What it's for
A material takeoff turns the drawings into a list of what to buy: so many studs, so many sheets, so many yards. This material takeoff template holds that list on one landscape sheet. You type the quantities you measured; it adds your waste allowance, rounds up to whole units and prices the result.
It does not measure anything; the quantities come from your own work on the drawings. It carries no labor, tax, delivery or markup either. It is quantities and material cost, to carry into your construction estimate. The bid price calculator turns job costs, overhead and a target margin into a bid, and our guide to building a construction estimate covers where a takeoff fits. For one trade, see the concrete and drywall estimate templates.
What's inside
Two sheets, both protected with no password.
Takeoff carries our logo, with no spot for yours: it is an internal sheet. Above the table are PROJECT, DRAWINGS AND DATE, TAKEN OFF BY, DATE and CHECKED BY. Pale yellow cells are yours to fill in; all other cells are locked.
The table has 40 lines under ITEM, CATEGORY, SHEET OR REF, MEASURED QTY, UNIT, WASTE (%), ORDER QTY, UNIT COST and AMOUNT. CATEGORY is a drop-down of Sitework, Concrete, Masonry, Metals, Wood and framing, Thermal and moisture, Doors and windows, Finishes, Mechanical, Electrical and Other. ORDER QTY and AMOUNT calculate; the rest of the line is yours.
Under the lines, TOTALS BY CATEGORY adds the amounts for each of the 11 categories, then Not in a category above and the Takeoff total. The sheet prints landscape on two pages, one page wide, with the header row repeated.
About this template holds three steps, the example figures, the method, the version, the license and links.
How to fill it in
- Fill in PROJECT, DRAWINGS AND DATE, TAKEN OFF BY, DATE and CHECKED BY. Then clear the three example lines or type over them.
- One line per item. Enter the ITEM, pick a CATEGORY, and put the drawing it came from under SHEET OR REF.
- Enter MEASURED QTY, the quantity you took off, and its UNIT.
- Enter WASTE (%) for that line as a percent, such as 10%. It accepts 0% to 100%. A blank counts as 0.
- Enter UNIT COST. AMOUNT is the order quantity times this cost, not the measured quantity, so the cost has to be per unit of what you type under UNIT.
- Read ORDER QTY: the measured quantity plus waste, rounded up to a whole unit of whatever you typed in UNIT. There is no pack-size field.
- Read TOTALS BY CATEGORY and the Takeoff total.
Keep the unit the same on the takeoff and on the supplier's price. If the cost is per piece, type the quantity in pieces; if it is per cubic yard, type cubic yards. CHECKED BY is a place for a second person's name, and the file does not require one.
A line counts once it has an item, a measured quantity or a unit cost. A category, sheet or ref, unit or waste alone does not make it count. A line with an item and a cost but no measured quantity orders 0 and shows $0.00. A line with no category is added to Not in a category above.
The worked example
The first three lines are labeled Example, and the note under the table says their waste and unit costs are examples only. Replace them with your own.
| Item | Category | Sheet or ref | Measured qty | Unit | Waste | Order qty | Unit cost | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example: 2x6 studs, 8 ft | Wood and framing | A-201 | 412 | ea | 10% | 454 | $7.25 | $3,291.50 |
| Example: 1/2 in drywall, 4 x 8 | Finishes | A-501 | 186 | sheet | 12% | 209 | $14.50 | $3,030.50 |
| Example: ready-mix concrete | Concrete | S-101 | 14.2 | cu yd | 5% | 15 | $165.00 | $2,475.00 |
The amount multiplies the order quantity, not the measured quantity: on the studs, 454 times $7.25 is $3,291.50. The concrete line shows the rounding: 14.2 cu yd with 5% waste orders 15. The category totals read Wood and framing $3,291.50, Finishes $3,030.50 and Concrete $2,475.00, every other category $0.00, and the Takeoff total $8,797.00.
Frequently asked questions
Does it calculate anything?
Yes. Order quantity, amount, each category total, the not-in-a-category line and the takeoff total are live formulas. Everything else is yours to type.
Does it work in Google Sheets or Numbers?
Both open .xlsx files. This one has no macros, and its formulas use only IF, AND, ROUNDUP, ROUND, SUMIF and SUM.
Does it come with waste allowances?
No. Waste is blank until you type it. The percents on the example lines are examples, not norms.
Can I add lines or categories?
The sheet has 40 lines and a fixed list of 11 categories. For more lines, unprotect the sheet (no password), insert a row inside the table and copy ORDER QTY and AMOUNT from the line above, so the totals take it in. For a trade the list lacks, use Other or leave the category blank.
Can I put my logo on it?
It carries our logo, with no spot for yours. With the protection off (there's no password), you can swap in your own.