What Millwork Companies Should Send a Metal Fabricator for an Accurate Quote

For millwork companies, custom metal can be one of the most visible details in a high-end project. Yet accurate pricing depends on much more than the metal type and the approximate size of the finished piece.

A request such as “Can you price this bronze cabinet?” gives a fabricator a starting point, but not enough information for a reliable quote. The construction method, finish, substrate, edge details, hardware, quantity, installation scope, and final dimensions can all change the amount of work involved.

That does not mean a millwork company needs a complete production package before asking for pricing. Preliminary drawings are often enough to begin. The goal at the RFQ stage is simply to give the metal fabricator enough information to understand the design intent, identify assumptions, and price the scope realistically.

Start With the Project Information That Defines the Scope

The most useful RFQs usually begin with the latest architectural drawings or millwork shop drawings. Elevations, plans, sections, door schedules, panel details, and hardware locations help the fabricator understand where the metal sits within the overall millwork package.

Fully approved fabrication drawings are not necessary for preliminary pricing. In many cases, early-stage drawings provide enough context to establish the scope and flag details that still need coordination.

This approach also follows normal construction coordination practice. In its article Types of Construction Submittals and Best Practices, AIA Contract Documents explains how shop drawings, product data, and samples help project teams confirm specifications, identify discrepancies early, and reduce coordination issues before fabrication and installation.

Along with the drawings, include the basic information that drives the quote: finished dimensions, quantities, material, and finish.

For a cabinet door or panel, a description such as 25” × 110” × 1-1/2” — Qty. 8 tells the fabricator much more than “eight tall bronze doors.” Likewise, producing twenty identical panels is different from producing twenty unique pieces with different dimensions, cutouts, or edge conditions. For trims, reveals, base strips, and similar components, approximate linear footage and typical lengths are useful.

Preliminary dimensions are completely acceptable at this stage. Just identify them as preliminary so everyone understands that the fabricator will need final dimensions before production.

Be Specific About the Metal and Finish

Material descriptions can create expensive misunderstandings when they are too broad. Brass, bronze, stainless steel, aluminum, and blackened steel are different materials, while a note such as “bronze finish” may describe an appearance rather than the actual metal.

For example, a bronze appearance could come from real bronze, patinated brass, or another metal with a decorative finish. Those options can differ substantially in fabrication method, appearance, durability, lead time, and cost. If the architect or designer has already selected an alloy or material specification, include it with the RFQ.

The finish needs the same level of attention. Brushed, satin, mirror polished, non-directional, oxidized, blackened, patinated, antique, clear-coated, and living finishes all create different fabrication requirements.

Directional finishes also require grain coordination. On a bank of cabinet fronts or a group of adjacent wall panels, inconsistent grain direction can become immediately visible. When the design team has an approved physical sample, sending that reference with the RFQ gives the fabricator a much clearer target. For specialty patinas and hand-applied finishes, a control sample can later become the visual standard for production.

Explain How the Metal Component Is Built

This is where many RFQs become too vague.

Architectural metal components are often formed over MDF, plywood, cabinet doors, panels, or other engineered substrates rather than fabricated as solid metal pieces. Therefore, the fabricator needs to understand both the substrate and the finished metal construction.

If the millwork company supplies the substrate, state that clearly and include its thickness whenever possible. The fabricator should also know whether the substrate will arrive fully machined and ready for cladding or whether additional preparation forms part of the metal scope.

For example, an RFQ might state:

Wood substrate supplied by millwork company. Metal cladding and finishing by metal fabricator.

Edge conditions are equally important. A simple folded return requires a different process from an exposed welded corner that must be ground, blended, and finished until the joint visually disappears. Drawings should show whether the metal wraps around the substrate, returns behind a panel, terminates at an exposed edge, creates a reveal, or meets another material such as wood, stone, or glass.

Even when the final detail has not been resolved, showing the design intent allows the fabricator to recommend a practical construction method instead of pricing from assumptions.

Include Pulls, Hardware, and Functional Details

Small details on a drawing can have a large effect on fabrication.

Integral vertical pulls, J-pulls, finger pulls, recessed channels, hinge locations, appliance interfaces, ventilation openings, and hardware cutouts should appear in the RFQ whenever they form part of the metal component.

An integral pull, for instance, changes more than the appearance of a cabinet door. It can affect the metal profile, substrate dimensions, bending sequence, clearances, edge construction, and alignment with adjacent doors. Identifying these details early helps the fabricator price the actual component rather than a simplified version of it.

Establish Responsibility Before Production

Pricing becomes much clearer when the RFQ defines who is responsible for the work surrounding the metal fabrication.

First, establish who provides the final fabrication dimensions. Depending on the project, those dimensions may come from approved millwork shop drawings, field measurements, finished substrates, templates, or coordination between several trades.

This distinction matters because custom metal components often work within tight tolerances. Even a small change in the millwork can affect reveals, joints, appliance openings, adjacent panels, and overall alignment. Preliminary estimating dimensions should therefore remain separate from dimensions formally released for production.

Installation responsibility also needs to be clear. On one project, the metal fabricator may clad substrates supplied by the millworker and return the completed components for installation. On another, the fabricator may supply finished metal pieces only. A third project may require field installation by the metal contractor.

Each scenario carries a different scope, schedule, and cost. Site installation can also introduce field measurements, fastening systems, access limitations, protection requirements, sequencing, travel, and coordination with other trades.

Share the Project Environment and Schedule

The installation environment can influence both material and finish recommendations. An interior decorative panel has different performance requirements from exterior metalwork, a high-touch hospitality surface, or a component installed in a humid or coastal environment.

If unusual exposure conditions exist, identify them during the RFQ stage rather than after the finish has already been selected. This gives the fabricator an opportunity to raise concerns before material is ordered or samples are approved.

The schedule matters for the same reason. Custom architectural metal may require material sourcing, shop drawing coordination, finish samples, approvals, substrate delivery, fabrication, and final finishing before the component is ready to ship.

Instead of providing only the final installation date, share the major milestones when available: expected shop drawing approval, fabrication release, millwork delivery, and installation. That information helps the fabricator determine whether the proposed timeline is realistic.

What If the RFQ Is Still Incomplete?

Send what you have.

Many projects reach the pricing stage before every detail has been finalized. Architectural elevations may be available while millwork shop drawings are still in development. The designer may have selected bronze without approving the final patina. Dimensions may still require field verification.

None of that prevents an initial quote or budget discussion. A metal fabricator can review the available information, identify missing details, and clearly state the assumptions used for pricing.

The important part is keeping estimating information separate from production information. Before fabrication begins, the project team should resolve the critical details and formally release the dimensions, material, finish, and construction requirements.

Metal Fabrication RFQ Checklist

Before sending an architectural metal RFQ, check whether the package includes:

• Drawings, elevations, sections, and relevant details
• Finished or preliminary dimensions
• Quantities for each component
• Metal type and specification, if known
• Finish and grain direction
• Approved finish sample, if available
• Substrate material and thickness
• Responsibility for supplying the substrate
• Edge, return, seam, and corner conditions
• Integral pulls and hardware requirements
• Responsibility for final fabrication dimensions
• Installation scope
• Project location and environmental conditions
• Key schedule and installation dates

Not every RFQ will contain every item on this list. However, each additional piece of relevant information reduces assumptions and helps the fabricator understand what the project actually requires.

Better RFQs Lead to Better Quotes

An accurate architectural metal quote is not simply a price per square foot of brass, bronze, stainless steel, or aluminum. The real cost comes from how the component must be built.

Size, quantity, substrate construction, edge conditions, integral pulls, welding, finishing, hardware coordination, installation responsibility, and schedule all influence the fabrication scope. Giving the metal fabricator this information early leads to more accurate pricing and exposes potential coordination issues while they are still easier to solve.

For millwork companies, that means fewer surprises after award and a cleaner transition into production. The fabricator gets a clearer understanding of the design intent, while the entire project team gains a better-defined scope before material reaches the shop floor.

Planning a project involving custom brass, bronze, stainless steel, aluminum, or specialty architectural metal? Contact MNR Custom Metal with your drawings and available project information. Our team can review the scope, identify missing fabrication details, and help establish a clear path toward accurate pricing and production.