GoTakeoff Tutorial

 

THE NUTS AND BOLTS

GoTakeoff is an online materials calculator.

 

There are 30 pages to fill out information from your plans. There are basically 2 types of input:

1.    Materials choices. You can save commonly used materials as your own default, so you don’t have to change these materials when you do other plans. The “Save as Default” button at the bottom of each materials page will give you the option to save your personal defaults.

2.    Dimensions. Here you can enter the sizes of building components and choose or enter material sizes.

The program does the rest. It calculates materials, using well-tested waste factors, considering end cuts for roof parts, etc., and it includes some of the smaller items like fasteners, holdown bolts, caulking, blocking and temporary bracing, so you don’t have to think about these things. Then the result will show on the materials list, using standard available sizes. This list is organized so you can order any part of the job, and it will help your construction workers locate materials, so be sure to print a copy of the list for the framing crew.

 

Currently GoTakeoff is limited to materials that are commonly ordered at the lumberyard by the general contractor (framing, siding, decks, doors, windows, trim, etc.) Items that are usually supplied by subcontractors (concrete, roofing, insulation, drywall, etc.) are currently not included. In ADDITIONAL you may enter additional materials manually. In OPTIONS you may choose which parts of the takeoff to include on the LIST. For example, if you don’t want the Window list to go to the lumberyard, you can un-check “WINDOWS”.

 

In order to get a complete takeoff we advise you to fill out all pages that are relevant to your project. If you don’t need the window list, you should still fill out the window sizes, so the window header materials and trim will calculate properly. Another example is trussed roofs. Don’t skip the ROOF page because you think the truss company will supply this. The roof plywood and fascia, etc. will only calculate if the ROOF page is filled out.

 

For keyboard tips click KEYBOARD in the HELP menu.

 

LIST HEADER

Here you fill out the Job information, including names, job site address, etc.

 

   

 

FOUND MAT and DRAIN MAT

These two pages allow you to enter materials that may be needed before the framing stage. If you choose not to include these, you may simply ignore the default entries and go to OPTIONS to make sure “Foundation/Drains” is not checked. Materials are calculated behind the scenes as you continue your input on the following pages. You may skip pages you wish not to include.

 

           

 

FLOOR MAT

Enter floor materials. It is not required to enter blocking thickness if this is inherent with the type of blocking you chose.

 

 

FLOORS

Every section of floor with a different joist length, including stairway landings, gets entered on this page. The program has a waste factor of 5% for joists to ensure that in most cases end joists are included. The rim joists (perpendicular to the joists) are entered manually.

 

For I-joists there is no need to fill out the joist width. This is inherent with the type of joist chosen on the materials page. Areas with angles in walls should be averaged out to a rectangular floor area.  In the case that an outside source provides the floor system you still need to fill out this page, so you won’t miss sub-flooring, etc. on your list.

 

           

 

SHEET MAT

Enter floor, wall, roof, overhang and soffit materials here.

 

                    

 

SIDING MAT

Standard defaults for 4 different siding options are given, but you can create your own. You will need to note your siding choices so they can be chosen in EXT WALLS and ROOFS (gable siding).

 

       

 

WALL MAT

Enter the material choices for walls.

               

 

EXT WALLS

Enter dimensions, siding and trim choices. The program assumes that a double top plate is used, and then

calculates the stud length needed.  It will calculate plates needed, as well as extra materials for blocking, bracing, and materials used around wall openings and corners, etc.

Primary siding is the siding type (from SIDING MAT) that is used on at least 50% of the wall.  If there is only one type of siding on the wall, the percentage needs to stay at 100. Otherwise, fill out the correct percentage of the primary siding, and choose the secondary siding type.

 

               

 

INT WALLS

Enter dimensions of all interior walls, including half walls, attic walls, etc.

 

 

HOLDOWNS and HARDWARE

Enter the holdowns and components needed. If you find the hardware you are looking for in the defaults, you can enter the quantities needed for each. Otherwise you may change the hardware defaults.  Anchor bolts and stud bolts are preset for the original defaults, but they may be changed to fit your needs.

 

                                                               

 

STAIRS MAT

Fill out the materials needed for the interior stairs. Select tread materials from plywood, pre-cut 3 foot pieces, or “Other”.  “Other” will give 10 or 12 foot pieces on the list.  Tread Size can be the thickness of plywood, etc., or the overall size (i.e. 2x12).

 

                                          

 

INT STAIRS

Enter dimensions for interior stairways. Height means top of floor or landing to top of next floor or landing. Every section of stairway between landings needs to be on a separate line. Landing floors may be entered in FLOORS. Fill out the run in inches per step for each stair section. Fill out the number of stringers and treads. Tread length, is equal to the width of the stairs.

 

                             

 

ROOF MAT

Fill out the materials needed for the roof. When you check the truss package, this will give you a reminder on the materials list, but it will not calculate the trusses. This needs to be done by a licensed engineer, and the trusses are generally designed by the truss supplier.  You will still need to fill out all of the roof information, even if the plan calls for trusses, because the program does calculate all other roof-related materials, such as sheathing, fascia, soffit, etc.

 

Soffit materials: “Open soffit” means that the bottom of the roof overhang is not covered. The program will calculate the exposed part of the roof sheathing and use the soffit material entered in SHEET MAT.  When the soffits are closed (level or sloping), the program will use the same material from SHEET MAT, and also adds material to the regular roof sheathing needed above the soffit. Soffit can be selected in sheets, or in square feet.

 

                            

 

ROOFS

Break down complicated roofs into components listed on this page. The Span is the outside to outside distance of the bearing wall plates. The Width of the roof is the dimension from wall to wall (outside) perpendicular to the span, not including the overhang.  Slope is the rise in inches for every 12 inches of run, the ":12" part is entered automatically, so you may enter 4 for a 4:12 slope. Overhang and Rafter o.c. (on center) are entered in inches. 

Style: There are 4 options for styles of a roof:
Gable: Gable roof.
Hip: Standard or Dutch hip roof.
Shed: Shed roof. An asymmetric gable may be entered as two shed roofs.
Overframing: Roof section framed over another roof.
For bay or other angled roofs choose the option that most closely resembles the roof.
# of Ends: Number of gables/'ends' on gable/hip/shed roof (i.e. hip with three fascia boards: 1 end; hip with 4 fascia boards: 2 ends).
Gable Siding: Select one of the siding types described in the SIDING MAT form.
Car Decking: Check for car decking rather than sheathing for roof, if applicable.
Stick Frame: Check this box for each roof that will be stick framed instead of trussed.
Ridge Height: Nominal size of ridge section.
Rafter Height: Nominal size of rafter section.

 

               

 

POST/BEAMS

Fill out the materials needed. We advise you to highlight posts and beams on the plans, while first reading them.

 

               

 

STAIRS MAT

Fill out the materials needed for the exterior stairs.

 

               

 

EXT STAIRS

Enter dimensions for exterior stairways. Height means top of floor or landing to top of next floor or landing. Every section of stairway between landings needs to be on a separate line. Landing floors may be entered in DECKS. Fill out the run in inches per step for each stair section. Fill out the number of stringers and treads. Tread length, is equal to the width of the stairs.

 

               

 

DECK MAT

Enter materials and sizes for decks. Joist size may vary and is filled out on the next page. Use the check marks to include materials.

 

               

 

DECKS

Every section of deck with a different joist length, including stairway landings, gets entered on this page.

Areas with angles should be averaged out to a rectangular deck area.  Just fill out the deck board width, and the program calculates how many lineal feet of decking you need.

 

       

 

DECK RAILS

Enter only the horizontal rail parts. The program will take the rail length from the previous page and give you the length of each type of horizontal rail part as a result.

 

                              

 

DOORS

Enter door and header information.  In OPTIONS you can choose whether or not you like to show doors on the list. Either way, the door width and header info should be filled out to calculate header materials.

 

               

 

WINDOWS

Enter window and header information.  In OPTIONS you can choose whether or not you like to show windows on the list. Either way, the window width and header info should be filled out to calculate header materials.

 

               

 

TRIM MAT

Enter material choices for trim. 

 

                                 

 

EXT TRIM 1

Enter dimensions for exterior trim. Use the check marks to include materials. Note that corner boards may consist of 1 or 2 parts.

 

                                

 

EXT TRIM 2

Enter dimensions for exterior door and window trim. Use the check marks to include materials.

 

                                          

 

INT TRIM

Enter dimensions for exterior door and window trim. Use the check marks to include materials.

 

                                

 

FASTENERS

Enter your preferred fasteners for the different application, or un-check the check marks for fasteners you don’t like to have on your list.

 

                          

 

ADDITIONAL

Enter additional materials on this page. This means can include items our program does not calculate, like drywall, roofing, etc.

You may be able to look at the list in order to find out the quantities of these uncalculated items.

Ceiling drywall area might be the same as floor plywood. Roofing might be similar in area to roof sheathing.

Please be careful to include all calculated results in case you like to take these shortcuts, and be sure that

The structure is such that these kinds of translations are possible.

We may add these items in the future, as an option, but we find that most lumberyards will supply drywall via the drywall contractor, and roofing via the roofing contractor. We chose to keep GoTakeoff easy to use, so a takeoff for lumber, doors, windows and trim can be done in a record time.

 

                  

 

FOOTNOTES

 

Any notes, reminders or disclaimers may be written here. They will appear on your printed list.

 

               

 

OPTIONS

 

Here you may choose which parts of the takeoff you like to include on your list.

 

               

 

MATERIALS LIST

The end result of your takeoff. In the Windows version of Internet Explorer 5.5 and above you can edit the materials list before printing. Rows cannot be added or removed and only the text or formatting of the items where the cursor (vertical line) is blinking can be changed. Please be aware that your edits are temporary and will not be preserved when you refresh, save, or close the list. This way you can’t accidentally override future changes or additions to a takeoff.

 

     

 

The following shortcuts can be used for editing the materials list:

Select word

Double-click

 

Next item

Tab key

Select item

Ctrl + Left-click

 

Find

Ctrl + F

Bold

Ctrl + B

 

Cut

Ctrl + X

Italic

Ctrl + I

 

Copy

Ctrl + C

Underline

Ctrl + U

 

Paste

Ctrl + V

Undo

Ctrl + Z

 

Redo

Ctrl + Y

For example: to make an item bold, select the text first with the mouse, then hold the Ctrl (control) key down and press the B key.

You can save the materials list as an HTML document by choosing File, Save As... (click Yes if you get a warning). If you have a copy of Microsoft Excel you can export the saved document by right-clicking in a blank area of the browser window and choosing Export to Microsoft Excel.

 

 

Feel free to contact our technical support at support@gotakeoff.com with specific questions. We hope you will enjoy doing your takeoffs from now on. We welcome your feedback so we can continue to improve Gotakeoff.