Course outline
Do the takeoff
Measure the plans on screen with takeoff software, by finish code: square feet of each floor product, linear feet of base, and counts. Finish with a summary of every finish code and its quantity — that's what you price from.
After this lesson you can
- Pick takeoff software
- Produce a quantity summary by finish code
Takeoff software
Bluebeam Revu, PlanSwift and On-Screen Takeoff are common with flooring contractors. Prices change, so check each vendor and try it before you buy.
| How it's sold | What it means |
|---|---|
| Subscription, per user | Low cost to start, updates included, pay as long as you use it |
| Perpetual license | One-time purchase, often with a yearly fee for updates |
| Built into a plan room | Fine for quick checks — confirm it measures what flooring needs |
| Built into IntelBid | Part of every plan, for desktop for now. Open a plan in the bid's Bid Docs and click the purple ruler |
What to measure
- Area by finish code — never one building total
- Base and transitions in linear feet, plus counts
- Floor prep as its own line
End with a summary like EPX-01 — 533 SF for every code. More detail: measuring area by product and zone.
Measure it in the bid
IntelBid has a takeoff built in, for desktop for now: open the plan in the bid's Bid Docs, click the purple ruler, set the scale and measure by finish code. Room fill measures a room in one click and works on certain plans, like clean digital PDFs, not scans. Then Extract the measured sheets to Bid Docs and change the new file's category to QTO, and the next step, Auto Draft, turns it into proposal lines. Measuring in other software? Upload that export with the QTO category instead.