Acoustical ceilings takeoffs, counted twice.

A Countersheet acoustical ceiling takeoff gives you the ACT area by ceiling type and height, room by room from the reflected ceiling plan, with every ceiling height in one table and its source beside it. Rooms the drawings give no height for are flagged for field verify, never assumed at 9'-0". You get the report, an Excel workbook, a CSV and the marked RCPs within 48 hours of complete documents.

What a Countersheet acoustical ceiling takeoff includes

The core is a ceiling schedule with one row per room or ceiling area:

Totals by type follow: SF by height band, perimeter LF for wall angle, and the spec's attic stock as its own line. Panels and grid are reported as the product, the grid type and the SF each covers. Carton counts and grid components (mains, tees, hanger wires) are not part of the package, so you can apply your own supplier's carton sizes and layout. Specialty ceilings (clouds, baffles, linear metal, wood) are listed by SF, LF or each, with sizes. Gypsum ceilings, soffits and open areas are labeled, so every square foot of ceiling sits in exactly one place.

How we count it

1. Inventory the ceiling types from the RCP legend and spec, and check the scale of every sheet against its own written dimensions.
2. Set a height for every room. The RCP height tag first, then the room finish schedule, then the sections. No height anywhere means field verify and a GC question.
3. Get the plenum depth from the sections. It sets hanger wire length.
4. First count. Each room's ceiling traced per type and height, less columns, bulkheads, clouds and openings to above. ACT stops at a to-deck partition and at any soffit drywall builds.
5. Second count, by a different method. Written room dimensions or the architect's room areas, and a ceiling ledger: ACT plus gypsum ceilings plus exposed areas should equal the floor area of the level, less partitions and shafts. Fixtures are counted by a symbol sweep and by hand.
6. Explain every difference before the number goes out.

What estimators often miss on acoustical ceiling bids

• Height sets the price. The same 2x2 ceiling at 9' in an office and 25' up in an atrium price differently: wire, lifts and seismic all change.
• A 9'-0" ceiling assumed where the RCP has no tag. Wrong wire, wrong lift, wrong bid.
• ACT run across a to-deck partition or a drywall soffit. The area comes out high.
• One total for every color. Cartons round per type and color, so the SF is reported per type, never as one ceiling total.
• Seismic. It follows the Seismic Design Category, not the state. We read the category from the structural general notes and list the areas large enough to trigger bracing or separation joints. The acoustical ceiling takeoff guide lists what categories D to F require.
• Fixture support wires and trapezes. Fixtures need support wires by weight, and large ducts block the 4' hanger spacing. Who carries them is often argued between ceiling and electrical subs.
• Attic stock. It is real material, per type and color, and it comes from the spec's extra materials paragraph.
• The grid starting line. When the RCP shows one, the borders are set by the architect, not by balancing.
• Border panels. Tegular and reveal edges take longer to cut than square edge.
• Rated ceilings. A ceiling in a rated floor/ceiling or roof/ceiling assembly needs rated grid and panels, and hold-down clips where the design says.
• Acoustical sealant behind moldings, a small cost that many specs require.

What you get

• The report (PDF): totals by type and height band, the ceiling schedule, the height table with its basis, a spec summary (products, grid, seismic, moldings, clips, extra materials), inclusions and exclusions, GC questions, the field-verify list and the quality check showing both counts.
• The workbook (Excel) and a CSV: every room on its own row, with columns for your field measure and totals as live formulas.
• The marked RCPs (PDF): every area colored by ceiling type, ready for Bluebeam or Acrobat.
• Scope language to paste into your proposal.

ACT is usually priced per SF by ceiling type and height band, with adders for seismic, borders and cuts, clouds priced each, and lifts above set heights. The workbook is grouped the same way, so your unit prices drop straight in.

Price and turnaround

Per trade, by the pages we work from: the drawing sheets (RCPs, plans, sections, details) plus the ceiling spec pages.

Your first takeoff is free: one trade, a set under 25 pages. Plans run $449 a month for 3 takeoffs, $799 for 6 and $1,499 for 12 (pricing). We confirm the fee by email before work starts; you pay by card or bank through Stripe. The package is back 48 hours from complete documents, faster on request when we can, and revisions are free until bid day, plus one addendum.

What's not included

• Drywall ceilings, soffits, bulkheads and drywall grid. We locate them so the ACT areas stop at them, but we don't take them off.
• Sprinkler heads and their seismic rings (fire protection).
• Light fixtures themselves (Division 26). We count them only so you can carry support wires.
• Ceiling access doors, usually furnished by the MEP trades.
• Seismic bracing design. When the spec makes it a delegated design, we flag the engineer's stamp as a cost.
• Painting of exposed structure and ceilings.
• Code-compliance review and site visits. Rated assemblies and seismic requirements are read from the documents; anything unclear goes to the GC as a question.

Frequently asked questions

Do you assume a ceiling height when the RCP doesn't show one?

No. We look for the height on the RCP, then the room finish schedule, then the sections. If none gives it, the room goes on the field-verify list and becomes a GC question, with its area still measured.

Do you give tile cartons or only square feet?

Square feet, by ceiling type and height band, with the perimeter LF and the spec's attic stock as separate lines. Carton counts and grid component counts are not in the package. The workbook lists the product and SF for each type, so you can apply your supplier's carton size.

Do you cover seismic ceiling requirements?

We read the Seismic Design Category from the structural general notes and list what it triggers for the ceiling, including the areas large enough for bracing or separation joints. Whether bracing is a delegated design, and who pays the engineer, goes to the GC as a question.

Can you take off the drywall ceilings and soffits too?

No. Drywall isn't one of our trades. We mark gypsum ceilings, soffits and bulkheads and stop the ACT areas at them, so your numbers and the drywall sub's never overlap.