Course outline
From takeoff to order: waste, attic stock and full cartons
Start from the net installed quantity of one product. Add that product's waste percentage, then round up to full cartons, rolls or coils. Calculate attic stock separately — as the spec requires, usually a percentage of installed quantity — and round it up to full units too. Never fold attic stock into waste: it's material you hand to the owner, and it belongs on its own line in your price.
By Michael Reddy, IntelBid
After this lesson you can
- Apply waste per product to a net takeoff quantity
- Calculate attic stock as its own line from the spec
- Round every line to the units the product is sold in
Net, waste, attic stock, order: four different numbers
| Number | What it is | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Net quantity | What the floor actually covers | Your takeoff (Module 4, lesson 1) |
| Waste | Material lost to cuts, pattern, layout and damage | A percentage per product, from your history and the layout |
| Attic stock | Extra, unopened material left for the owner | The spec's extra materials article |
| Order quantity | What you buy, in whole units | Net + waste + attic stock, rounded up to cartons or rolls |
Typical waste ranges by product — and when to push them higher — are in the flooring takeoff guide. The best number is your own: compare what you ordered with what you installed on your last few jobs.
How do you calculate the order?
- Net takeoff (CPT-1)
- 12,400 SF
- Waste for this layout
- 7%
- Attic stock in the spec
- 3% of installed quantity
- Carton coverage (from the product data)
- 48 SF per carton
- Installed plus waste: 12,400 × 1.07 = 13,268 SF.
- Cartons for install: 13,268 ÷ 48 = 276.4 → round up to 277 cartons.
- Attic stock: 12,400 × 3% = 372 SF ÷ 48 = 7.75 → round up to 8 cartons.
- Total order: 277 + 8 = 285 cartons, covering 13,680 SF.
Work out your order
Order quantity calculatorOne product at a time. Use the coverage printed on the product's carton or roll, and your own waste history.
| Line | Quantity | Units to order |
|---|---|---|
| Installed + waste | 13,268 | 277 |
| Attic stock (separate line) | 372 | 8 |
| Total order | 13,680 | 285 |
In IntelBid, each takeoff line becomes a proposal line priced from the last unit price you used for that scope. Start your free trial
Why keep attic stock separate from waste?
- It's a deliverable, not a loss. Attic stock is handed over at closeout with a transmittal — often a condition of final payment.
- It must be the same dye lot or run as the installed material, so it has to be ordered with the job, not bought later.
- It varies by project. One spec asks for a percentage, another for a carton count per product, another for nothing — a separate line handles all three.
- It shows up in leveling. A GC can see you included it; buried in waste, it looks like you didn't.
Rounding: whole units, per product
- Round each line up separately. Rounding the combined total can leave the attic stock line a carton short.
- Use the coverage printed on that exact product. Carton coverage differs between products and even between sizes in one product line.
- Roll goods round to the seam layout, not to area — for broadloom and sheet vinyl, the cut plan sets the order.
- Base and trim round to full coils or pieces by base type and height.
What is the difference between waste and attic stock?
Waste is material lost during installation to cuts and layout. Attic stock is extra, unopened material left for the owner for future repairs, usually specified as a percentage of installed quantity. Price them as separate lines.
How many cartons of carpet tile do I need?
Multiply the net area by one plus your waste percentage, divide by the carton coverage on the product data, and round up. Calculate attic stock separately and round that up too.
How much attic stock is required for flooring?
Whatever the specification states — commonly a percentage of installed quantity or a set number of cartons per product. Check the extra materials article in Part 1 of the flooring section.
Key points
- Order = net + waste per product + attic stock, each rounded up to whole units.
- Attic stock is its own line — a deliverable, not waste.
- Use the exact product's carton or roll coverage.
Attic stock as its own proposal line
Add attic stock to an IntelBid proposal as its own line with its own quantity, next to the installed line from your takeoff. If the GC asks to drop or change it, you edit one line and the proposal total follows.
Start your free trialEvery trial starts with a sample project loaded, so you can try this before connecting anything.
Get new lessons, plus $100 toward IntelBid
New modules as they're published. Confirm your email and we'll send a $100 credit toward your IntelBid membership.
About the author. Michael Reddy builds IntelBid, bid management software for commercial flooring subcontractors. These lessons come from the bid desk: how the work is priced, won and paid for.