Well, now we are getting to the real purpose of using Web Takeoff, but first, let’s define a few terms:
What is Takeoff?
Takeoff is just another term for measurements made on construction drawings for the purpose of creating a “Quantity Survey”, which is a list of all the building objects needed for construction and how much of each are indicated.
Technically:
- Verb: The action of drawing measurements on an electronic image that correspond to building objects.
- Noun: The visual representations of those measurements.
- Proper Noun: A nickname for applications used for measuring plans/creating a Quantity Survey (such as ConstructConnect Takeoff or Web Takeoff).
What are Conditions (aka Takeoff Items)?
Conditions (also called “Takeoff Items”), are representation of all those building objects you are quantifying. They could include:
- Linear Conditions to measure walls, foundations, electrical and plumbing runs, or curbing. But, just because you measure something (like a wall) with a Linear Condition, doesn’t mean we can’t tell you the square footage of the surface of that wall (think painting/finishing), or even the volume (think insulation or concrete).
- Area Conditions to measure floors, ceilings, facades, or landscaping, site work, etc. Again, just because you measure something with an Area Condition, doesn’t mean you’re limited to square footage. We can also calculate volume (poured concrete slabs) and perimeter (for moldings around an area.
- Area Backouts allow you do deduct from an Area measurement, great for accounting for inset ceilings and floors or windows on facades.
- Count Conditions to measure fixtures, doors, windows, etc. And yes, even though they are Counts, if you give us a few dimension, we can calculate surface area, volume, total height, etc.
What are Annotations?
- Annotations are graphical markups you draw on plans such as: Dimension Lines, Text, and Highlights.
- Annotations do not affect your takeoff results, they are just used to verify scale and create callouts to important information on your drawings.
- The Annotation Tools are located on the Main toolbar
In the new few articles, we’ll cover how to create Conditions and then use them to measure your plans along with using the Annotation tools.
Before you perform any takeoff or draw any annotations, you need to verify the Page Scale or your takeoff results will not be correct.
When you first loaded your Drawings, they were Auto Scaled automatically, however:
Takeoff Boost’s tools use Artificial Intelligence to provide results. It is your responsibility to verify results to ensure accuracy.
 Adding Documents to an Existing Project | Set, Calculate, and Verify Page Scale  |
