Door Hardware Schedule Takeoff: Sets, Frames, Doors

A door hardware schedule takeoff turns a door schedule and a set of hardware groups into a priced list of every hinge, lockset, closer, stop, seal and electrified device on a project, plus the doors, frames and glazing that carry them. It looks like a counting job. In practice it is a coordination job, and most bid errors come from hardware sets that were never tied back to the right opening, or from access control items that nobody owned.

This guide walks through the method we use to take off openings from a set of plans: how to build the opening list, how to turn hardware sets into quantities, how to count doors, frames and glass in doors, and how to coordinate electrified hardware. If you would rather hand the whole package to a specialist, our openings takeoff and estimating service covers doors, frames, hardware and glazing from your drawings.

What a door hardware takeoff covers and where the data lives

A complete openings takeoff has four layers: door leaves, frames, glazing in the doors, and finish hardware. Access control and electrified hardware add a fifth layer that is often split between trades. Decide at the start which layers are in your scope. A quote for hardware only and a quote for doors, frames and hardware are not comparable, and mixing them up is a common reason one bid looks cheap.

The documents you need

The door schedule, usually on the architectural sheets. It lists door number, size, thickness, material, finish, frame type, fire rating, glazing and the hardware set for each opening.
The hardware sets, which are normally in the Division 08 specification, often in Section 08 71 00, or on a separate hardware schedule sheet.
Door and frame type elevations, which show lites, louvers, sidelites, transoms and panel layouts.
Floor plans, which show door tags, swing direction and which side of the door is secure.
Electrical, security and fire alarm drawings, which show card readers, power supplies, door position switches and alarm release devices.
Addenda and RFI responses, because hardware sets change more often than almost anything else in a bid package.

If a door appears on the plan but not on the schedule, or the schedule and the plan disagree on a hardware set, do not pick one quietly. Carry the higher-cost assumption, write it into your clarifications and send an RFI. Our guide to reading construction plans for estimating explains how the sheets fit together.

Who normally supplies what

On many commercial jobs, doors and frames are bought as one package, finish hardware as a second package from a hardware supplier, glazing in doors from the glazing contractor, and access control from a security or electrical contractor. Your takeoff should show which party carries each item, because the gaps between packages are where money disappears. The Door and Hardware Institute publishes a standard sequence and format for hardware schedules that many specifications require for submittals, and its technical literature page is a good place to see what reference material exists for openings work.

Step 1: Build the opening list from the door schedule

Start with one row per opening, not per door leaf. A pair of doors is one opening with two leaves, and that distinction drives almost every quantity later. For each row, capture:

Door number and room name.
Number of leaves and the size of each: width, height and thickness.
Door type and material, such as hollow metal, wood, aluminum or fiberglass.
Frame type, size and material, including sidelites and transoms.
Fire rating and any smoke or sound rating.
Glazing in the door, with lite size and glass type.
Hardware set number.
Swing, handing and notes such as provide for future card reader.

Once the list is built, total it three ways: openings, door leaves and frames. Then check the count against the door tags on the floor plans, floor by floor. If the schedule shows 118 doors and your plan count gives 121, find the three differences before you do anything else. Doors added in addenda, doors in alternates, existing doors that stay and doors that only need new hardware are the usual causes.

Sort the list by door type, by frame type and by hardware set. The same list feeds three different parts of the estimate, and you want to count it once. Our material takeoff guide shows how to organize a takeoff so that each quantity traces back to its source sheet.

Step 2: Convert hardware sets into item quantities

A hardware set describes everything needed for one opening or one type of opening. The takeoff multiplies each item in the set by the number of openings that use it. The arithmetic is simple. The mistakes come from the details that sit between the lines of the set.

Per leaf or per opening?

Some items are counted once per leaf and others once per opening. Getting this wrong on pairs doubles or halves a line.

Per leaf: hinges, closers, exit devices, flush bolts, door bottoms or sweeps, kick and armor plates, push and pull sets, and stops.
Per opening: thresholds, perimeter gasketing, astragals on pairs, removable mullions, coordinators, and the access control devices that serve the opening.
Per frame: silencers, which are normally counted by the frame and not by the leaf.

Hinges

Take the hinge count from the set where it is written. When the set only says hinges without a quantity, many specifications call for three hinges on doors up to about 7 feet 6 inches high and a fourth on taller or heavier doors. Treat that as a starting point and check the spec, the manufacturer’s data and your door weights. Note the hinge size, weight, material and finish, and whether any are electrified power transfer hinges, which are priced very differently from a standard butt hinge.

Function, grade and finish

Locksets are priced by function (passage, privacy, classroom, office, storeroom or entrance), by grade and by finish. A single line that says locksets hides a wide price range. Separate each function and each finish, because a project that mixes brushed stainless steel and painted finishes needs two lines even when the product is otherwise the same. Read the set notes for phrases such as provide for pair, match existing or by owner.

Keying

Keying is a cost and not an afterthought. Count cylinders or cores, construction cores if required, key blanks, master and grand master requirements, and any keying meeting or schedule the spec asks for. If the owner furnishes the cores, the takeoff still needs the housings and the installation labor.

Step 3: Count doors, frames and glazing in doors

With the hardware quantified, return to the opening list for the physical components.

Doors

Count leaves by type, size, thickness, material, core, rating and finish. A 3-0 by 7-0 hollow metal door and a 3-0 by 7-0 wood door are separate lines with separate suppliers. Include the factory preparation for the hardware in the set, such as mortise preps, reinforcements, and cutouts for lites, louvers or electrified hardware. Doors that need field preparation cost more to install, and that labor belongs in the estimate.

Frames

Count frames by type, size, throat dimension, gauge, rating and anchoring method. Frames set in masonry, frames for drywall partitions and frames in existing walls all have different anchors and different installation labor. Add sidelites, transoms and borrowed lites with the frame when the frame schedule says so. Welded and knocked-down frames also price differently, so check the spec before you quote.

Glazing in doors

Glass in doors is easy to lose between the door supplier and the glazing contractor. Pull each lite size from the door type elevations and calculate the area as width times height in inches, divided by 144 to get square feet. Note the glass type: tempered, laminated, insulated or fire-rated. Fire-rated lites must be listed for the door and frame assembly, and the rating depends on the glass, the kit and the frame together, so do not substitute a standard lite kit on a rated door. If lites, sidelites or transoms sit in the glazing scope instead, make sure the glazing estimate picks them up. Our pages on glass and glazing estimating and storefront versus curtain wall estimating cover the glazing side of these scope splits.

Step 4: Coordinate access control and electrified hardware

Electrified openings are where door hardware takeoffs most often fall apart, because the work crosses several trades. A typical access-controlled opening involves a door and frame prepared for wiring, an electrified lock or exit device, a power transfer device, a reader, a door position switch, a request-to-exit device, a power supply, and conduit and wire from the controller to the door.

Identify the electrified function

Read the set for the function. Electric strikes, electromagnetic locks, electrified mortise locks and electrified exit devices have different power requirements and different fail-safe or fail-secure behavior. The spec or the security drawings will say which one is required. A fire alarm release on stair doors or a magnetic holder on a corridor door adds another connection that someone has to furnish and wire.

Build a responsibility matrix

For every electrified opening, list each item and write down who furnishes it, who installs it and who wires it. A simple matrix has rows like these:

Door and frame preparation for wiring and devices: the door and frame supplier.
Electrified lock, exit device, strike or hinge: the hardware supplier.
Reader, controller and credentials: the security contractor.
Power supply, conduit and wire to the door: the electrical or security contractor, as the spec directs.
Fire alarm interface: the fire alarm contractor.
Programming and commissioning: the security contractor.

This list is only an example, since responsibilities change from project to project. The point is to make every assignment explicit so that each line is priced by someone. When the documents do not say, list the item as a clarification or exclusion in your bid and treat it as a risk.

A worked example

The numbers below are illustrative. Suppose a small commercial project has 24 openings and four hardware sets.

HW-1, offices and classrooms: 12 single openings, each with 3 hinges, 1 classroom or office lockset, 1 wall stop and 3 silencers.
HW-2, rated corridor doors: 6 single openings, each with 3 hinges, 1 storeroom lockset, 1 closer, 1 floor stop and 1 set of smoke gasketing, plus a 6 by 30 inch fire-rated lite.
HW-3, entry pairs with access control: 2 pair openings, each with 3 hinges per leaf (one hinge on the active leaf is an electrified power transfer hinge), 1 exit device and 1 closer per leaf, 1 removable mullion, 1 card reader and 1 door position switch, plus a 10 by 40 inch lite in each leaf.
HW-4, restrooms: 4 single openings, each with 3 hinges, 1 privacy latchset, 1 closer, 1 wall stop, 1 kick plate and 3 silencers.

The takeoff works out as follows.

Openings: 12 + 6 + 2 + 4 = 24. Leaves: 12 + 6 + (2 × 2) + 4 = 26. Frames: 24.
Hinges: HW-1 12 × 3 = 36. HW-2 6 × 3 = 18. HW-3 2 × 6 = 12, of which 2 are electrified. HW-4 4 × 3 = 12. Total 36 + 18 + 12 + 12 = 78, which is 76 standard hinges and 2 electrified hinges.
Locksets: 12 + 6 + 4 = 22, split by function. The pairs use exit devices instead.
Exit devices: 2 openings × 2 leaves = 4.
Closers: 6 + (2 × 2) + 4 = 14.
Stops: wall stops 12 + 4 = 16, floor stops 6.
Silencers: (12 + 4) × 3 = 48.
Glass in doors: 6 × 30 = 180 sq in, or 1.25 sq ft per lite, times 6 lites = 7.5 sq ft. The pair lites are 10 × 40 = 400 sq in, or 2.78 sq ft each, times 4 leaves = 11.11 sq ft. The total is about 18.6 sq ft across 10 lites.
Access control: 2 readers, 2 door position switches, 2 removable mullions, and power supplies as the spec requires. We assumed one supply serves both openings.

Each quantity is then priced from supplier quotes and the manufacturers named in the spec, with every function and finish carried as its own line. Do not apply a waste factor to finished hardware. Carry spare parts or attic stock only when the specification asks for them.

Items commonly missed

Thresholds, saddles and door bottoms or sweeps.
Astragals on pairs, flush bolts and coordinators when pairs have closers.
Removable mullions on pairs with rim exit devices.
Overhead stops, wall stops and floor stops, which are easy to skip when the set lists them in a note.
Kick plates, armor plates and mop plates.
Silencers and perimeter gasketing, including smoke seals on rated doors.
Construction cores, permanent cores, key blanks and the keying schedule.
Hardware for existing doors that are being reused or refitted.
Wire, conduit and power supplies for electrified hardware.
Fire alarm release devices and magnetic holders.
Automatic door operators and push plate actuators.
Door and room signage when it is in the hardware or door scope.
Submittal fees for a hardware consultant, plus receiving, handling and installation.

Common mistakes

Counting a pair as one leaf, or doubling items that belong to the opening.
Trusting the door schedule without checking it against the plan tags and the addenda.
Pricing hardware from a per-door allowance instead of from the actual sets.
Merging different finishes or functions into a single average price.
Leaving out the wire, conduit and power supplies behind electrified hardware.
Assuming a rated door can take any glass and any frame.
Ignoring door and frame preparation, which affects both the supplier price and the installation labor.
Reusing the cost per opening from the last job without checking that the sets match.

Our broader list of common estimating mistakes shows how errors like these carry into the final bid.

Frequently asked questions

What is a hardware set?

A hardware set is a group of hardware items assigned to an opening or a group of similar openings. The door schedule gives each opening a set number, and the set lists every item that opening needs, with quantity, size, function and finish.

Do I count hinges per door or per leaf?

Count hinges per leaf. A pair of doors has two leaves, so a pair with three hinges per leaf needs six hinges. Always take the number from the set or the spec when it is stated.

Should I add waste to hardware quantities?

Generally no. Finished hardware is bought by the piece to match the sets. Add spare parts, extra keys or attic stock only when the specification requires them, and carry fasteners and templates as part of the item unless the spec says otherwise.

Who pays for access control wiring?

It depends on the project. Some specifications put the wire and conduit with the electrical contractor and others with the security contractor, and the hardware supplier usually furnishes only the electrified hardware. Check the Division 08, 26 and 28 sections and the drawings, and write a clarification when they conflict.

Can I take off hardware from the door schedule alone?

No. The door schedule only gives the hardware set number. You need the hardware sets and the specification to know what is in each set, and the security drawings for electrified items.

Need a door and hardware takeoff from your plans?

Send us the drawings and specification and we will return a door, frame, hardware and glazing takeoff organized by opening and hardware set, with electrified items flagged for coordination. Learn more about our door, window and hardware estimating service, see our broader quantity and material takeoffs, or browse the full list of estimating services by trade.

Door Hardware Schedule Takeoff: How to Count Sets, Frames and Doors