A takeoff sheet is the working page behind a bid: one line for each item measured from the drawings, with the quantity, the unit, and where on the plans it came from.
Whatever the trade, a takeoff sheet that someone else can check has the same columns:
Waste and overage are not part of the measured quantity. A takeoff sheet records the neat quantity the drawings show; the allowance for waste is added afterwards, as its own figure, when the quantities are priced.
This is one line from our published sample, a fictional 3,200 SF community hall, 80'-0" by 40'-0". The item is a band of face brick veneer around the building, to 3'-4" above the finished floor.
| Step | Calculation | SF |
|---|---|---|
| Building perimeter × band height | 240'-0" × 3'-4" | 800.00 |
| Less storefront door pairs | 2 × 6'-0" × 3'-4" | −40.00 |
| Less overhead door | 10'-0" × 3'-4" | −33.33 |
| Face brick veneer | 726.67 |
Every number on the line can be checked against the drawings: the perimeter on the floor plan, the band height on wall type W1, the door widths on the door schedule. That is the difference between a takeoff sheet and a list of totals.
A counted item is shorter. The doors on the same building come straight from the door schedule on sheet A-601:
| Mark | Door | EA |
|---|---|---|
| D1 | Storefront pair, 6'-0" × 7'-0" | 2 |
| D2 | Hollow metal, 90 min rated | 4 |
| D3 | Solid core wood | 5 |
| D4 | Sectional overhead, 10'-0" | 1 |
| Doors | 12 |
Open the whole sample — the Excel workbook, the calculation sheets behind it and the Confidence Report, free and without signing up.
An electrical takeoff sheet is mostly counts and lengths, and most of it comes from schedules:
More on that trade: electrical takeoff from PDF plans. For concrete, the sheet lists footings, slabs and walls by volume (CY), formwork by area (SF) and reinforcing by weight: concrete takeoff from PDF plans.
No. A takeoff sheet holds quantities; an estimate puts prices on them. The takeoff comes first, and an estimate is only as good as the quantities under it. Keeping the two apart also means the same takeoff sheet can be priced again when material costs move, without measuring the drawings twice.
A blank takeoff sheet is a form you fill in yourself as you measure. We do not publish a blank template. DraftTakeoff is a takeoff service: you send the plan set as a PDF, and the takeoff sheets come back filled in — quantities by trade in an Excel workbook, the calculation behind each measured line, and the sheet each one was read from.
Full Draft Takeoff Pack — every trade in the set, from $199. Trade Draft Takeoff Pack — only the trades you name, from $149.
One flat fee from your drawing-sheet count, shown free before you pay. Delivered in 48 hours, or 24 h with Rush.
The free Plan Check counts your drawing sheets in your browser. Nothing is uploaded until you order. What you receive is a first draft to check before you bid, not a final takeoff.