Concrete takeoff and estimating, down to the cubic yard
Momo reads your S-sheets, verifies scale, measures slabs, footings and walls, counts piers, and turns every measurement into cubic yards, forms and reinforcing through visible formulas. Nothing counts until you commit it.
- Counts · Lengths · Areas
- Slabs, footings, walls and piers
- Every line sourced
- Sheet, scale and formula on each quantity
- $0 until committed
- Momo's work stays a proposal until you review it
What does a full concrete takeoff in DrawScale include?
A full concrete takeoff in DrawScale measures every slab, footing, wall and pier and turns it into cubic yards, formwork and reinforcing. Momo measures slab-on-grade and elevated deck areas by thickness, traces continuous footings and grade beams as lengths, and counts spread footings and piers by the footing schedule mark. Your formulas turn area times thickness into cubic yards, perimeter into edge form, and bar spacing into reinforcing length. Waste factors and rates are labeled assumptions. Every quantity carries into the priced estimate with its source sheet.
New to the process? Read the construction takeoff guide or see how Momo runs a full takeoff and estimate.
Sheets Momo reads
- S-001 general notes
- S-101 foundation plan
- S-201 to S-203 framing and slab plans
- S-301 foundation sections and details
- S-401 footing and pier schedules
- C-101 site paving plan
Typical CSI sections
- 03 11 00 Concrete Forming
- 03 21 00 Reinforcement Bars
- 03 22 00 Fabric and Grid Reinforcing
- 03 30 00 Cast-in-Place Concrete
- 03 35 00 Concrete Finishing
- 07 26 00 Vapor Retarders
The full takeoff
What Momo takes off for concrete contractors
Every item is measured on the sheet as a count, a length or an area. Formulas then turn that measurement into the quantities you price. The sheets listed are typical; Momo reports the exact sheets it used for every quantity.
| Takeoff item | Measured as | Typical sheets | Outputs and formula |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slab on grade by thickness | Area | S-101, S-201 | CY = SF × thickness ÷ 27; vapor retarder SF; finish SF |
| Slab edges and construction joints | Length | S-101, S-201 | Edge form LF; sawcut joint LF |
| Continuous footings and grade beams | Length | S-101, S-301 | CY = LF × width × depth ÷ 27; form SF; longitudinal bar LF |
| Spread footings and piers by mark | Count | S-101, S-401 | CY per schedule size × count; bars per schedule |
| Foundation walls | Length | S-101, S-301 | CY = LF × height × thickness ÷ 27; form SF both faces |
| Site paving and sidewalks | Area | C-101 | CY by thickness; curb LF |
Slabs
- Slab on grade by thickness
- Elevated slabs on metal deck
- Thickened edges and depressions
- Housekeeping pads
Foundations
- Continuous footings
- Spread footings by mark
- Piers and pilasters
- Grade beams
- Foundation walls
Site and accessories
- Paving and sidewalks
- Curb and gutter
- Edge forms and joints
- Reinforcing and welded wire
- Vapor retarder
Every number shows its work
Worked example: Building slab on grade
This is an illustrative example of how a DrawScale quantity is built. Each line shows its formula, and anything that depends on a rate, factor or spacing is marked as an assumption for you to confirm.
5" slab on grade, 4,000 psi, #4 @ 18" o.c. each way, on 15-mil vapor retarder
S-101 Foundation Plan at 1/8" = 1'-0", scale verified from the dimensioned grid
| Line | Formula | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Slab area filled | Area of slab outline on S-101 | 12,480 SF |
| Concrete volume | 12,480 SF × 5" ÷ 12 ÷ 27 | 192.6 CY |
| Waste factor | Labeled assumptionAssumption · confirm | 1.05 |
| Concrete to order | 192.6 CY × 1.05, rounded up | 203 CY |
| Edge form | Traced slab perimeter | 468 LF |
| Vapor retarder | Slab area; laps as labeled assumptionAssumption · confirm | 12,480 SF |
Meet Momo
How Momo runs a concrete takeoff
Every element measured once, and every derived quantity shown as a formula.
- 01
Measures slabs by thickness
Slab areas are filled and tagged with their thickness, so a 5" slab and a 6" thickened area price as separate lines.
Thickness on every area - 02
Reads the footing schedule
Footing and pier marks on the plan are tied to their sizes and reinforcing in the schedule before volumes are computed.
Schedule-driven volumes - 03
Derives cubic yards, forms and bar
Formulas turn each measurement into cubic yards, form SF and reinforcing length. Waste and lap factors are labeled assumptions.
Visible formulas - 04
Keeps the work reviewable
Momo's work stays a proposal until you commit it, and anything you redraw by hand is never overwritten by a later run.
You commit
What Momo checks for
Where concrete takeoffs go wrong
Concrete errors show up as short loads, extra trucks and formwork nobody priced.
Thickenings and depressions
Thickened slab edges, depressed slabs at showers and turned-down slabs at entries sit in details on S-301 and get left out of the plan area.
Footing marks without sizes
The plan shows F3 and F4 but the sizes live in the schedule on S-401. Counting marks without reading the schedule gives a count, not a volume.
Site and building at different scales
Paving on C-101 at 1" = 20' and the foundation plan at 1/8" = 1'-0" sit in the same set. One wrong scale throws off every cubic yard on that sheet.
Forms and reinforcing as a lump sum
Edge form, wall forms and bar length all follow from the same geometry, but they are often guessed separately.
From quantities to a bid
The priced estimate, schedule and export
Committed quantities flow into the estimate worksheet through visible formulas, and every unit rate, waste factor and production rate is labeled as an assumption to confirm. Nothing Momo proposed counts toward a total until you review and commit it.
Bid-stage schedule
The bid-stage schedule groups quantities into activities such as excavate and form footings, place footings, walls, underslab prep and slab placement by pour. Each duration is installed quantity divided by a labeled production rate you confirm, leveled to your crews, with a critical path and P50 and P80 finish dates.
Coming from another takeoff tool?
If you take off today in Bluebeam Revu, PlanSwift, On-Screen Takeoff or a spreadsheet, DrawScale opens the same PDF plan sets in the browser with nothing to install. Manual count, linear and area tools always work, and changing a sheet’s scale flags every quantity that depends on it.
What you hand your chief estimator
- A ledger of committed quantities, each linked to its sheet, scale and traced geometry
- A priced estimate worksheet with visible formulas and every rate labeled as an assumption to confirm
- A bid-stage schedule built from installed quantity divided by a labeled production rate
- An Excel or CSV export with audit columns that contains committed quantities only
Concrete takeoff and estimating FAQ
Direct answers for concrete contractors.
Cubic yards come from a visible formula: measured area times thickness, divided by 27. For footings and walls it is length times width times depth, divided by 27. Waste factors are labeled assumptions you confirm.
Yes. Momo ties each footing and pier mark on the plan to its size and reinforcing in the schedule, then computes the volume per mark.
Yes. Edge form comes from slab perimeter, wall form from wall length and height, and reinforcing length from bar size and spacing. Each is a formula on the same measurement, with lap and waste factors labeled as assumptions.
They are measured as their own areas with their own thickness, so they carry their own volume. Momo reads the slab details and reports any it could not place.
Yes. Manual count, linear and area tools always work. Anything you draw or edit is locked against later runs, and every change stays visible in the review.
You get committed quantities linked to their sheets, a priced estimate worksheet, a bid-stage schedule by pour and an Excel or CSV export with audit columns. The export contains committed quantities only.
Takeoff and estimating for related trades
See every trade DrawScale coversGeneral Contractor takeoff and estimating
Concrete, framing, doors, finishes and specialties across the set, with a priced estimate and bid-stage schedule.
Roofing takeoff and estimating
Roof areas, insulation layers, edge metal, flashing, drains and curbs from the roof plan and details.
Drywall takeoff and estimating
Partitions by type turned into board, studs, track, screws and tape, plus gypsum ceilings and soffits.
Send Momo your next concrete bid set
Bring an S-set you have already bid. We will run the full takeoff and estimate with you so you can check every cubic yard against numbers you trust.