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Material Coverage

You can define material coverage parts to both area and linear measurements.

Linear Takeoffs

To get a part that measures material coverage in linear feet, you need to create a new material part:

  • Select the drop-down under new part on your Templates tab
  • From there it will open up the Input window, where you can select Advanced
  • In the Qty Property, you will input this formula, [..]/*material coverage*
    • For example, if your material covers 10 feet each, your formula would look like this: [..]/10. What the [..] does is pull in the Qty from the parent item, and updates whenever you make changes.

If you want to make a part that applies to the linear tool, Wall Area, the formula would be a bit different, and a little more complex.

  • Make a new property named Material Coverage - you need to be in the Advanced Properties window
  • In the top left of the window, you'll see what looks like a box with a green plus sign, click this and the new property window open
  • Name this Material Coverage; in the drop-down make it a number, and in the third drop-down assign it to Estimating
  • Select OK
  • Because this is a square footage measurement, add the dimensions of the material in this property box;
    • For example, we have a drywall sheet that is 4x10, we will just put 4 * 10 in that property.
  • In the Qty formula box enter [..Wall Area]/[Material Coverage].
    • [..Wall Area] pulls in the SQFT measurement from the linear measurement that we made.
    • Make sure the words are spelled exactly the same and are case sensitive.

This would tell you how many sheets of drywall you would need.

Area Takeoffs

To create a part that would give you the material coverage on an item measuring square footage, it would be very similar to the part you would use for the wall area.

  • We’ll make a new property named 'Material Coverage' in the Advanced Properties window
  • In the top left of the window, you'll see what looks like a box with a green plus sign, click this and the New Property window opens
  • Name this Material Coverage. In the drop-down, make it a number, and in the third drop-down assign it to Estimating
  • Select OK
  • Because this is a square footage measurement, add the dimensions of the material in this property box
    • The Qty Formula: should read, [..]/[Material Coverage], since our initial measurement is a SQ FT measurement.
  • To apply a part to an area that measures off of the perimeter of the area we drew out,use this formula: [..Linear Total]*Material Coverage*, with *Material Coverage* being the distance that each item covers
    • For example, if it covers 15', our formula would look like this. [..Linear Total]15. This would tell you how many parts you would need to cover the perimeter.
click here to view the previous article Useful Formulas for Takeoff and Estimating Establish a Property as a Pascal Expression click here to view the next article

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