Sharp Pencil

Sharp Pencil › Guides

What a Commercial Roofing Takeoff Should Include: A Sample Package, File by File

By The Sharp Pencil team

Disclosure: Sharp Pencil sells commercial roofing takeoffs, so we have a stake in this topic.

A commercial roofing takeoff should give you every quantity with its unit and the sheet it came from, the drawings marked up to show where each number was taken, a Questions tab for open items with any default it carried, and quantities rolled into purchase units. If you cannot check a line against the drawings in under a minute, ask why. Our sample package shows all four pieces on a fictional retail building.

What a commercial roofing takeoff should include

A bid-ready commercial roofing takeoff hands you four checkable pieces, not a lump total. A total with no sheet reference is a number you have to take on faith.

Table 1. What a bid-ready takeoff hands you
What it should includeWhy it mattersWhere it is in our sample package
Every quantity with unit and source sheetYou can check it against the drawingsTakeoff.xlsx, Takeoff tab, “From sheets” column
The basis of each numberYou know which numbers came off the drawings and which were carried as a defaultTakeoff tab “Basis” column
Marked-up drawingsYou can see what was counted and whereMarked-up drawings PDF
Open questions with the default carriedGaps become questions before bid day, not surprises after awardQuestions tab
Purchase unitsPurchasing starts from the same numbers the takeoff didMaterial order list (its own file, and the Material list tab)
A one-page summary of what holds up pricingYou know where the job stands before you open the workbookSTART HERE

The sample package, file by file

The walkthrough below uses the Sample Retail Building on our home page, marked as a fictional sample. See the sample package section on our home page. The numbers below come from that package, not from a customer job.

START HERE (one page, PDF)

One page with the headline numbers and anything that holds up pricing. Read it first and you know where the job stands before you open the workbook.

In the sample, a “THE NUMBERS” block names each headline figure and its sheet (for example, roof area 28,410.6 SF, From the drawings A2.0 p9). Roof drains show as 0 EA on the Takeoff tab (From the drawings, sheets A2.0 p9, P1.1 p20, S3.2 p28), not as a THE NUMBERS headline. A “BEFORE THIS CAN BE PRICED” block lists what the set leaves open (in this sample: membrane thickness, insulation class, and roof warranty term, because the set has no roofing specification). The page also lists the other files in the package.

The sample opens with: 23 quantities read from your set, 2 of them our defaults (see Questions), 6 not found in the set. It also notes 12 questions on the Questions tab of the Takeoff workbook, 1 of them holding up pricing.

Marked-up drawings (PDF)

Your own sheets with every measurement drawn on them. You can see what was counted and where, and check any line against the sheet it came from.

The sample PDF carries a color legend (red counted, blue measured, green dashed reference only, grey hatch excluded, orange dashed stated assumption, yellow cited text), a “Not in scope” line, and an open-questions section on the cover pages. Use the markups to verify a Takeoff tab row against the sheet it cites.

Takeoff.xlsx (Summary, Takeoff, Questions, Material list tabs)

Field area, tapered, edge metal by profile, penetrations, drains, blocking, flashing. Every quantity shows its basis: the sheet it came from, or our stated default on the Questions tab. If a line says 28,410.6 SF, you can see exactly where it came from.

The sample Takeoff tab columns are Roof system, Item, Quantity, Unit, Coverage, Basis, and From sheets. Table 2 is a short excerpt from that fictional Sample Retail Building workbook.

Table 2. Excerpt from the sample Takeoff tab (fictional Sample Retail Building)
ItemQuantityUnitCoverageBasisFrom sheets
Total roof square footage28,410.6SFWhole roofFrom the drawingsA2.0 p9
Prefinished secure edge metal coping (2/A5.1, 5/A5.1, 7/A5.1)444LFWhole roofFrom the drawingsA5.1 p19, A4.2 p15, A3.0a p10
Exhaust fans3EAWhole roofFrom the drawingsP1.1 p20, M3.0 p17, E3.1 p25
Base flashing linear footage679.7LFWhole roofOur default, see QuestionsA5.1 p19, A4.2 p15, A3.0a p10, A2.0 p9
Tapered insulation and crickets square footageNot found in the setNot found

The sample Summary tab defines the three Basis phrases this way: From the drawings means it is read or measured on the sheets listed beside it. Our default, see Questions means the drawings do not give it and we carried our standard. Not found means the set does not answer it. A “Not found” line is more useful than a guessed number, because it tells you what to chase before bid day.

The Questions tab

The workbook's Questions tab lists each open item with the sheet reference and what we need from you. Where the drawings don't give a number, it also shows the default we carried.

In the sample, columns include Topic, Question, Holds up pricing, Affects, What we need from you, Notes, and Your answer. Questions split into “For your architect” and “For your shop,” and the ones that hold up pricing sort first. Assumed values appear here as open questions with the stated default (for example, curb sizes taken from the unit outlines when no curb dimensions are printed). There is no separate confirmation document. For how to turn open items into RFIs, see what a roofing RFI register should contain.

Material order list (Excel)

A Material Order List file in every package, with the same list on a tab in the workbook. Quantities are rolled up into purchase units, so purchasing starts from the same numbers the takeoff did.

The sample columns are Material, Quantity, Unit, Orderable units, and Notes. Coping is a clean arithmetic example: 444 LF counted in 10 ft pieces becomes 45 pieces. We do not add supplier pricing or submittal packages to this file.

See the sample package

Walk the four files yourself on the fictional Sample Retail Building, then send a set you're pricing when you have a job on the board.

See the sample package on our home page   Get your first takeoff free

Or email [email protected]

Check our sample in five minutes

You don't have to take our word for it. Open the sample and trace one line.

  1. Open START HERE and read what is still open.
  2. Pick a line on the Takeoff tab, for example roof area 28,410.6 SF.
  3. Find its source sheet (A2.0) on the marked-up drawings PDF.
  4. Check its basis. If it's a default, find it on the Questions tab.
  5. Find the same line in purchase units on the material order list.

If a takeoff you're paying for can't pass that check, ask why.

Get your first takeoff free

How to read a line: source sheet, basis, and the open question behind it

Every line should answer three questions: how much, from which sheet, and on what basis. Walk one line end to end through the package and you can see the number, why it is a default when it is, and where to change it, without calling anyone.

Take base flashing in the sample. The Takeoff tab says 679.7 LF, basis “Our default, see Questions.” The Questions tab, under defaults carried for the shop, states what was carried and asks the shop to say if it builds it differently. The material list carries it as TPO base flashing, walls and curbs, 680 LF, Our default (see Questions).

Worked example: one line from sheet to order list (fictional sample, not a customer job)

Numbers below come from the fictional Sample Retail Building package on our home page. It is a made-up example, not a real job, and not a customer result. No dollar totals and no waste percent.

On a steep-slope job, the same four files carry every linear item

The sample is a low-slope TPO building. A standing seam or shingle job comes back in the same four files: field area by plane in SF with the source sheet, and each steep-slope linear item on its own line: ridge, hip, valley, dead valley, rake, eave, endwall and sidewall flashing, transitions, starter, drip edge, and gutters. Low slope covers TPO, EPDM, PVC, mod bit and BUR the same way, with field, edge metal, flashing, penetrations and drains on separate lines.

See standing seam metal roof takeoff for how field by plane and the steep-slope linear list ship today. Shingle uses the same linear discipline. The field unit is shingle SF rather than metal panels.

Test any takeoff before you bid from it

Run this short check on any provider's package before you bid from it:

For the habit of which sheets to open first, see the sheets a roofing takeoff has to read. The three-step process from upload to delivery is on how it works.

FAQ

What should a commercial roofing takeoff include?

A commercial roofing takeoff should give you every quantity with its unit and the sheet it came from, the drawings marked up to show where each number was taken, a Questions tab for open items with any default it carried, and quantities rolled into purchase units. If you cannot check a line against the drawings in under a minute, ask why. Our sample package shows all four pieces on a fictional retail building.

What files come in a Sharp Pencil takeoff package?

START HERE, marked-up drawings PDF, Takeoff.xlsx with a Questions tab, and the material order list.

What is the Questions tab?

The workbook's Questions tab lists each open item with the sheet reference and what we need from you. Where the drawings don't give a number, it also shows the default we carried.

Does the takeoff include pricing?

Pricing is optional. Send your cost data and we apply your prices to the quantities. Any line you have not priced comes back marked UNPRICED. You can also take the quantity takeoff and price it yourself.

Is the sample a real job?

No. The Sample Retail Building is a fictional sample. It has the same pieces every job gets back.

Do you cover standing seam and shingle?

Yes. A standing seam or shingle job comes back in the same four files: field area by plane in SF with the source sheet, and each steep-slope linear item on its own line: ridge, hip, valley, dead valley, rake, eave, endwall and sidewall flashing, transitions, starter, drip edge, and gutters. Residential is not our focus today, but ask if you have a job in mind.

Why send your takeoffs to Sharp Pencil

A takeoff you can't trace is a takeoff you can't trust. Open the sample and check any line against the sheet it came from.

Commercial roofing takeoffs for low-slope (TPO, EPDM, PVC, mod bit and BUR), standing seam and shingle roofs. Residential is not our focus today, but ask if you have a job in mind. See our commercial roofing takeoff services and where every number comes from.

See the sample package on our home page · Get your first takeoff free · $395 per takeoff · Or email [email protected]

*Clock starts once any questions we send you are answered.

The Sharp Pencil team

Sources