Estimaite
TradesPricingMCP
Divisions 03 / 04 · S + A sheets

Concrete & Masonry takeoff,
the way estimators do it.

Concrete measured by element into CY; masonry by wall SF into block, bar, and lintel counts. Exactly what gets measured, how it gets priced, and how the number is proven.

Concrete & Masonry

Divisions 03 / 04 · S + A sheets

Concrete measured by element into CY; masonry by wall SF into block, bar, and lintel counts.

Illustrative Concrete & Masonry methodology: how Estimaite takes off the concrete & masonry system
Illustrative takeoff
What Estimaite measures
Footings, piers, walls, slabsVolumeCY
Formwork (contact area)AreaSFCA
Reinforcing steelCountLBS
CMU / brick veneerAreaSF
Lintels per openingCountEA
Slab finish + cure/sealAreaSF
How it's priced
  • Concrete by element, never lumped: footings LF×w×d, walls SF×thickness, slab SF×thickness → CY.
  • Add 5-10% waste to placed CY (pumping, over-excavation); state the % used.
  • Rebar from schedules → lbs via lb/ft (#4=0.668, #5=1.043, #6=1.502); else a lbs/CY allowance.
  • CMU ≈ 1.125 block/SF (+3-5% waste); modular brick ≈ 6.75/SF with 3/8" joints.
Derived + allowances
  • Formwork SFCA reported separately: footing edges, wall faces ×2, columns, slab-edge.
  • Grouted cells + vertical bar by S-note spacing (16/24/32/48" o.c.); bond beams LF.
  • One lintel per opening, every time; ties, weeps, flashing move with veneer SF.
Live sample estimate
Slab-on-grade 5"168 CY$56,445.00
Continuous footings54 CY$21,345.00
Formwork, wall + edge3,100 SFCA$54,359.00
Reinforcing steel18,400 LBS$46,053.00
8" CMU partition4,200 SF$125,798.00
Material$176,466.00
Labor$109,222.00
Markup 15%$42,853.00
Grand total$328,541.00
Markup15%
Illustrative unit costs, priced live through Estimaite's real estimating engine. Your catalog uses your own costs.
How Estimaite proves it
Every footing/column schedule row appears with its EA count.
CY sanity: SOG SF × thickness ÷ 324 ≈ CY (a 10× miss is a units error).
Formwork, finish, and rebar reported as separate lines, not buried in the CY.
The method

Every trade runs the same disciplined takeoff.

Not a black box. The same six steps a careful estimator follows, enforced on every sheet.

  1. 01
    Set the scale
    Calibrate on a known dimension or the title-block scale before measuring anything. Sanity-check against a door or a parking stall.
  2. 02
    Read every schedule
    Equipment and fixture schedules anchor the estimate. Count the tagged things first, then reconcile against the plan symbols.
  3. 03
    Count the tagged units
    One count layer per schedule type. Density is never an excuse to skip, a crowded sheet means trace finer, not less.
  4. 04
    Trace by system, size, material
    One layer per system + size + construction class ("CHWS 6" Sch40 grv"). Size alone is not a takeoff line, material and system price it.
  5. 05
    Verify in overlay
    Re-view each region in overlay mode. Every line must sit on a real drawn run; anything floating over nothing is deleted.
  6. 06
    Final full-sheet pass
    Re-tile the entire area of every in-scope sheet. Not done until zero dark runs sit unmeasured and zero lines sit on nothing.
Complete, never sampled
Every system, run, and tagged unit on every in-scope sheet. A "representative" or "main systems only" takeoff is a failed one, not a smaller one.
Only what is drawn
Every line and point sits on a real drawn element. Hallucinated geometry is worse than a gap, so unverified marks get deleted.
Mismatches are findings
When the schedule says 12 and the plan shows 10, that is reported, not silently reconciled. The number stays honest.

Takeoff by trade

Every trade gets its own page: what gets measured, how it is priced, and how the number is proven.

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