Division 8 · Doors, frames and hardware

AI takeoff for doors, frames and hardware

A Division 8 takeoff is not a door count. It is the reconciliation of the door schedule, the floor plans, the elevations and the 087100 door hardware specification, which often disagree. Judge any AI takeoff tool on whether it does that reconciliation and shows you where the documents conflict.

What a Division 8 takeoff has to read

The door schedule: each opening's mark, size, door and frame material, fire rating and hardware set number.
The floor plans: where each opening is, whether it is a single or a pair, and its swing. Openings appear on the plan that are not on the schedule, and the other way round.
Door and frame elevations and types: glazing, louvers, frame profiles.
Section 087100, Door Hardware: what each hardware set contains, the approved manufacturers and whether substitutions are allowed.
The partition or wall type legend and the life safety plan: frame anchors and fire labels.
Addenda: a reissued schedule or spec section, often with only some changes clouded.

Where the price hides

A schedule row can be complete in every column and still leave out what changes the price: the handing, whether the opening is really a pair, the finish, the lock function and any electrified hardware (power supplies, request-to-exit, door position switches). Those answers live in the other documents. A tool that only reads the schedule, or only counts door symbols on the plan, gives you an opening count, not a hardware price.

How to judge any tool for Division 8

Run a past job you priced by hand and check each of these:

Does it list openings on the plan that are missing from the schedule, and scheduled openings it cannot find on the plan?
Does it expand each hardware set from the 087100 spec into line items, and flag a set number that the spec does not define?
Does it catch a single on the schedule drawn as a pair on the plan?
Does it carry the fire rating, handing and finish onto each opening?
Does it show the source sheet behind any opening you question?
Does it list what changed between the original set and an addendum, opening by opening?
Does the export go into the system you quote in (Comsense, eMullion, SFH or your spreadsheet) without re-keying?
Can it show a SOC 2 Type 2 report or equivalent before you upload a live set?

How the Division 8 specialists compare

Both specialists in our ranking, on the same criteria as every other tool:

Criterion	Fresco (#1)	Bild AI (#2)
Trade fit	● Shown Built only for Division 8; describes models trained on door hardware symbology and Division 8 documents.	● Shown Built for Division 8 distributors and estimators: schedules, hardware sets, manufacturer cross-reference.
Schedules, plans and specs read together	● Shown Reads door schedules, elevations, partition schedules, floor plans and 087100 specs together and flags conflicts.	● Shown Checks every opening across plan, schedule and spec; tracks changes between set issues.
Accuracy checks	● Shown Conflicts go to the estimator for a decision, with the source pages shown beside the result.	● Shown Mismatches (single or pair, swing, hardware set, material) are surfaced for review and RFIs.
Output formats	● Shown Import-ready output toward Comsense hardware entry and eMullion; an SFH workflow page.	● Shown Lists Comsense, PortalPro, AVAware, TOAD, eMullion and SFH.
Security	● Shown States SOC 2 Type 2 certification on its home page, with a public trust page.	○ Not shown No security page or certification found on bild.ai.
Learning curve and access	◐ Partly Free takeoff offered; no public price or self-serve trial terms.	◐ Partly Upload plans from the site and a web-based AI assistant; no public pricing.

Fresco shows every criterion except a public price, including a stated SOC 2 Type 2 certification. Bild AI shows the same document handling and the longest list of quoting-system exports, but we found no security information on its site. Neither publishes a price. Full entries: Fresco, Bild AI.

Can a general tool do Division 8?

It can count openings. Togal.AI, for example, has a door and hardware page that describes finding and counting openings by type and keeping types separate. Ask any general tool to run the checklist above: if it does not read the 087100 hardware sets or flag schedule and plan conflicts, you will still be doing that part by hand. More in general-purpose vs trade-specific takeoff.

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