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What is quantity take-off?
Quantity take-off (also called QTO, take-off or measurement) is the process of measuring the amount of material and work shown on drawings so it can be priced in an estimate. Everything in a cost plan or tender starts with it: if a quantity is wrong, the price is wrong, however good the rates are.
Three kinds of measurement
| Type | Examples | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Length | Pipe, cable, skirting, kerbs, beams, rebar runs | m |
| Area | Floors, walls, ceilings, roofs, formwork, paint | m² |
| Volume | Concrete, excavation, fill (usually worked out from length × width × depth) | m³ |
| Count | Doors, windows, sockets, lights, fixtures, piles | number |
How a take-off is done, step by step
- Collect the right drawings. Plans, sections and elevations of the latest revision, plus the specification. A quantity taken from an old revision is a common source of error.
- Set the scale. A drawing is a scaled picture. Measure a known dimension first, then check it against another one.
- Measure in a fixed order. Work from the foundations up and level by level, so nothing is missed or counted twice. See the take-off checklist.
- Deduct and add. Subtract openings from walls once, and add allowances such as laps, waste and breakage where the method calls for them.
- Check. Compare totals with a rule of thumb, such as steel kg per m³ of concrete, or wall area against floor area.
- Price. Quantities go into a bill of quantities, where rates and overheads turn them into a cost.
Manual, spreadsheet and digital take-off
| Method | How it works | Main weakness |
|---|---|---|
| Manual | Scale rule, highlighter and calculator on printed drawings | Slow; hard to re-check or update |
| Spreadsheet | Dimensions typed into rows and totalled | Typing errors; measurements are separate from the drawing |
| Digital | Measure directly on the drawing file; results stay linked to what was measured | Needs a clean file and a correct scale |
Why scale matters
At 1:100, a line 25 mm long on paper is 2.5 m on site. If the scale is set wrongly by 10 %, every length is out by 10 %, every area by about 21 % and every volume by about 33 %. That is why the first step in any take-off, on paper or on screen, is to check the scale against a known dimension. See how to set the scale.
Where software helps
Digital take-off lets you measure directly on a PDF or CAD drawing, keep results organised by level and carry them into a bill of quantities. It does not remove the need to read the drawings or apply judgement. TapeLine is software for this workflow.
Try Free Beta VersionSee the 3D take-off
Keep reading
Quantity take-off checklist for a building
A take-off order from substructure to services, with the unit for each item and the habits that keep quantities right.
2 min readBasicsBill of quantities explained
What a BoQ contains, how it grows out of take-off, and how rates, overhead and profit turn quantities into a price.
2 min readMethodHow to set the scale on a drawing
What 1:50 and 1:100 mean, how to set scale from a known dimension, the pitfalls of printed PDFs, and ISO paper sizes.
2 min read