If you’re new to the building industry, you may wonder what a takeoff is in the construction world. Takeoffs are comprehensive lists of materials and related costs that help evaluate project budgets accurately. While manual methods are still in practice, you can opt for takeoff software to speed up time-consuming processes while improving accuracy.

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Takeoffs are crucial to all construction management projects, including renovations and large-scale developments. Since takeoffs are arduous, minimizing completion time frees up resources for fresh bidding opportunities.

Article Roadmap:

• What Is a Takeoff in Construction?
• Applications
• Takeoffs vs. Estimates
• How To Perform Takeoffs
• Takeoff Software Benefits
• FAQs
• Final Thoughts

What Is Takeoff in Construction?

A takeoff in construction is the process of enumerating all materials required to complete a construction project alongside estimated quantity and costs. It’s crucial while preparing bids, estimating jobs or determining material quantities.

Construction takeoffs involve two basic steps. The first is to list all materials needed for the project, even if they seem insignificant. This list must also include material quality and dimensions. The second step is to calculate total material costs.

These two steps are ideal for small commercial or residential projects. This two-step method is perfect for small residential or commercial projects. However, the technique is difficult to assess quality, quantity and costs for large-scale projects. In such cases, you should consult architects, project managers and engineers for accurate details.

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Applications

A construction takeoff has multiple applications, including submitting job bids, creating estimates and determining material quantities.

Bid Submission

Flawed bids are deal-breakers for clients. Takeoffs help determine material quantities to compute overall costs while bidding. It avoids underbidding and overbidding on jobs while improving winning chances.

Estimate Creation

Once you complete takeoffs, you have a materials list and associated costs. The next step is to draft project estimates by adding all material costs and expenses. Determining material quantities helps you price all items accurately while adding labor hours, waste percentage and taxes to complete estimates.

Purchase Decision

Construction projects need practical purchase decisions to avoid rampant budget overshoots. Knowing how much material to buy avoids underbuying, which causes jobsite delays and overbuying, which cuts profits.

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Takeoffs vs. Estimates

Although they seem similar and involve determining and calculating construction resources, takeoffs and estimates are different processes. Takeoffs quantify resources by listing materials required to complete a project. They don’t include material costs or any other expenses.

On the other hand, estimates are extensive processes to determine overall project costs. Estimates apply prices to all materials that takeoffs list while adding additional expenses like travel, labor, wastage and taxes.

What Do Takeoffs Include?

A takeoff in construction includes vital project information to compute expenses accurately. Takeoffs must consist of all materials, including raw materials like steel, sand, concrete and wood, to build features and add fixtures such as pipes, lights and windows to complete projects. Both raw materials and fixtures are essential to project completion and contribute to costs.

How To Perform Takeoffs

There are two ways to perform construction takeoffs — manual and digital.

Manual

Manual takeoffs have been around for quite some time. They involve estimators or contractors studying project blueprints while determining materials needed based on scope. Experienced contractors and estimators also make rough guesses on material quantity as per blueprint measurements.

Manual takeoffs require skilled estimators to extract relevant material details from physical blueprints and engineer instructions. They involve complex statistical and mathematical calculations like length, area and volume while figuring out material pricing.

Here, estimators secure bids from material vendors before preparing final reports. Manual takeoffs necessitate entering data into a database program or reporting software to generate reports. However, manual methods are time-consuming as they require close attention to detail and are prone to errors.

Digital

Digital takeoffs are getting popular due to multiple benefits like accuracy, speed and low expertise requirements. This method uses software to streamline takeoffs by automating complex processes.

A cost estimate setup in Procore.

Organizations integrate takeoff software into construction cost estimating suites to produce effective estimates. Digital takeoffs begin with an online version of the project blueprint.

Here, the software reads blueprints and collates a list of required materials. Estimators then make adjustments like increasing material amounts to account for wastage. Digital takeoffs perform automated calculations while dynamically modifying material requirements.

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Primary Benefits

Digital takeoffs score over manual methods in the following ways:

Speed

Software-assisted takeoffs are considerably quicker than their manual counterparts. Takeoff systems perform computations faster than humans, saving precious hours. Saving time pays dividends on small jobs while significantly impacting large projects.

Accuracy

Traditional methods involve manual calculations, which are prone to errors. Rampant errors dent business profits considerably. Takeoff applications automate calculations while avoiding costly mistakes.

Access

Cloud-based takeoff solutions simplify accessing plans using any device from anywhere. You need an internet connection to access plans while reviewing material quantities on-the-go.

Organization

Software organizes blueprints in a centralized digital space. It saves you from the hassle of finding paper blueprints in heaps of paperwork. You can search by project names to find the correct blueprints.

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FAQs

What does taking off mean in construction?

A takeoff in construction quantifies the materials required to complete a project. Also known as material takeoffs, they include dimension calculations like surface areas and perimeters for projects.

Takeoffs help determine material costs, make correct purchasing decisions and calculate labor required for projects.

What is a takeoff sheet in construction?

Construction sheets organize materials needed for projects in an orderly fashion. They provide details of all construction requirements, including material type and quantity, number of workers, sequence and the total number of days.

These sheets help determine project viability, acquire new contracts and set aside budgets by accurately computing equipment, management, tools and overhead costs apart from material and labor expenses.

What is a takeoff in engineering?

Material takeoff (MTO) in engineering and construction is a list of materials with types and quantities to build structures. Also known as material takeoff list (MTOL), contractors generate this list by analyzing blueprints and design documents.

It also includes the weight of different materials. Weighing items is helpful for companies dealing with large structures and their transportation.

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Final Thoughts

Construction takeoffs are vital for project cost estimation processes. Drafting material requirements with costs is the bedrock for creating successful bid documents.

However, traditional methods are prone to human errors and are time-consuming. Takeoff applications generate accurate estimates in a short time.

How have takeoffs helped your organization? Tell us in a comment down below!