Calculating square feet for Construction and Excel Spreadsheet Use
There are many methods to estimate construction costs. By far the easiest in to use a takeoff and estimation software program. Here is a quick look at how you can do this.
One of the best programs on the market today is PlanSwift so I will use this in my example.
This first step is to make sure your documents are in a TIF format. The software’s converter function makes this easy. Simply select the convert to TIF menu chose the files and hit convert. If you only have paper document scan them in as PDFs and convert then from that format is the best route.
The next step is to do the estimating. PlanSwift can do area, linear, segment and count estimations with the click of a mouse. All of these options are accessed from the digitizer menu tab.
This menu will even allow you to color code you work for easy reference letter, or to do multiple estimates at one time.
Most programs including PlanSwift can automatically work with curved areas, areas with cutouts. There is also an option to free hand any area if you would rather.
As you can see, using a construction takeoff and estimating software program is the best method to estimating construction costs today. If you are not currently using this method, you are spending extra time and money. More than you should be!
Once you have completed your work with one-step, you can integrate all your work with Excel spreadsheets.
To see just how great software can be, PlanSwift is offering a FREE 14 day trial of its award-winning program. Not to leave you hanging out in the wind, they will also give you free training to make sure you understand how the program works best for you, the way you work.
Complete the short form below and you will be given you access code instantly.