Flooring and base takeoffs, counted twice.

A Countersheet flooring takeoff gives you the floor area of every room by finish code, measured to the door centerline, and the base LF net of door openings, for resilient tile, LVT, VCT, carpet tile and rubber or vinyl base. Every room is measured twice and tied to the sheet it came from. The report, an Excel workbook, a CSV and the marked finish plans come back within 48 hours of complete documents.

What a Countersheet flooring takeoff includes

A summary by condition, one row per finish code (LVT-1, CPT-2, RB-1 and so on): description, manufacturer and product, unit, net quantity, waste percent, attic stock, order quantity and buying unit (cartons or coils).

A room-by-room schedule:

Accessories: base by type and height, preformed corners where the spec calls for them, transitions by type, and stair treads by width with risers.

Rooms marked existing to remain are left out with the reason. Rooms with no floor finish shown are listed, never filled in. Casework is reported as its own deduct, so both areas are shown: with the casework footprint and without it. We follow the spec, and ask the GC when the spec is silent.

How we count it

1. Read the finish legend and schedule first. That gives the list of conditions. A code in the legend that never appears on the plans, or a code on the plans missing from the legend, is a question.
2. Read the specs for attic stock, installation method, layout rules, closets, casework and alternates.
3. Check the scale on every sheet against its own written dimensions.
4. Reconcile the rooms. Every room on the plans against every row in the finish schedule: in both, on the plan only, in the schedule only.
5. First count. Each room traced on the inner wall face, through door openings to the door centerline, around columns and chases.
6. Second count, by a different method. The architect's room area from the room tag, or the written dimensions; a room more than about 2% off is investigated. Each room's hatch is checked against the schedule, and each floor's total against the gross area on the code sheet.
7. Base, counted two ways. The perimeter of each traced room less the door widths from the door schedule, then separate line runs along the walls.
8. Transitions at every opening where two floor codes meet, counted in two separate passes.

What estimators often miss on flooring bids

• Closets and alcoves without room numbers. They usually take the finish of the room they open off, and many sets say so in a general note.
• Rooms with no finish tag. Janitor, electrical and IT rooms are often sealed concrete. We list them and ask, rather than invent flooring.
• Finish plan and finish schedule disagreeing. Each conflict is a question.
• Base not net of doors. Base stops at the jamb, so room perimeter overstates base in every room with a door.
• Base where it doesn't go. Walls with tile, integral cove, or casework the millwork sub bases. Columns, though, get base all around.
• Transitions that aren't drawn. Two hatches meeting at a door is a transition.
• Accent colors rounded with the field color. Each color is its own line. A small accent still needs whole cartons.
• Attic stock missed, or added twice. Real specs range from 2% to 10%. We add it once, per type and color.
• A room counted twice at a match line. One room, one outline.
• The wrong scale on one sheet. An enlarged plan at 1/4" measured as 1/8" is off by a factor of 4 in area.
• Carpet tile method. Waste changes with the method, and some owners forbid quarter turn.

What you get

• The report (PDF): the summary by condition, the room schedule, accessories, a spec summary (products, attic stock, layout rules, testing and prep responsibility), inclusions and exclusions, GC questions, the field-verify list and the quality check showing both counts.
• The workbook (Excel) and a CSV: every room and condition, a column for your field measure, waste you can change, totals as live formulas.
• The marked finish plans (PDF): rooms colored by condition, base and transitions marked.
• Scope language to paste into your proposal.

Net and order are kept apart. Net is the measured area. Order is net plus waste, plus attic stock, rounded up to full cartons. For carpet tile we use the manufacturer's waste for the installation method where it is published. Otherwise the waste is stated on the report as an assumption you can change. That matches how flooring is priced: material from the order quantity, labor from the net quantity. The flooring takeoff guide covers the method step by step, with published waste figures by method.

Price and turnaround

Per trade, by the pages we work from: the drawing sheets (finish plans, floor plans, schedules, details) plus the flooring 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

• Floor-prep quantities. No leveling, patching, grinding or moisture mitigation quantities: they can't be measured from drawings. The report lists what the spec requires for testing and prep, who carries it, and any allowance or unit price on the bid form.
• Ceramic and porcelain tile, broadloom seam layouts, sheet flooring with flash cove, and wood. These are not part of this takeoff.
• Neighboring trades: thresholds (08 71 00), stair nosings on metal pan stairs (05 51 00), entrance mats and grilles (12 48 00), sealed or polished concrete (03 35 00), abatement of old flooring (02 82 00), corner guards (10 26 00), elevator cab floors, and athletic or resinous flooring.
• Code-compliance review and site visits. Actual room dimensions, slab conditions and stair widths go on the field-verify list.

Frequently asked questions

Do you deduct casework from the floor area?

Casework is reported as its own deduct, so both areas are shown: each room with the casework footprint and without it. Many specs run the floor under casework, and we follow the spec. When the spec is silent, we ask the GC.

Do your quantities include waste?

Both net and order are given. Order adds waste, then attic stock from the spec, then rounds up to full cartons by color. Waste comes from the manufacturer where published, otherwise it is a stated assumption you can change.

Do you take off floor prep or moisture mitigation?

No. Leveling and mitigation quantities can't be known until the slab is tested. The report lists the spec's testing and prep requirements and who carries them, so they appear on your bid as an allowance, a unit price or an exclusion.

How do you handle closets and alcoves without room numbers?

We look for the general note or spec paragraph that covers them, which usually gives them the finish of the adjoining room. If nothing covers them, we use the adjoining finish, state it as an assumption and send it to the GC as a question.