More than one general contractor has relayed to me that he may have 25 or 30 separate trades
bidding a project, and only one trade submits prices that are “all over the board.” This trade is not the painters or the steelworkers or the carpet installers; it is the fire sprinkler contractors.
The reason for this is all about rudimentary design. Because of the varying factors involved (water pressure characteristics, degree of hazard, building height, types of sprinklers used), the sprinkler contractor cannot simply “square-foot” by some factor to achieve a safe proposal amount.