How 1-Degree Uses IntelliBid to Deliver Detailed Electrical Estimates, Fast

For 1-Degree, an electrical estimate needs to do more than produce a total. It needs to show contractors what is included, give them information they can use to prepare a bid, and remain manageable when drawings change.

Based in Cape Coral, Florida, 1-Degree provides outsourced electrical estimating services to contractors across the United States and in Canada. The firm works as an extension of its clients’ teams, preparing detailed estimates from project drawings, specifications, and bid documents.

To support that work, George Hatziyianis relies on IntelliBid electrical estimating software from Conest. With more than 15 years of personal experience using Conest software, George has built a workflow around detailed takeoff reports, flexible estimate organization, and the ability to reuse and revise work efficiently.

The result is an estimating process that helps 1-Degree communicate scope clearly, support a wide range of projects, and respond to revisions without rebuilding every repeated portion of an estimate.

1-Degree: At a Glance

Electrical Estimating Built on Field Experience

George’s approach to estimating starts with his background as an electrician. A retired Local 3 electrician from Manhattan, he gained experience in field supervision, blueprint reading, and a range of electrical construction environments.

That background shapes how 1-Degree operates. George requires the estimators who work for him to be electricians with field experience, so they can assess what an installation involves as well as identify what appears on a drawing.

For 1-Degree, estimating means connecting the plans to the work required in the field. Installation height, access, equipment, and the individual components of an assembly all influence how an estimator evaluates the scope.

The firm applies that approach across a broad project mix. Multifamily developments may include several buildings, clubhouses, and garages. Other assignments involve tenant fit-outs, industrial work, wastewater treatment plants, data centers, or roadway electrical work.

We don’t just stay in one lane.

George Hatziyianis1-Degree

Serving that variety of projects requires software that can support detailed electrical takeoff while leaving room for an experienced estimator’s judgment.

The Challenge: Serving Different Contractors on Fixed Bid Schedules

An outsourced estimating firm has to deliver information that makes sense outside its own office. Each contractor brings different project documents, bid requirements, and estimating priorities.

Each still needs to understand the scope, review material and labor information, incorporate supplier and subcontractor quotes, and apply the business costs that shape the final bid.

At the same time, 1-Degree manages a schedule of estimating assignments. George plans the work from initial document review through takeoff, internal review, and delivery. An addendum can introduce additional work into that schedule even when the bid date stays the same.

The firm needs both a dependable estimating workflow and a practical way to communicate the finished estimate to each client.

Why IntelliBid Is George’s Go-To Estimating Program

George’s preference for IntelliBid comes from hands-on experience with multiple estimating systems, including Trimble’s Accubid and McCormick. He encountered Accubid through his Local 3 background in New York and described McCormick as a well-built system for in-house estimating. For his own outsourced estimating business, however, he prefers the combination of control, reporting detail, and ease of use he finds in IntelliBid.

His comparisons reflect his experience with those systems and the way 1-Degree works. When discussing McCormick, he acknowledged that the software may have changed since the experience he described.

Conest is my go-to program.

George Hatziyianis1-Degree

Adjusting Labor to Match the Installation

One of George’s most specific comparisons concerned the ability to adjust labor within an individual part of an estimate. He described the difficulty he had experienced making the adjustments he wanted in Accubid, then explained why that control matters to an electrician preparing an estimate.

His example involved Type A fixtures installed at an 8-foot ceiling and Type B fixtures installed at a 50-foot ceiling. Those are different working conditions, even when some of the installation materials are the same. George wants to account for the labor associated with the affected fixtures, down to a component such as three-quarter-inch EMT, at the level where the difference occurs.

For George, IntelliBid’s value includes the flexibility to apply his field judgment to a specific installation within the estimate. That is a practical reason for his preference: the estimate needs to reflect how and where the work will be performed.

Assemblies That Help Account for the Parts and Pieces

George also connected his preference to the depth of Conest’s electrical assemblies. In discussing his experience with Accubid, he recalled having to think through and locate more of the individual components himself. He appreciates how Conest’s assemblies bring the associated parts and labor into the estimate for review.

For his team, that makes assemblies a useful starting point for evaluating the complete installation. The estimators still bring their electrical knowledge to checking the components and labor against the job’s requirements.

Making Targeted Changes and Recovering Deleted Items

George’s description of everyday editing was equally specific. He values being able to replace an item in the particular portion of the estimate he is working on, without replacing it throughout the job. That control helps him tailor an estimate when only one installation or area needs to change.

He also pointed to the ability to retrieve deleted items. Being able to restore something removed by mistake is another example of the practical editing flexibility he appreciates.

Reports That Show Clients the Work Behind the Total

For an outsourced estimator, George considers the reporting a major reason to choose IntelliBid. He singled out detailed takeoff reports that show a client the parts, material costs, and labor behind an installation. In his view, that visibility is especially valuable when the contractor needs to review work prepared outside its own office.

His preference is tied to a clear business need: clients should be able to examine what 1-Degree estimated and understand how the total was built.

A Program He Can Make His Own

When asked what he would tell another estimator considering Conest, George emphasized that it was easy to learn and user-friendly. His closing comments returned to the ability to review, change, and organize the estimate in a way that suits his work.

Together, those details explain his preference: control over individual items and labor, useful assemblies, clear reporting, and straightforward editing support the way he wants his team to estimate.

Detailed Reports That Help Clients Understand the Estimate

One of IntelliBid’s most valuable roles at 1-Degree is making the estimate understandable to the contractor receiving it.

George highlights detailed takeoff reporting because it lets his team show the components, material costs, and labor behind the work. A lighting estimate, for example, can show the parts associated with a fixture as well as the quantities and totals.

That visibility gives clients a way to review what 1-Degree included, rather than having to work from a single unexplained number.

Phase total reports provide a broader view. Clients can review the material and labor assigned to different portions of the job and identify where the estimate’s largest costs or labor requirements are concentrated.

The two reporting levels serve different purposes: detailed takeoff information supports scope review, while phase totals help the contractor evaluate the overall estimate and prepare the bid.

Making Multifamily Estimates Easier to Repeat and Revise

Multifamily work shows why estimate organization and copy-and-paste functions are important to George’s team.

A development can contain several apartment types repeated across multiple buildings. The team needs to account for each type’s electrical scope, the number of times it occurs, and any changes introduced during estimating.

George’s method is to build one estimate for each typical unit type, review it, and then copy the completed work for the remaining matching units.

In an illustrative example from the interview, a unit type appears 20 times. The team builds and checks the first unit, then copies it for the other 19. If that unit type changes, the team removes the repeated copies, updates the original unit estimate, and recreates the remaining copies from the revised version.

This gives 1-Degree a repeatable way to update recurring scope without manually reworking every matching unit separately. The estimator still reviews the revision and determines which units it affects.

1. Build a Typical UnitEstimate the electrical scope for one unit of each type.
2. Review the EstimateCheck the unit before repeating its scope.
3. Copy Matching UnitsReuse the reviewed estimate for the remaining units.
4. Revise the OriginalUpdate the affected unit type when drawings change.
5. Rebuild the CopiesReplace the repeated scope with the revised version.

Responding to Addenda When Bid Dates Stay the Same

George says clients send addenda regularly, sometimes more than once in a day. Those revisions must be reviewed alongside work already scheduled for other contractors.

IntelliBid’s editing capabilities help 1-Degree respond within that workflow. The team can review an addendum, change the affected quantities or items, and prepare updated information for the client.

Depending on the revision, George may communicate the difference to the contractor or regenerate the estimate documents and send the updated package.

George describes the time savings from copy-and-paste and editing functions as substantial. He did not assign a specific number of hours or a percentage to those savings, but explained that these capabilities are embedded in how his team plans and completes its work.

Keeping Useful Detail Available for Scope Changes

The value of a detailed estimate can continue after the original takeoff is complete.

George explains that the material and labor information associated with an individual item can give clients a starting point when evaluating additional scope. If a contractor needs to price more fixtures of a type already estimated, the existing unit detail can help identify the material and labor behind that work.

The contractor can use that information to develop change pricing, checking the current scope and conditions and applying the appropriate costs, overhead, and profit. For 1-Degree, this is another reason to deliver an estimate with enough detail for clients to understand and reuse.

Project Spotlights: Electrical Estimating Experience Across Seven States

George’s project examples put 1-Degree’s range of experience into perspective. The firm provided estimating support to contractor clients for each of the following assignments, spanning federal facilities, public infrastructure, institutional buildings, and residential development.

The public project descriptions below provide context for those estimating assignments. Together, they show the variety of work behind George’s emphasis on field experience, detailed scope review, and an organized estimating process.

Wyoming: GBSD Consolidated Maintenance Facility at F.E. Warren Air Force Base

1-Degree supported a Wyoming client with estimating for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) Consolidated Maintenance Facility at F.E. Warren Air Force Base. The federal construction announcement describes a design-bid-build maintenance facility in Cheyenne, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers serving as the contracting agency. Read the federal project announcement.

For 1-Degree’s portfolio, this assignment demonstrates experience supporting a contractor on a major military construction project. It extends the firm’s estimating experience into a specialized federal facility setting.

Oregon: Redmond Wetlands Facilities

For an Oregon client, 1-Degree provided estimating support for the Redmond Wetlands Facilities project. Taylor Northwest’s description of the Redmond Wetlands Complex outlines an expansion of the city’s wastewater treatment system that includes 36 acres of treatment lagoons, 90 acres of constructed wetlands, and administrative and maintenance facilities. The broader work also includes approximately three miles of sewer main replacement, phased to keep the existing facility operating. Explore the contractor’s project overview.

The assignment adds a concrete example to the wastewater treatment experience George described in the interview, showing how 1-Degree’s work reaches beyond conventional commercial buildings into municipal utility infrastructure.

West Virginia: WVPA Morton Travel Plaza, Eskdale

1-Degree’s estimating assignments also include Morton Travel Plaza in Eskdale for a West Virginia client. The project is part of the West Virginia Parkways Authority’s travel plaza modernization program. HNTB, the program’s lead designer, describes Morton’s reconstruction as the second phase of that effort, serving travelers with a fueling and convenience stop at the northern end of the tollway. Read HNTB’s overview of the travel plaza program.

This example brings roadside commercial facilities into 1-Degree’s project mix, alongside the industrial and building projects George discussed.

Kentucky: State Capitol Renovation, Frankfort

For a Kentucky client, 1-Degree provided estimating support for the Kentucky State Capitol Renovation assignment identified by George as BP10 / TC10.27. The wider renovation addresses aging infrastructure, deferred maintenance, accessibility, and safety while preserving the Capitol’s historic character. Kentucky’s Finance and Administration Cabinet describes it as the building’s first comprehensive overhaul in more than 70 years. Read the state’s renovation overview.

1-Degree’s involvement in a package within this renovation adds historic government facilities to the firm’s estimating experience. It also illustrates the range of project contexts its estimators encounter, from new construction to work within an existing landmark.

Montana: Montana State Prison Low-Side Housing

1-Degree supported a Montana client with estimating for the Montana State Prison low-side housing project in Deer Lodge. The state’s project announcement describes replacing three of the four existing low-security housing buildings with larger, more efficient facilities and adding 117 beds. Read Montana’s housing project announcement.

The assignment adds correctional housing to 1-Degree’s institutional project experience. Alongside the Capitol and military facility examples, it shows the firm supporting contractors who work in several distinct public-sector construction markets.

South Dakota: Fort Meade VA Medical Center

George also identified estimating work for a South Dakota client at Fort Meade VA Medical Center. Part of VA Black Hills Health Care, the hospital provides primary care and specialty services for veterans. Learn about Fort Meade VA Medical Center.

This assignment brings healthcare facilities into the portfolio. It broadens the picture of the contractors 1-Degree supports, adding a medical campus to the firm’s defense, government, infrastructure, and residential examples.

Florida: Essex at Avenir, Palm Beach Gardens

Closer to 1-Degree’s Florida home base, the firm provided estimating support for a client on Essex at Avenir in Palm Beach Gardens. City planning records identify Essex at Avenir as a townhome project and document a site plan amendment concerning its townhome designs. View the city’s approved project listing.

Essex adds a named residential assignment to the project portfolio. It provides a useful connection to George’s broader discussion of residential estimating: organizing work by unit type, reviewing repeated scope, and managing changes efficiently.

The Results: Detailed Estimates and Manageable Revisions

For 1-Degree, IntelliBid supports both the technical work of building an electrical estimate and the practical work of delivering it to a contractor.

George’s experience highlights several benefits:

• Clearer scope review: Detailed takeoff reports let clients examine the materials, labor, and quantities behind the estimate.
• Useful phase-level information: Summary reports show where material costs and labor hours are concentrated.
• Less repetitive estimate editing: Reviewed typical-unit estimates can be copied and rebuilt when recurring scope changes.
• Efficient handling of addenda: The team can update affected portions of the estimate and communicate revised information to clients.
• Support for experienced estimators: Assemblies and editable estimate detail work alongside the team’s electrical construction knowledge.

1-Degree’s case study shows how a well-organized IntelliBid workflow can help an outsourced electrical estimating firm serve contractors across different project types and bidding requirements.

About 1-Degree

1-Degree is an electrical estimating firm based in Cape Coral, Florida, serving electrical contractors across the United States and in Canada. Its team brings field experience to detailed estimates for multifamily, commercial, industrial, and infrastructure projects. Learn more about the firm’s outsourced electrical estimating services.

Outsourced Electrical Estimating: Frequently Asked Questions

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1-Degree’s experience brings the value of electrical estimating software into focus: detailed information that clients can review, a practical process for repeated work, and the flexibility to keep estimates current as project requirements change.

Whether you estimate for your own contracting business or support other electrical contractors, explore how IntelliBid can fit the way your team works.