Guide · Takeoff
Flooring takeoff vs measure-up: quoting from plans or from site
A takeoff measures the floor from the drawings. A measure-up measures it in the house. Most flooring businesses do both, for different kinds of work, and the best quotes are clear about which one the price rests on.
What each one is
A takeoff works out the quantities from the plans: the floor plan's dimension strings, the selections or colour schedule, and the window schedule for blinds. It is how new home builders are quoted, often months before the slab is poured, because there is nothing to measure yet.
A measure-up (or site measure) is done in the building with a tape or a laser. It is how renovations, existing homes and retail customers are usually quoted, because the rooms exist and the plans, if there are any, may not match what was built.
A check measure sits between the two. After a quote from plans is accepted, someone measures the built house before the material is ordered, to confirm the takeoff and catch anything that changed.
Side by side
| Takeoff from plans | Measure-up on site | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical work | New homes for builders, tenders, multi-unit projects | Renovations, existing homes, retail and insurance work |
| When it happens | Before the house is built | When the rooms can be measured |
| Time per job | At the desk, no travel | Travel to site plus the measure |
| What it sees | Every room, the selections and the plan revision | The rooms as built, floor levels, slab condition, door clearances |
| What it misses | Site conditions, building tolerances, changes made during the build | Rooms not yet finished, and anything behind furniture or fixed joinery |
| Main risk | Quoting an old revision, or missing a room | A misread tape or a room left off the sketch |
Why plan dimensions and built rooms differ
Rooms are rarely built to the exact millimetre on the drawing. Depending on the drafting convention, internal dimensions may be shown to the wall frame or to the finished lining, so a room can measure a little smaller once it is lined. Frames are set out within building tolerances, and walls are not always perfectly square. On a single room the difference is small. The bigger differences come from changes during the build: a study nook added, a robe moved, a sliding door swapped for a hinged one.
An example
Example only
The sizes and rate are made up to show the size of each effect.
A bedroom reads 4200 × 3600 on the plan, 15.12 m². Built and lined, it measures 4180 × 3585, which is 14.99 m². The difference, 0.13 m², is under 1% and well inside a normal waste allowance.
Now suppose the builder issued a later revision adding a 2400 × 1800 study nook to the hybrid area, 4.32 m². With 7% waste that is about 4.6 m² of extra floor, around $330 at $72 per m². That is the real risk in a takeoff: not the tape, but the plan you quoted from.
What a takeoff cannot tell you
- Whether the slab is dry and flat enough for the product, and how much preparation it needs.
- Height differences at doorways, which decide the trim type.
- Door clearances once the new floor and underlay go down.
- Whether an existing floor has to come up first, on a renovation.
- Changes the builder or client made on site and did not draw.
Put these in the quote as assumptions or exclusions, so a site condition becomes a variation rather than a loss.
What a measure-up cannot tell you
A site measure is only as complete as the sketch. Rooms behind locked doors, cupboards full of stock and areas under fixed joinery are easy to miss, and nothing on site tells you which rooms the client actually wants floored. For renovation work, confirm the scope room by room in writing, and keep the sketch with the quote.
Using both: the usual builder workflow
- Take off the quantities from the latest plan and selections, and quote.
- Name the plan revision and make the quantities subject to check measure.
- When the job is won, watch for revisions. A new revision is a reason to re-check the takeoff before the house is built.
- Check measure the built house before ordering, and confirm floor preparation and trims on site.
- Order from the check measure, and raise any difference with the builder as a variation at your quoted rates.
How to word a quote from plans
A short line removes most arguments: “Quantities are taken from working drawings revision C dated 12 August and selections revision B, and are subject to check measure before ordering. Changes to the plans are priced as variations at the rates above.” The flooring quote template shows where it goes, and the quote checklist covers the rest of what to check before sending.
Outside Australia
The same split exists everywhere. In the US and Canada, takeoffs from plans are the norm for new construction and commercial work and are often done in square feet from imperial drawings; in the UK, new build developments are commonly priced from plans and checked on site before fitting. The terms vary (site survey, field measure, verify measure), but the logic does not.
Where Squaro fits
Squaro is a takeoff tool: it reads the builder's working drawings and selections and measures every space from the printed dimension strings, with each line showing the sheet and dimension it used. It does not replace a check measure on site, and it does not know about changes that were never drawn. It makes the takeoff fast and checkable, so the time goes into the decisions only a person can make. See flooring takeoff software.
Related reading
- How to quote flooring from builder plansThe full method, from the builder's pack to a priced quote, with a worked hybrid example.
- How to do a vinyl plank takeoff from plansMeasuring LVP, perimeter trims, underlay and adhesive from a set of plans.
- Flooring estimating software: what it does and how to chooseThe main kinds of software, what each is good at, and how to test one on your own plans.
Quote your next plan set with Squaro
Squaro is open to a small group of flooring contractors first. Tell us how you quote and we will set up your rules with you and run your first plan.
Request early access