8 articles
A construction takeoff is the process of measuring and counting everything a project needs from the drawings. Here's how it works, what gets measured, manual vs digital vs AI methods, and where the money gets lost.
A disciplined takeoff sequence catches the mistakes that become change orders. Here's the full 21-step checklist we'd run on any bid — setup, measurement, cross-checks, and the final gut-checks before the number goes out.
Cut/fill volumes decide whether dirt gets hauled in or out — and mispricing them buries sitework bids. Here's how the math works, why most tools want CAD surfaces, and how to compute it straight from the PDF grading plan.
Room square footage drives flooring, paint, tile, and finish bids. Here's how to measure it accurately from a floor plan — scale checks, the room-by-room method, gross vs net area, and the one-click AI shortcut.
Wall LF drives framing, drywall, paint, and insulation numbers. Here's how to measure it from a floor plan — by hand, with digital takeoff software, and with one-click AI — plus the mistakes that skew the total.
We compared the leading AI takeoff tools — Foreman AI, Togal.AI, Kreo, Beam AI, STACK, PlanSwift, Bluebeam, and more — on AI capability, workflow, and what they actually cost.
# The Ultimate Guide to Construction Specification Reading...
# Manual vs AI Takeoffs: Time, Cost, and Accuracy Compared...
