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The best Concrete Takeoff tips for Contractors and Estimators
It is imperative to nail your takeoff when you are estimating your next concrete project, regardless of whether you are putting together a quick quote or submitting a formal bid. It is very important that you take accurate measurements and calculations when it comes to your material takeoff if you do not, you will overestimate or underestimate the project.
The accuracy and completeness of your material quantities will have a direct effect on your estimate of materials costs, which in turn will directly affect your estimate of labour costs.
What do you mean by Concrete Takeoff?
According to the plans and specifications of a project, a takeoff is simply a list of all the materials that will be needed, and what quantity will be needed for each material. The concrete takeoff is an estimate of the amount and type of concrete required, as well as the compressive strength, usually measured in pounds per square inch, and the strength of concrete, typically measured in cubic yards.
As well as the concrete takeoff, you will also need to do takeoffs on a variety of other items that are essential to the completion of the project, such as formwork, rebar, reinforced welded wire mesh, prestressed cables, anchor bolts, and vapour barriers.
Reviewing the specifications and plans
Ensure accurate measurements and takeoffs by carefully reviewing the plans and specifications to avoid using inaccurate construction costs when computing your proposal. To correctly bid on a project, exact dimensions and numbers must be obtained. In order to submit a comprehensive bid, accurate measurements may be gathered with the use of digital takeoff software.
Make sure you are measuring from the appropriate location. Sometimes the project documentation will state that you shouldn't scale the drawings or utilise the computed or written measurements that are given in the requirements.
This frequently happens when using electronic documents since printing drawings that have been enlarged or shrunk in size might lead to the scale being off, which would be detrimental to your offer. Ask the architect for clarification if you are unsure about where to take your measurements.
Get to know and understand the scope
The scope of work is specified in the project documentation, and if you are the general contractor in charge of the whole project, you will probably conduct takeoffs for each trade to verify the accuracy of the estimates and bids provided by your subcontractors.
If you're a concrete contractor, you must examine the plans and specifications to ascertain the extent of the concrete work necessary for the project. When submitting a proposal to a general contractor, carefully read the bid invitation to make sure you are offering only the services they are requesting, which may be more or less than you had anticipated.
Taking the measurements
After reviewing the plans and specifications, verifying the scope of the work, and setting your scale, you should be ready to move forward. Now that it is time for the measurements to start, it is time to get started. If you are going to do the manual takeoff yourself, then you will have to print off the plan sheets, get out your scale ruler, coloured pencils, and highlighters, and print off the plan sheets. Besides measuring the area and the linear feet of where the concrete will be placed, be sure to count any items you might need in addition to estimating the number of items you will need.
As a result of the digital takeoff solution being able to point, click, and drag the mouse to get measurements for the area, you can calculate the length and width or the linear feet, depending on the materials you are taking off, by pointing, clicking, and dragging your mouse. You can save a ton of time by using takeoff software to get your measurements and do calculations for your concrete projects since you can define the thickness or height of a slab in order to calculate the volume of concrete you will need.
Calculation of the materials
You may start figuring out how much material you'll need once you have all of your dimensions and counts, after which you can figure up your prices. Multiply the length by the breadth of the area you measured, then multiply that number by the height, or thickness, to determine the amount of concrete you'll require (L x W x H). If your dimensions are in feet, this will give you the volume in cubic feet; to convert that to cubic yards, divide it by 27.
Once more, if you're utilising a digital takeoff solution, it will perform all of these calculations for you. You can also include your unit pricing to determine your overall material costs based on your takeoffs. Whether you calculate material prices manually or digitally, be sure to receive the most recent pricing from your supplier. It's important to not automatically assume that pricing will remain the same as they were on the project you just concluded because price volatility has recently been an issue.
Recheck your work again
It is important to double-check your measurements and calculations after completing your takeoff, so you will have a successful landing. If you want to ensure that everything has been measured correctly, calculated correctly, and all your calculations for material quantities and prices have been done correctly, it is never a bad idea to have an additional set of eyes to review or spot check.
In the beginning, it may seem inconvenient to take the time to do this, but once you’ve established it as part of your bid submission process, you will quickly see how it will improve the quality of the bids you submit.
To get more clear ideas, go through the following exclusive construction video tutorial.
Lecturer: ConX
Download Concrete Quantity Takeoff and Quoting Template
You may have problems with your numbers if they are incomplete or incorrect. It is important to make sure that the takeoffs are accurate so that you can determine the exact quantities and materials required for your concrete projects. Furthermore, they will need to be able to determine the type of labour and equipment that you will need for your concrete project. Getting accurate measurements and not missing any items during takeoff may mean the difference between winning the bid and losing it. Alternatively, if you underestimate the project, you will lose the bid and lose a project that is not profitable.
In order to ensure that your estimates are accurate, takeoff software such as PlanSwift by Construct Connect is a great option to ensure accurate measurements are taken. Using this method, rather than doing takeoffs manually, can also save you a lot of time. The quality of these tools depends on the skill of the individual who uses them, so it is important that estimators receive proper training in the use of the tools and are comfortable with them.
