An electrical rough-in bid is mostly an exercise in counting. Devices, circuits, and the wire between them. The counting is not hard; walking eleven rooms with a sketchpad to do it is what takes the morning.
Code-driven device counts come from wall lengths
Receptacle spacing rules are stated in feet of wall, which means a plan with real wall lengths produces the device count almost mechanically:
- General rooms — a receptacle so no point along the wall is more than six feet from one, plus any wall section two feet or wider
- Kitchen counters — spacing along the countertop run, which the scan's wall lengths and your appliance notes define together
- Perimeter per room, which is the baseline every one of those rules multiplies against
Have the real perimeter and the openings, and the minimum device count stops being a guess.
Wire length from the plan
Home runs are priced by the foot, and the distance from the panel to the far bedroom is a plan measurement. A dimensioned whole-house model with the panel location noted gives you a defensible wire quantity instead of a round number with padding on it.
Ceiling height drives more than you think
Fixture type, whether a room needs can lights or a surface mount, and whether anything needs a lift all follow from height. Measured per wall, so the vaulted rooms announce themselves.
What goes in the voice notes
The scan sees the room. It does not see the panel's spare capacity, the existing wiring type, whether the service is 100 or 200 amp, or where the client wants the island pendants. All of that is narration pinned to the spot you were standing.
Why bidding gets faster
Service upgrades and whole-house rewires are priced on counts and distances. Collect both in one walk, price from the plan at the desk, and show the client the rooms you counted.
Code is written in feet. Now so is your takeoff.