AI estimating for structural steel contractors
Structural steel estimating software that prices on your numbers
Structural steel estimating software turns your shop and erection drawings into a priced bid: it reads the member schedule and plans, builds the takeoff (tons by member type, connections, baseplates, deck, studs), then prices each line against your cost data. Ruh runs the structural steel takeoff software from the drawings, applies tonnage and per-each rates from your own price book, and routes the priced estimate to you. The AI does the measuring and the math, the estimator reviews and signs off before the number leaves the office.
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Book a walkthroughThe structural steel estimating problems this solves
Tonnage hides in member sizes and lengths
Steel sells by the ton, but the drawings give you shapes and lengths. Every W, HSS, channel, and angle has to be matched to its lb/ft from the shape tables, multiplied by length, then rolled up by member type before you can price beams, columns, and braces separately. Miss a length or grab the wrong weight per foot and the tonnage walks, which on a fabricated rate moves the bid by real dollars per ton.
Connections and baseplates never come free
A clean tonnage takeoff still misses money if you stop at the members. Shear tabs, moment connections, baseplates, and anchor bolts get counted as separate each items, each carrying its own shop labor and material. Counting beams but burying connections in a blanket allowance is how steel bids get thin, because the connection labor on a moment frame can rival the steel cost itself.
Deck, studs, and the shop versus field split
Metal deck is measured in square feet off the framing plans and shear studs are counted each, both easy to undercount around openings and edges. On top of that, every line has to be split between shop work (fabrication) and field work (erection) because the labor rates and the crews are different. Pricing a field-erected connection at shop rates, or the reverse, quietly distorts the whole estimate.
What a structural steel takeoff counts and measures
| Item | Unit | How it is measured and priced |
|---|---|---|
| Beams | tons | Length per mark times lb/ft from the shape table, summed by W shape, converted to tons and priced at the fabricated beam rate |
| Columns | tons | Wide flange and HSS column lengths times weight per foot, rolled up to tons, priced separately because column fabrication differs from beams |
| Braces | tons | HSS and angle bracing measured by length and lb/ft, kept as its own tonnage line so brace labor is not averaged into beams |
| Connections | ea | Shear tabs, clip angles, and moment connections counted each by type, priced on shop labor plus connection material, not folded into member tonnage |
| Baseplates | ea | Counted each by size and thickness; plate weight and welding drive the per-each price at the column bases |
| Anchor bolts | ea | Counted each by diameter and embedment from the anchor bolt plan, priced as material plus setting labor |
| Metal deck | sf | Square feet off the framing plans by deck type and gauge, net of large openings, priced per sf installed |
| Shear studs | ea | Counted each from the composite beam callouts, priced as material plus field welding per stud |
| Miscellaneous shapes | lf | Channels, angles, and plate edge measured in linear feet by shape, converted to weight for pricing where sold by the ton |
| Shop vs field split | assembly | Each member assembly tagged shop (fabrication) or field (erection) so the correct labor rate and crew apply to that line |
A worked structural steel example
Small steel package: 18 tons of beams and columns plus connections and deck. Members: 18 tons at a fabricated and delivered rate of $4,200/ton = $75,600. Connections: 64 shear tabs and clips at $85 each = $5,440. Baseplates: 12 each at $140 = $1,680. Anchor bolts: 48 each at $9 = $432. Metal deck: 6,500 sf at $3.20/sf installed = $20,800. Shear studs: 540 each at $1.75 = $945. Erection labor: 18 tons at $900/ton = $16,200. Subtotal: $75,600 + $5,440 + $1,680 + $432 + $20,800 + $945 + $16,200 = $121,097. Apply 12% overhead and profit: $121,097 times 1.12 = $135,628.64. The members carry the bid, but the connections, deck, and erection labor add $45,497 before markup, which is exactly the scope a tonnage-only takeoff leaves on the table.
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How Ruh runs your structural steel estimates
Ruh ingests the structural drawings and member schedule, then builds the takeoff line by line: tonnage by member type from lengths and lb/ft, connections and baseplates as each counts, deck in square feet, studs and anchor bolts each, with every assembly tagged shop or field. It prices each line against your own price book, your tonnage rates, your per-each connection and baseplate costs, your deck and erection labor, so the numbers are yours and not a generic database. The estimator reviews the extracted quantities against the drawings, checks the shop versus field split and the connection counts, and adjusts any rate before approving. Nothing goes out as a bid until the estimator signs off on the priced estimate.
Structural steel estimating software FAQs
How accurate is the AI takeoff on tonnage and connection counts?+
The AI extracts member lengths and shapes from the schedule and plans, applies lb/ft to get tonnage, and counts connections, baseplates, anchor bolts, and studs as each items. It is built to be reviewable: every quantity ties back to a member mark or plan location so the estimator can verify it against the drawings rather than trust a black box. You are checking a takeoff, not guessing whether the software was close.
Does it price from my price book or someone else's database?+
Yours. Ruh prices tonnage rates, connection and baseplate costs, deck per sf, stud and anchor bolt rates, and shop versus field labor from your own cost data. If you change a fabricated tonnage rate or an erection rate, the estimate reprices on your numbers. There is no hidden national average steering the bid.
Can it work with the takeoff and estimating tools we already use?+
Ruh produces a structured, line by line takeoff with quantities, units, and priced extensions that you can review and export, so it fits alongside the spreadsheet or estimating system your shop already runs on. It is meant to do the measuring and first pass pricing, not force you to abandon the workflow your estimators trust.
What stays in the estimator's hands?+
Judgment and the final number. The AI measures and prices, but the estimator reviews the extracted tonnage, the connection and baseplate counts, the deck and stud quantities, and the shop versus field split, then adjusts rates and approves. The bid does not leave the office until a human estimator has signed off.
Bidding structural steel work? Ruh prices it on YOUR price book, not a database.
Book a demoDoing the structural steel takeoff itself?
The quantities side has its own page: counts, measures, and how the AI takeoff reads your drawings.
Structural Steel takeoff softwareStructural steel terms in the glossary
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Figures on this page are illustrative. Construction estimates depend on project-specific conditions, source documents, market pricing, and professional judgment. Ruh's AI assists the estimator and does not replace professional review: your team reviews, validates, and approves every estimate, bid, and pricing decision.