Skip to content

Service 05 / 07

Material Takeoff

Material schedules taken from the drawings. Each material is identified, tagged, measured in its own unit and traced to the sheet it came from.

Output
Material schedule
Workflow
Covers Drawing, Intelligence, Takeoff, then human review.
A-310 · Wall build-up · materials · Rev BIllustrative Example
Illustrative wall build-up for a material takeoff: blockwork, insulation and lining board layers above a damp-proof course and a concrete foundation, each tagged with its material code and unit; the insulation carries a revision B marker.10010012.5BGLBLKBLOCKWORKm²INSINSULATIONm²BRDLINING BOARDm²DPCDAMP-PROOFmCONCONCRETEm³A-310 · WALL DETAIL · REV B

Material schedule

Material schedule (illustrative)
TagMaterialQty
BLKBlockwork41.60 m²
INSInsulation41.60 m²
BRDLining board41.60 m²
DPCDamp-proof course16.00 m
CONFoundation concrete3.84 m³

Grouped by package · source A-310

What it does

Every material identified, measured and listed

A material takeoff lists what the drawings call for, one material at a time. Each material is identified from the drawings and specification, tagged, and measured in its own unit: m, m², m³, kg or nr.

The schedule is grouped by trade or package, with a drawing reference on every line. It can be checked against the drawings, then used for pricing or procurement planning.

TAGIdentification
Each material named and tagged
UNITUnits
m, m², m³, kg or nr, as the material needs
QTYQuantities
Measured per layer and element
PKGPackages
Grouped by trade or package
SPECSpecification links
Descriptions taken from the specification
SHEETDrawing references
Source sheet on every line

Inputs

What we work from

The project's own documents. Core inputs are needed for this service; the others are used where the project has them.

  • Construction details

    Core

    Build-ups, layers and junctions.

  • Architectural drawings

    Core

    Plans, sections and elevations.

  • Specifications

    Core

    Names and describes each material.

  • Structural drawings

    Where relevant

    Concrete and reinforcement.

  • Schedules

    Where relevant

    Finishes, doors and ironmongery.

Workflow

From build-up to material schedule

Materials are confirmed against the specification before they are measured, and each layer is measured only once.

  • Estimator
  • AI-assisted suggestion
  • Controlled calculation
  • Human review
  1. 01

    Drawing

    Read the build-ups

    Details and sections show what each element is made of.

    Who: Estimator

  2. 02

    Intelligence

    Identify materials

    AI-Assisted Drawing Intelligence highlights possible materials. The estimator confirms each one.

    Who: AI-assisted suggestion

  3. 03

    Takeoff

    Tag

    Each confirmed material gets a tag and its unit.

    Who: Estimator

  4. 04

    Takeoff

    Measure

    Each layer and element is measured in its unit.

    Who: Estimator

  5. 05

    Takeoff

    Schedule

    Materials are grouped by trade or package, with references.

    Who: Estimator

  6. 06

    Review

    Review

    The schedule is checked against the drawings and specification.

    Who: Human review

Deliverable

Material schedule

Each material is listed with its tag, unit, quantity and the sheet it was measured from.

Every output includes

  • Material tag and description
  • Unit and quantity
  • Trade or package grouping
  • Source sheet and revision
MS-01Material schedule
Illustrative Example
Illustrative material schedule
TagMaterialUnitQty
Package · Masonry
BLKBlockwork, 100 mmA-310m²41.60
DPCDamp-proof courseA-310m16.00
Package · Insulation and linings
INSInsulation, 100 mm · Rev BA-310m²41.60
BRDLining board, 12.5 mmA-310m²41.60
Package · Groundworks
CONFoundation concrete · 16.00 × 0.60 × 0.40S-101m³3.84
Illustrative Example — not a real projectSheet 1 of 1

Checked and traceable

Checked against the drawings and the specification

A material schedule is only useful when each line can be found on the drawings.

Checked before issue

  1. 01Each material confirmed against the specification
  2. 02Unit suits the material
  3. 03Layers measured once, not double-counted
  4. 04Drawing reference on every line
  5. 05Schedule reviewed before issue

One line followed back to its source, and one drawing revision handled. Neither is real project data.

Illustrative Example
Trace · schedule line INS
  1. Source

    A-310 · Wall detail · Rev B

  2. Layer

    Layer 2 · Insulation

  3. Tag

    INS

  4. Measurement

    16.00 m × 2.60 m

  5. Schedule line

    41.60 m²

  6. State

    Reviewed

Revision · INS · Insulation

Was 75 mm · Rev A

changed to 100 mm · Rev B

The specification change is flagged and the line re-checked. The area is unchanged.

Material Takeoff

Know what the drawings call for

A material schedule starts from measured quantities. See how quantity takeoff measures every element on the drawings.

Related services

  • Output · Quantity schedule

    Quantity Takeoff

    Quantities measured from drawings and specifications, organised by element with units and drawing references.

  • Output · Package estimate

    Specialist Estimating

    Estimating for specialist trades and packages that need discipline-specific measurement.

  • Output · Cost estimate

    Construction Cost Estimating

    Cost estimates built up from measured quantities and explicit rates, with the calculation inputs kept visible for review.