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Part of: What Is a Takeoff in Construction? How to Do One From Plans

Construction Takeoff Checklist: 20 Things to Check Before You Bid

A takeoff checklist is a short list of checks you run on your quantities before they go into a bid. The 20 below cover the plan set, the scale, the measuring and the final totals. Each one targets a miss that can sink a bid: a missing sheet, a wrong scale, a room counted twice or a unit mix-up. Run them on every construction takeoff, big or small.

Checks on the plan set (1 to 6)

Do these before you measure anything. A perfect takeoff of the wrong drawings is still wrong.

1. Every sheet is accounted for. Compare the files you have against the drawing index on the cover sheet. Missing an electrical or finish sheet means missing quantities.
2. All addenda are in hand. On federal-aid highway work, failing to acknowledge an addendum makes a bid non-responsive, as TxDOT's letting manual explains under 23 CFR 635.112(c). Private jobs vary, but an addendum can still change your scope.
3. Revision dates match. Check the revision block on each sheet so you are not measuring a superseded drawing mixed into a newer set.
4. You read the specs for your trade. The drawings show where; the spec book shows what product, thickness and finish. Both change the quantity.
5. Schedules are checked. Room finish, door and window schedules tell you which rooms get which material and how many openings you are working around.
6. Your scope is written down. List what you include and exclude before you start, so the takeoff and the bid cover the same work.

Checks on the scale (7 to 9)

A scale error does not hit one line. It hits every line measured from that sheet.

7. Each sheet's scale is noted. Floor plans, site plans and details often use different scales, sometimes on the same sheet. Read the scale under each view, not just the title block.
8. The scale is verified on a long printed dimension. PDFs get printed or exported at different sizes, so measure a long dimensioned wall and confirm it matches. A floor plan scale calculator helps when the numbers do not line up.
9. N.T.S. views use labeled dimensions only. A drawing marked not to scale should never be measured, only read.

Checks while measuring (10 to 15)

These catch the misses that happen inside the takeoff itself.

10. Ceiling heights come from the drawings. Take them from the sections, elevations or finish schedule. Do not assume one height for the whole building.
11. Openings are handled one way. Decide whether you deduct doors and windows or carry gross area, then do it the same everywhere and note it.
12. Every room is measured once. Mark each area on the plan as you take it off. Shared walls and open plans are where double counts hide.
13. Small spaces are included. Closets, soffits, bump-outs, pantries and stair landings are easy to skip and add up fast.
14. Units are right on every line. Area in SF or SY, runs in LF, volume in CY, items in EA. One square yard is 9 square feet and one cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so a slip costs you a multiple, not a few percent.
15. Counts are done. Fixtures, outlets, doors, drains and anything else priced per piece. These often live on other sheets.

Checks on the totals (16 to 20)

The last five turn measured numbers into numbers you can order and price.

16. Waste is added by material. Carry it in its own column, sized to the material and layout, rather than one blanket percentage.
17. Quantities are rounded to purchase units. Convert to cartons, sheets, rolls, gallons or truckloads and round up.
18. Totals pass a sanity check. Compare total floor area with the building area on the plans, or wall area with perimeter times height. Big gaps mean a mistake.
19. The biggest items are checked twice. Re-measure the top few lines by value, or have someone else do it.
20. Assumptions and exclusions go in the bid. Write down what you assumed where the plans were unclear, so a change later is a change order and not your loss.

How to use the checklist with your takeoff sheet

Most of these checks only work if the numbers are written down in a way you can audit. A takeoff sheet with the plan sheet number, location, unit and waste on every line makes checks 12, 14 and 16 quick.

Keep the header honest too: plan date, revision and addenda received. That covers checks 2 and 3 at a glance when a new set lands. If you are still getting comfortable with drawing sets, start with how to read a floor plan.

What happens when a check fails?

Fix the line, then look for the same mistake elsewhere. A wrong scale on one sheet often means the same export problem on the others. A skipped closet usually means other closets were skipped too.

Keep a short log of what failed. After a few bids, it shows you where your process leaks, and that list lines up closely with the common takeoff mistakes that show up on bid after bid.

Can software handle part of the checklist?

Some of it. Software cannot tell you an addendum is missing or that your scope is wrong. It can remove the arithmetic errors and make the scale and unit checks faster.

MeasureFloorPlan works on the whole PDF set, with each sheet holding its own scale set from a dimensioned wall. Lengths, areas and counts are calculated for you and export to Excel or PDF, and the material presets turn them into sheets, gallons and boxes, so checks 14 and 17 come down to reviewing the table. It costs $9 per plan, $15 for a 24 hour Day Pass or $29 a month for Pro (see pricing). Trade by trade, the quantities you get are listed under takeoff software for contractors.

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