Common Division 26 scope gaps that cost electrical contractors money
Most money lost on an electrical bid isn't a counting error. It's work the documents assign to you that never made it into the estimate, because it was written in the front-end specs, shown on another trade's sheets, or left between two subcontracts. These are the places to look before you submit.
1 · Division 0 and 1: the money that isn't on the drawings
Front-end sections set the terms you build under. They rarely mention electrical by name, so they get skipped, and they apply to every line of your estimate.
Bonds, insurance limits and wage requirements (prevailing wage, union or open shop) — read them, then confirm your labor rate and markup actually reflect them.
Liquidated damages and schedule: a compressed duration or phased occupancy means overtime, extra mobilizations and more supervision.
Closeout: as-builts, O&M manuals, training sessions, attic stock and extended warranties are real hours and real material.
General requirements for temporary facilities, cleanup, hoisting and site security — who carries them, the GC or the trades?
2 · Mechanical and equipment power
This is the classic gap between Division 23 and Division 26. The mechanical schedule, the electrical drawings and the specs often disagree about who supplies and who installs.
Starters, VFDs and disconnects: check the mechanical equipment schedule against the electrical schedule line by line. If one says 'by Div 26' and the other is silent, that's an RFI.
Control wiring and interlocks: is low-voltage control wiring yours or the controls contractor's? The spec section on controls usually answers it; the drawings usually don't.
Equipment that isn't on the electrical drawings at all: kitchen equipment, owner process equipment, elevators, and anything shown only on architectural or plumbing sheets.
Connections to equipment 'furnished by others' still need a whip, a disconnect and a trip to site. Count them.
3 · Scope boundaries with other trades
Boundary items fall between two subcontracts. If neither price carries them, the contractor holding the electrical contract usually ends up paying.
Site work: site lighting, pole bases, duct banks, trenching and backfill. Look at the civil and landscape sheets, not just the E-sheets.
Utility scope: transformer pads, primary and secondary conduit, metering equipment, grounding and utility fees. Carry it or exclude it in writing.
Division 27 and 28: who installs pathways, who pulls cable, who terminates and who tests? Who provides power to access control, cameras and the fire alarm panel?
Firestopping your own penetrations, cutting and patching, core drilling and painting of exposed conduit — spec sections often assign these to 'each trade'.
4 · Owner-furnished and allowance items
Owner-furnished equipment still needs labor to receive, store, set and connect. Allowances need to be carried exactly as written.
Owner-furnished, contractor-installed items: who receives, unloads, stores and protects them? Who is responsible if they arrive damaged or late?
Cash allowances and contingency amounts: carry the figure exactly as stated on the bid form, and check whether labor is inside or outside the allowance.
Alternates that add scope: price each alternate as written and check whether it changes the base bid gear or feeders.
5 · Testing, commissioning and temporary work
These items sit in the specs, not on the plans, so a drawing-only takeoff misses them.
Testing requirements: insulation resistance, ground resistance, breaker testing, infrared scans and third-party testing agencies all cost money and schedule time.
Commissioning participation: functional testing, retesting after deficiencies, and attendance at commissioning meetings.
Temporary power and lighting: who provides it, for how long, and who pays for energy? Phased projects can need it twice.
Coordination studies, arc-flash labelling and short-circuit studies: check whether the gear vendor's quote includes them or whether they fall to you.
Turning gaps into a cleaner bid
Every gap you find needs one of three outcomes before bid close: priced in the estimate, asked as an RFI, or excluded in writing in your qualifications. A gap that stays silent is the expensive one, because the general contractor will read the documents as including it. Keep a short list as you read, one line per item, with the sheet or spec section where you found it. That list becomes your RFIs and your exclusions letter. If an addendum lands late, re-check the list against it with the addendum review checklist.
Questions estimators ask
What is a scope gap on an electrical bid?
A scope gap is work the contract documents require that is not carried in your estimate and not clearly excluded in your bid. It usually shows up in specification sections, other trades' drawings or Division 0 and 1 rather than on the electrical sheets.
Where do Division 26 scope gaps usually hide?
Most often in the boundaries: mechanical equipment power and controls, site and utility work, Division 27 and 28 pathways and power, owner-furnished equipment, and testing or commissioning requirements written into the specs.
Should I exclude a scope item or send an RFI?
If the documents are unclear and there is time before bid day, send an RFI so every bidder prices the same thing. If there is no time or no answer, either carry the item or exclude it in writing in your qualifications. Never leave it silent.
How do I check a whole bid package for scope gaps faster?
Read the specs and every discipline's drawings with a running gap list, starting with Division 0 and 1. Bidprobe reads the whole package and flags scope gaps, spec conflicts, missed addendum items and exclusions; most reviews come back in 5 to 15 minutes.
See what a full-package scope check looks like.
Bidprobe reads the whole bid package and flags scope gaps, spec conflicts, missed addendum items and exclusions. Most reviews come back in 5 to 15 minutes, and your first bid check is free with no card.