Scope gaps surface late
Underground limits, backflow and standpipes often sit between the written scope, the spec and the civil sheets. Nobody owns them until the job is already priced.
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Fire sprinkler takeoff, estimating & bid review
Takeoffs built for fire sprinklers.
Not a symbol counter for every trade. WOLF1956 reads the drawings, Division 21 specs, NFPA 13 basis and your written scope before a number is set, then hands back four documents: a Design Scope, an editable Estimate, a clean Proposal and a marked-up drawing set.
- NFPA 13 hazard classification
- Head counts by area
- Riser · FDC · backflow
- Water supply & standpipes
First project free · Plans from $249.99 per seat / month + $29.99 membership · Prices published, no sales call · Cancel anytime
FIND-02 Suite B open to structure vs. “finished ceilings throughout”
FIND-05 Addendum 01 adds mezzanine; FP concept not revised
Illustration using a fictional sample project.
Architectural & schematic drawingsDivision 21 specificationsNFPA 13 editionIFC & local amendmentsAHJ requirementsWater supplyBackflowStandpipesUnderground limitsAddenda & revisionsHazard classificationHead countsRiser & FDCExclusionsRFIs
4documents on every project
1project free to try
24+years in commercial fire protection behind it
3plans, prices on the page
The problem
Most bid misses start in the package, not in the math.
Documents disagree
An addendum revises one floor plan and not the fire protection concept. A ceiling note contradicts the scope letter. Those conflicts become change orders.
Unknowns get priced as knowns
A missing water test or an unconfirmed code edition quietly becomes an assumption. WOLF1956 keeps unknowns visibly marked as unknown.
What we check
A sprinkler budget is more than a symbol count.
Counting what’s drawn is the easy part. The money in a fire sprinkler bid sits in what the drawings don’t show yet. Every WOLF1956 review works through the same fire-protection checklist.
Hazard classification
Light, Ordinary Group 1 and 2, or Extra Hazard, set area by area per NFPA 13. Storage and anything unclear is flagged for the AHJ, not quietly assumed.
NFPA 13 · by areaHead counts by area
Counted by room, ceiling type and head type: pendent, upright, sidewall, concealed. Open-to-structure areas and finished ceilings are kept separate.
Heads · type · ceilingRiser, FDC & backflow
Zone risers, valves, FDC location and the backflow device the system actually needs, plus who owns each piece: you, the site contractor or the utility.
Riser · FDC · DCDA / RPZWater supply & standpipes
Flow test data recorded with its date and source, or marked missing. Fire pump and standpipe triggers are checked against building height and the adopted code.
Flow test · pump · NFPA 14Code basis & scope gaps
Adopted NFPA 13 edition, IFC and local amendments, Division 21 specs, addenda and your written scope, cross-checked. Conflicts become draft RFIs you decide to send.
Div 21 · addenda · RFIsHow it works
Review first. Estimate second.
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01
Share the package
Architectural or schematic drawings, specifications, addenda and your written fire protection scope. Completed sprinkler drawings aren’t required for a preliminary budget.
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02
Adequacy check
Before anything is priced, the package is checked for building area, occupancy, heights, construction and available water-supply data. If it’s too thin to budget, you hear that first.
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03
Source-linked review
Every finding points back to a sheet, a spec section, a code source or a recorded assumption. Code and AHJ items that can’t be confirmed stay flagged instead of being guessed.
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04
Four documents back
Design Scope, Estimate, Proposal and marked-up drawings, ready for you to adjust, put on your letterhead and send.
Interactive demo
See it before you talk to anyone.
No form, no call, no sales rep. Open the working demo and watch a complete fictional sprinkler package go from source documents to all four outputs. It runs in your browser, and nothing is uploaded or collected.
- Open the sample bid package
- Review the source-linked findings
- Edit the estimate and download the outputs
Fictional sample project · runs in your browser · sample checks written for this package, not a live read of your documents
Loads on request (about 2.6 MB)
What you get
Four documents. One review behind all of them.
Real pages from the fictional sample project used in the demo.
Design Scope Sheet
The required sprinkler scope, applicable codes and specs, assumptions, special conditions, exclusions, potential RFIs and missing information, all in one traceable sheet.
- Every line traced to a source
- Unverified code items stay flagged
- RFIs drafted, never sent without you
Estimate Sheet
An editable estimate built on your contractor assumptions: quantities, labor, material, fabrication, equipment, overhead and profit. Change an input and it recalculates.
Try it: edit the fields on the sheet.
| Material | — |
|---|---|
| Labor | — |
| Riser / trim | — |
| Overhead & profit | — |
| Preliminary budget | — |
Not priced, pending clarification: underground (RFI-02), backflow (RFI-03), standpipe (RFI-04)
Fictional sample values, not pricing guidance.
Proposal Sheet
A clean, customer-facing proposal. Edit it freely or move it onto your own letterhead. Internal costs and markup never appear in it.
- Scope included, clearly listed
- Pending items called out, not buried
- Exclusions stated plainly
Marked-Up Drawing Set
A separate annotated set showing scope areas, assumptions, discrepancies, possible omissions and clarification items, each referenced to the original sheet and revision.
- Originals never altered
- Clouds linked to findings and RFIs
- An estimating aid, not a permit set
Why a fire specialist
Generic takeoff counts the drawing. Fire protection reads the job.
What the bid needs
WOLF1956
Typical multi-trade AI takeoff
Built forFire sprinkler work onlyMany trades on one platform
Hazard classificationSet by area per NFPA 13, unclear areas flaggedUsually left to the estimator
Water supply, backflow, FDCChecked, missing data marked missingOutside the count
Code basisEdition and amendments cited or flagged for the AHJNot part of a quantity takeoff
Scope gaps across documentsDrawings, specs, addenda and written scope cross-checked, draft RFIsQuantities from the sheets you upload
Before sprinkler drawings existBudget from architectural or schematic drawings plus scopeNeeds the symbols to be on the sheet
What you get backDesign Scope, Estimate, Proposal, marked-up drawingsA quantity list feeding an estimate
PriceFrom $249.99 / seat / month + $29.99 membership, published, first project freeOften quoted after a sales call
Try it firstOpen demo in your browser, no formBook a demo
A general comparison with multi-trade AI takeoff software as a category. Individual products vary, and some include estimating and proposal features.
Who it’s for
Built for the three seats at the preconstruction table.
Fire Protection Contractors
Get support in early preconstruction, before sprinkler design is done, and on bid review when the full package lands.
- Your assumptions and rates stay editable
- Your internal methods stay yours
- Customer-ready proposal content
General Contractors
Pressure-test fire protection scope, catch missing information early and bring a cleaner budget into the owner conversation.
- Scope gaps and conflicts surfaced
- Exclusions you can compare across bids
- Clear line between budget and final takeoff
Real Estate Developers
Understand fire protection early, from architectural or schematic drawings and a written scope, before sprinkler drawings exist.
- Early feasibility and budget range
- Assumptions and unknowns spelled out
- Summaries ready for your project team
The rules we work by
No invented numbers. No invented code.
Estimating is only as good as what it admits it doesn’t know. These rules are built into every review.
- Unknown means unknown. Missing water-supply data is recorded as missing, never filled in.
- Sourced code basis. Adopted editions and amendments are cited. Anything unconfirmed stays flagged for the AHJ.
- Adequacy before pricing. If a package is too thin for a meaningful budget, it’s marked incomplete with a list of what’s needed.
- Your data stays yours. Your packages and pricing are never published or shared.
- Honest documents. Preliminary budgets aren’t final bids, and marked-up drawings aren’t engineering or permit documents.
Why WOLF1956
Built by an estimator, not a software shop.
WOLF1956 started with a career fire sprinkler estimator who spent years teaching estimating teams one habit above everything else: read the whole package before you put a number on it. WOLF1956 turns that discipline into a repeatable process, so every budget starts from the drawings, the specs, the code basis and the scope instead of a guess.
Built on Experience. Powered by AI.
WOLF1956 was founded by John Elrod, bringing over 24 years of commercial fire protection experience in estimating, project management, business development, and executive leadership.
His experience includes major projects such as Grandscape, Espace, Texas Live!, the Dallas Convention Center, Equinix DA-11, and UT Southwestern Psychiatric Hospital.
John holds USACE QCQM certification, previously earned NICET Levels I–III, and completed CEF Design Levels I–IV.
WOLF1956 combines AI-powered estimating with real-world industry expertise. Every estimate is personally reviewed by John before release.
Pricing
Three plans. Prices on the page.
No quote request and no demo call to find out what it costs. Your first project is free.
Every seat pays the plan price plus the $29.99 membership. Totals below update with seats.
Level 1
Up to 10 projects$249.99/ seat / month
Plus $29.99 / seat / month membership. Billed monthly. Renews automatically.
Monthly total: $279.98
Subscribe to Level 1Level 2
Up to 20 projects$699.99/ seat / month
Plus $29.99 / seat / month membership. Billed monthly. Renews automatically.
Monthly total: $729.98
Subscribe to Level 2Level 3
Up to 30 projects$1,299.00/ seat / month
Plus $29.99 / seat / month membership. Billed monthly. Renews automatically.
Monthly total: $1,328.99
Subscribe to Level 3- Every plan: package adequacy check before pricing
- Source-linked findings and draft RFIs
- All four documents on every project
- Editable estimate on your assumptions
- Proposal ready for your letterhead
- Marked-up drawing set referenced to your sheets
- Fire sprinkler focus: hazard, heads, pipe, riser, water supply
Billing terms. Membership is $29.99 per seat per month. Each seat is also billed its plan price per month: Level 1 $249.99 (up to 10 projects), Level 2 $699.99 (up to 20 projects) or Level 3 $1,299.00 (up to 30 projects). Billing is recurring until cancelled. Cancel anytime, and cancellation stops your next renewal. You keep access through the end of the period you’ve already paid for. All payments are non-refundable, including partial months and unused seats.
FAQ
Straight answers.
Is WOLF1956 only for fire sprinklers?
Yes. It’s built only for fire protection work: sprinkler scope, hazard classification, head counts, pipe, risers, FDC, backflow, water supply, standpipes and code basis. It isn’t a multi-trade takeoff tool, and that’s on purpose.
How is this different from a generic AI takeoff tool?
A generic takeoff tool counts and measures what’s drawn. A fire sprinkler budget also depends on things that usually aren’t drawn yet: hazard classification, water supply data, the adopted NFPA 13 edition, backflow type and who owns the underground. WOLF1956 checks those, flags what’s missing and drafts the RFIs, then builds the estimate.
What do you count and measure?
Head counts by area and type, pipe footage by size, risers, valves, FDC and backflow, plus allowances for anything the package doesn’t show. On a preliminary budget without a sprinkler layout, head and pipe quantities are stated allowances based on area and hazard, and they’re labeled that way.
Which codes and standards do you reference?
NFPA 13 and related standards such as NFPA 14 and NFPA 24 where they apply, along with the IFC and local amendments. Editions are cited from the project documents or the adopted code. If an edition or AHJ requirement can’t be confirmed, it stays flagged for you to verify.
Does it replace my estimator?
No. It does the package reading and the first pass, and it shows its sources so your estimator can check every finding. Your rates, assumptions and final number stay yours.
Do I need completed sprinkler drawings?
No. A preliminary budget works from architectural construction drawings or schematic drawings together with a written fire protection scope. If the package isn’t enough for a meaningful budget, we tell you what’s missing instead of guessing.
Is the estimate a final bid?
No. It’s a preliminary budget built on stated assumptions, with pending items and exclusions listed. You stay in control of the final number, and every input is editable.
Are the marked-up drawings permit documents?
No. They’re an estimating and coordination aid that references your original sheets and revisions. They aren’t sealed engineering, shop drawings or permit documents.
How fast will I get my documents?
It depends on the size and completeness of the package. When a complete package comes in, we give you a target date for that project. Incomplete packages need clarification first. We don’t promise a fixed turnaround.
Can I put the proposal on my own letterhead?
Yes. The proposal is fully editable and transferable, and internal costs and markup never appear on it.
How does billing work?
Your first project is free, with no card needed. After that, each seat is $29.99 per month for membership plus its plan: Level 1 $249.99 (up to 10 projects), Level 2 $699.99 (up to 20 projects) or Level 3 $1,299.00 (up to 30 projects), billed monthly on a recurring basis. Cancel anytime, and cancellation stops your next renewal. Payments are non-refundable, including partial months.
What happens to my drawings and pricing?
Files you send through the project upload page are kept private. They’re used only to prepare your documents, never used to train public AI models, never shared with other customers, and deleted on request.
Is the demo using a real project?
No. The demo and every example on this page use a fictional project created for demonstration.
Get started
Try your first project free.
Your first project is free, with no card needed. Email us to start it and we’ll reply with how to send the package. Subscribe when you’re ready.
Request my free project See plansReady to send drawings? Please don’t attach them to email. Use the secure project upload instead.