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Sample deliverable: material takeoff and bid review
This sample is made up. The house, the plans and every number below are invented to show the format and the kinds of differences a second look finds. Sample House: a 1-story ranch with a daylight basement and an attached 3-car garage, about 2,600 finished sq ft. Not a real plan set and not a real client.
1. Whole-house material takeoff (excerpt)
One line per material, foundation to shingles. Every line shows the plan sheet and detail it came from, the dimension or count used, and a confidence flag, so you can check any number in seconds. 12 of 142 lines shown.
| Trade | Item | Order qty | Source: sheet, detail, dimension or count | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excavation & fill | 3/4" crushed gravel under basement slab, 4" | 22.4 CY | S-101 general note 4 (4" gravel); slab 1,650 SF measured on S-101; +10% compaction | Med |
| Concrete & rebar | Footing 20" x 10", tag F1 | 10.2 CY | S-101 Footing Schedule, tag F1; 188 LF measured on S-101; +5% | Med |
| Concrete & rebar | #4 rebar x 20', footing | 21 sticks | S-101 Footing Schedule F1, (2) #4 cont.; 188 LF x 2 + 10% laps | High |
| Sheathing | 7/16 OSB wall sheathing, 4x8 | 142 sheets | S-201 shear wall schedule + A-201/A-202 elevations; sheeted walls 336.7 LF incl. gable ends | Med |
| Windows & doors | Window W3, 3050 single hung | 4 EA | A-101 Window Schedule W3; count 4 | High |
| Roofing | Architectural shingle, 30-yr (spec sheet) | 34.2 SQ | S-401 roof plan, 2,860 SF plan area; 6/12 from section 2/A-301 (x1.118); +7% | Med |
| Roofing | Ice and water shield | 8 rolls | S-401 eaves 212 LF x 2 courses + valleys 48 LF. Extent not on plans or spec sheet: 2 courses assumed | Low |
| Siding & trim | LP lap siding 8" (spec sheet) | 2,450 SF net | A-201/A-202 elevations: gross wall 2,980 SF less openings 530 SF | Med |
| Soffit & fascia | Vented soffit + 2x8 fascia | 308 LF | S-401 eaves 212 LF + rakes 96 LF. Overhang not dimensioned: 24" scaled from 2/A-301 | Low |
| Insulation | Exterior wall cavity batts, 2x6 | 1,850 SF | A-301 wall section 1; net wall SF. No R-value on plans: sized to code minimum | Low |
| Drywall | 1/2" walls, 5/8" ceilings, 4x12 | 312 sheets | A-101 floor plan, net wall + ceiling SF. Ceiling thickness not on plans: 5/8" assumed | Low |
| Decks & porches | 2x10 PT deck joists @ 16", 14' | 28 EA | S-102 deck framing plan, rear deck 36' wide: 36 x 12 / 16 + 1 | High |
2. Wall LF, sheeted vs unsheeted
This split drives how framing and sheathing get priced, and it's the number generic takeoff shops usually don't give you. Here, two takeoffs of the same made-up plans are compared.
| Group | Sheeted? | Takeoff A (LF) | Takeoff B (LF) | Diff | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main house exterior | Y | 198.0 | 197.5 | +0.5 | Match |
| Garage exterior | Y | 112.0 | 111.7 | +0.3 | Match |
| Basement daylight wall | Y | 32.0 | 27.5 | +4.5 | A ran it corner to corner; B stopped at the concrete returns |
| Sheeted total | 342.0 | 336.7 | +1.6% | ||
| Main interior | N | 171.5 | 152.0 | +19.5 | A counted the 18' kitchen counter line (M-I08) as a wall; B didn't |
| Basement furring | N | 148.0 | 139.5 | +8.5 | A ran furring through the door and the egress wells |
| Basement interior | N | 120.0 | 124.0 | -4.0 | Small closet and stub differences |
| Unsheeted total | 439.5 | 415.5 | +5.8% | Most of it is one line: M-I08 | |
| All walls | 781.5 | 752.2 | +3.9% |
Same plans, two takeoffs, 29 LF apart. Neither is wrong until someone decides whether the counter line is a wall and where the daylight wall stops. If your vendors made different calls, their totals aren't comparable, and nobody tells you.
3. Numbered wall list (excerpt)
Every wall gets a number, a length, a plate height, a stud size and a sheeted call. 12 of the 61 rows shown.
| Wall # | Level | Location | Length | Plate ht | Studs | Sheeted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M-E01 | Main | Front wall, living room | 34'-0" | 9'-1 1/8" | 2x6 @ 16" | Y |
| M-E02 | Main | Side wall, primary suite | 26'-6" | 9'-1 1/8" | 2x6 @ 16" | Y |
| M-E06 | Main | Rear wall, great room gable | 22'-0" | 9'-1 1/8" * | 2x6 @ 16" | Y |
| M-E09 | Main | Entry porch wall | 9'-4" | 9'-1 1/8" | 2x6 @ 16" | Y |
| G-E01 | Garage | Garage front, (1) 16x8 + (1) 9x8 OH doors | 33'-0" | 10'-1 1/8" | 2x6 @ 16" | Y |
| G-E02 | Garage | Garage side wall | 24'-0" | 10'-1 1/8" | 2x6 @ 16" | Y |
| B-E01 | Basement | Daylight wall on 4' stem | 27'-6" | 8'-1 1/8" | 2x6 @ 16" | Y |
| M-I02 | Main | Hall, bearing | 30'-0" | 9'-1 1/8" | 2x6 @ 16" | N |
| M-I05 | Main | Bedroom 2 / bath | 11'-0" | 9'-1 1/8" | 2x4 @ 16" | N |
| M-I08 | Main | Kitchen counter line, (1) 6' opening | 18'-0" | 9'-1 1/8" | 2x4 @ 16" | N ? |
| M-I11 | Main | Pantry, low-confidence read | 5'-2" | 9'-1 1/8" | 2x4 @ 16" | N ? |
| B-F01 | Basement | Furring on concrete, family room | 24'-0" | 8'-1 1/8" | 2x4 @ 16" | N |
What comes with the wall list
- Building SF by area (main, basement, garage, porches, decks) with a measured-vs-stated check
- Perimeter check: main exterior 198.0 LF measured against the overall dimensions
- Studs, plates, PT sill, sheathing, headers by tag, beams, posts and hardware from the plan schedules
- A flags list: undimensioned heights, untagged headers, low-confidence reads, possible typos on the plans
4. Where the two takeoffs disagreed
These are the same kinds of differences that hide inside vendor quotes. A review puts them on the table.
| Item | Takeoff A | Takeoff B | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Counter-line wall (M-I08) | 18 LF | 0 | Is an 18' line with a 6' opening a wall or a cabinet run? Needs a decision, not a guess. |
| Glulam, 5-1/8 x 12 | 46 LF | 30 LF | A ran the full porch beam. B left the center 16' to the timber truss package. Same beam, two packages. Easy to buy twice or not at all. |
| Timber trusses | 1 | 2 | A missed the rear patio gable timber truss. |
| Holdowns | 6 | 4 | A counted 2 holdowns tagged with a model that isn't in the hardware schedule. Likely a plan typo. A question for the engineer, not the yard. |
| Joist hangers | 14 | 28 | A hung the porch joists at one end only. |
| Anchor bolts | 120 | omitted | B treated them as foundation contractor scope. Fine, if the foundation contractor knows that. |
| Wall sheathing, 7/16 OSB | 128 sheets | 142 sheets | A left the gable wall at plate height and missed gable-end truss sheathing. |
| Headers | 22 openings | 18 openings | A assigned headers to 4 untagged openings and flagged them as assumptions. |
In this made-up example, Takeoff A plays the part of an unchecked first pass. Every one of these misses is on my checklist, because first passes miss things and the check is the job.
5. What a bid review sheet looks like
Example layout with made-up vendors on a lumber package. Roofing, siding, window and concrete quotes get their own scope lines. Every scope line gets a call for every quote, and every Excluded or Unclear line gets a cost added before totals are compared.
| Scope line | Vendor A | Vendor B | Vendor C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wall sheathing | Included | Included | Excluded |
| Headers and rough openings | Included | Included | Included |
| Loose beams and posts (glulam, LVL) | By others | Unclear | Included |
| Structural hardware (holdowns, hangers, straps) | "Per plan" | Excluded | Included |
| Anchor bolts | Excluded | Excluded | Unclear |
| Engineering / sealed calcs | Included | Excluded | Included |
| Delivery | Flat, 1 trip | Per load × miles | Included |
| Roof sheathing | Included | Excluded | Included |
| Deposit / balance | 20% / on delivery | 50% / on delivery | 30% / net 15 |
| Price hold | 30 days | 15 days | Not stated |
| Drawing revisions | 1 included | Billed hourly | Unclear |