Division 8 Scope Builder

From a building profile to draft line items

Division 8 covers openings: doors, frames, glazing and hardware. For contractors and project managers, the scope has to be broken into line items before it can be priced or tendered. This builder gives you a first draft in seconds. Choose a building type, enter the total number of door openings, estimate the share that is fire-rated and select a hardware level. You receive a split of hollow metal openings, fire-rated assemblies, aluminum entrances, automatic operators and hardware sets, along with a budget range in Canadian dollars.

It is a starting point for budgeting and early coordination, not a replacement for the architect's door schedule.

How the draft is assembled

Each building type carries a typical ratio of entrances to total openings. Retail and restaurants have proportionally more glazed entrances, offices and medical buildings have a mix of entrances and interior doors, schools carry many corridor and classroom doors, and warehouses lean on hollow metal with a few dock and personnel entrances. The builder applies that ratio to your door count, removes the rated openings you specified, and assigns the remainder to hollow metal doors and frames.

The output maps to the common Division 8 sections: 08 11 00 for hollow metal, 08 41 13 for aluminum entrances and storefronts, and 08 71 00 for door hardware. Fire-rated assemblies are counted separately because they must follow NFPA 80 and use listed hardware. Automatic operators are added to entrances where the building type typically needs them for barrier-free access.

Reading the budget range

The budget combines our per-opening ranges for each category with a hardware allowance per door. Grade 2 standard hardware sits at the low end, Grade 1 commercial hardware is the usual choice for durable traffic, and Grade 1 with access control adds electrified locking and credentials. The result is rounded to the nearest $100 and shown as a low and high figure.

Actual project cost depends on drawings, specifications, finishes, glazing, site access and schedule. Treat the range as a conversation starter with an owner or estimator rather than a bid.

Turning the draft into a firm scope

Send us your drawings or a description of the plans and we return a written CAD Division 8 scope within 2 business days of the site measure or drawing review. It lists every opening, the hardware set for each, the fire ratings and the product references, so every bidder prices the same thing. Use the form below to start, and our spec desk will confirm what we need.

More tools: see all free door tools.