Small contractor
Posted by Sally
The letter
I got plan PDFs for a bid. I need a takeoff spreadsheet — lengths, counts, areas — and I cannot justify Bluebeam for one job.
Printing and measuring by hand. It works once, not every week.
A spreadsheet with the quantities I need to price the job, from the plan sheets I already have.
Stacked like notes on the desk. Links open someone else's site.
Measured from PDF in a free viewer, logged counts and lengths in a takeoff template spreadsheet by sheet.
Still manual: You still read the plans; the sheet is the structure.
Cost: Template only — no Bluebeam license.
Used a web takeoff tool trial: upload plan PDF, mark areas and counts, export quantities to Excel.
Example takeoff tools category
Still manual: Trial limits may apply; export and save your sheet.
Cost: Varies by tool; many have free trials.