishes equipment supplied with services from equipment supplied without services as separate lines, because connected equipment (a dishwasher, a hand dryer, a powered locker, a water cooler) carries rough-in and coordination cost that unconnected items do not, and merging the two hides the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing connection count.

Division 12 furniture is enumerated each and then classified by furnish-or-install scope, since the division splits between items the contractor builds and installs (built-in casework, fixed and multiple seating, window-treatment hardware) and loose furniture, fixtures, and equipment that is frequently owner-furnished, owner-installed, and excluded. Fixed and auditorium seating is counted per seat; bench, bleacher, and telescopic systems specified by length convert to a seat count using the assembly-occupancy seat width of about 18 inches (457 mm) per seated person without dividing arms (IBC 1004.6), an occupant-load width borrowed as a conversion proxy, with individual auditorium chairs wider at 19 to 22 inches. The bleacher deck and understructure are a separate structural quantity. Window treatments are enumerated per opening, with the track or rod measured separately in linear length along the head; for drapery the fabric uses a fullness multiplier of about 2 to 2.5 times the track width plus hem and header allowances, a fabric convention rather than a measurement standard.

Each elevator, escalator, or lift is counted as one system, described by the number of stops. NRM2 Work Section 40 measures the whole unit as one number described by type, size, capacity, load, rating, length, number of stops, and storey height, and the number of stops or landings is the single most important descriptor, since commercial elevators are priced per landing. The hoistway, pit, and machine room are not part of the equipment unit: they are builder's work, billed separately under NRM2 Work Section 41 and built by the general contractor while the elevator subcontractor furnishes and installs the cab, rails, and controls. Testing and commissioning, validation, manuals, training, and post-completion servicing are each separate item lines. Other conveying sub-types (dumbwaiters, material lifts, moving walks, pneumatic tube) follow the same one-system rule, with their own cost lever such as run length or number of stations.

Continuous wall, ramp, and stair handrails are measured in linear length along the rail centerline. Where a rail follows a stair or ramp it is measured on the slope, the true developed length along the hypotenuse, plus the code-required extensions past the top and bottom nosing (United States Access Board 505), rather than the horizontal projection, which under-measures. Fixed-length grab bars (for example 36 or 42 inch bars) are instead enumerated per bar under NRM2 Work Section 32, not summed in linear length.

Furnish-and-install responsibility runs across all four divisions and is set by the contract documents. The contractor's quantity must reflect only its scope: contractor-furnished and contractor-installed (the default for built-in specialties and most conveying packages), owner-furnished and contractor-installed (install only, which NRM2 Work Section 32 carries as a dedicated employer-supplied line collected from off site), or owner-furnished and owner-installed (coordination and rough-in only, or excluded, common for loose furnishings). Builder's work in connection is measured separately from the item it accommodates: NRM2 puts equipment in Work Sections 32 and 40 and the accommodating structure in a separate Work Section 41. The separation is the firm rule; the actual quantities are project-engineered, with no standard stating an amount.

Fire-protection specialties are counted each and segregated by type: portable fire extinguishers (by class and size), extinguisher cabinets (by mounting and finish), fire blankets, and AED cabinets, under CSI MasterFormat 10 44 00 and enumerated as a number under NRM2 Work Section 32. Recessed cabinets carry a wall-cutout and backing scope as builder's work, and the required extinguisher count and travel-distance spacing are governed separately by NFPA 10 and the fire code. Enumerated items carry no material-waste percentage, because you order the count rather than a fraction of a unit. Formal methods (NRM2, the Australian and New Zealand method, the Canadian CIQS method) measure net and treat waste as a pricing allowance outside the quantity. The only legitimate addition is owner-required spare or attic stock, added as its own line per the specification. A waste percentage applies only to the genuine area and linear edge items, such as partition panel offcuts and handrail or track stock-length rounding.

In the United States there is no single legal method of measurement. CSI MasterFormat organizes the scope into divisions 10, 11, 12, and 14, method is convention-driven and corroborated by ASPE Standard Estimating Practice, and the derivable counts are anchored to code: accessible and ambulatory compartments (ADA 213.3.1, ICC A117.1 604.9), tactile signage (ADA 216, 703, 407.2.3 with the United States Access Board ADA Standards, ICC A117.1, and the IBC), and handrail geometry (ADA 505). In the UK and Ireland the method is formal: RICS NRM2 Work Section 32 enumerates all fittings, sanitary appliances, signs, and catering equipment as a number with a dedicated employer-supplied line, Work Section 40 enumerates a whole lift or escalator as one number, and Work Section 41 carries the accommodating works separately, with accessibility under Approved Document M and BS 8300.

Canada is a hybrid of United States construction practice and British-origin quantity surveying (the CIQS method), with accessibility under CSA B651 and provincial barrier-free codes. Australia and New Zealand follow the quantity-surveying tradition (the AIQS and NZIQS method), enumerating fittings, equipment, and conveying with builder's work separate, and taking accessible counts from the design under AS 1428 and the NCC. In Europe, country-specific national methods apply (for example the German VOB/C DIN 18xxx series), items are enumerated as pieces, and accessibility follows national codes and ISO 21542. International work uses the ICMS and IPMS frameworks with RICS lineage as the harmonizing baseline. Across every region the discipline is the same: carry the net count as the single source of truth, group it so it prices correctly, classify whose scope each item is, and derive the regulatory minimums. Exayard reads the drawings and applies these rules automatically, reconciling the schedule against the plan symbols, deriving the code-required counts for the region in use, and keeping the builder's work and scope splits separate from the item count.