Window film takeoffs, counted twice.

A Countersheet window film takeoff measures the daylight opening (DLO) of every lite in scope, the visible glass between the stops, and totals it in SF by film product and side. You also get attachment LF, the lites too large for one roll, and the lites whose glass needs the film manufacturer's review, each tied to the sheet it came from. It comes back within 48 hours of complete documents as a report, a workbook, a CSV and marked sheets.

What a Countersheet window film takeoff includes

One row per lite:

Totals: SF by film and side, attachment LF, lites, splices, SF of old film to remove, and decorative graphics by count. A glass sheet lists each glass type once with the inputs the manufacturer's glass checklist asks for.

How we count it

1. Read 08 87 00 (or the owner's scope letter) and Division 01: product, which glass and side, attachment, removal, warranty, work hours, and whether film is base bid or an alternate.
2. Read the glass makeup of every glass type from the glazing schedule, door types and details. Without it, every lite goes on the field-verify list for the glass check.
3. Check the scale of every elevation we measure against its own written dimensions.
4. First count: the lite list. Every lite in the rooms or elevations the scope names, from the exterior elevations, enlarged elevations and door types.
5. Second count, by a different method. A text search of the tags, or the elevations against the plan tags, and the SF recomputed by type and count. Every difference is explained.
6. DLO per lite from written dimensions and the frame system's sightlines, or from the details. Door lites and sidelites come from the door elevation, less stiles and rails.
7. Flags, splices, attachment and removal, then the questions and the field-verify list.

The glass flags are guidance. The film manufacturer's own checklist decides what is warranted, and we never state compatibility as a warranty.

What estimators often miss on window film bids

• Frame size instead of DLO. The window schedule gives frame sizes. Billing film on them overstates the SF by about 6% on a large storefront lite and by much more on door lites and sidelites. The window film takeoff guide works the numbers.
• Rounded sizes. Installers who price on rounded-up sizes need that number too, so the workbook shows billing SF beside exact SF.
• Two films on one lite. A school security-film bid can ask for an interior film and an exterior film on the same glass: two SF lines for one lite.
• Attachment LF. Security film often requires attachment to the frame, priced per LF and per side. A security lite with no attachment LF is a gap in the bid.
• Splices. A lite needs a splice only when both dimensions exceed the widest roll. Large storefront lites are the usual case, and some manufacturers will not warrant spliced film.
• Glass the film charts rule out. Large, thick, tinted or laminated annealed glass can be off the chart for solar control film. Each lite that hits a published limit is flagged for the manufacturer's review.
• Shading near the glass. Overhangs, fins and interior shades close to the glass add thermal stress. We record orientation and the shading the drawings show.
• Partial coverage. Decorative bands and logos are partial applications, which some manufacturers exclude from glass-breakage coverage. We flag them.
• Existing conditions. Old film to strip, graphics to reinstall, screens to take down: each is scope.

What you get

• The report (PDF): totals by film and side, the lite schedule with sources, the glass sheet, inclusions and exclusions, GC questions, the field-verify list and the quality check.
• The workbook (Excel): every lite with exact SF, billing SF, field-measure columns and live totals.
• A CSV of the lite schedule.
• The marked sheets (PDF): every lite marked on the elevations.
• Scope language to paste into your proposal.

It lines up with how film is priced: SF times your price per film and side, attachment LF times its price, removal SF, then your minimum, lift days and mobilization. Public bid forms often give no quantities, so the takeoff replaces a guess with measured SF. Roll layouts and yield are left to you; the lite schedule gives every DLO you need to run them.

Price and turnaround

Per trade, by the pages we work from: drawing sheets plus the trade's 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. Send the bid set.

What's not included

• Glass and glazing (08 80 00), glass replacement, and film applied at the factory to new glass.
• Window shades and blinds, their own window covering takeoff.
• Moving furniture, blinds and sills (usually the owner's) and the GC's final clean.
• Testing glass on site: tempered marks, low-e surface, IGU seals and frame condition go on the field-verify list.
• Retrofit work with no drawings, which is a field-measure job.
• Any description of film as hurricane, windstorm or impact protection. In Florida, film may not be marketed that way.
• Code-compliance review, including safety-glazing locations.

Frequently asked questions

Why does a window film takeoff use the daylight opening instead of the frame size?

Film covers only the visible glass between the stops, so the daylight opening is the honest billing area. Frame sizes overstate it by about 6% on a large storefront lite and by much more on small door lites and sidelites. The workbook also shows billing SF by your rounding rule.

Do you need a glazing schedule for a film takeoff?

It helps a great deal. It says whether each glass is annealed or tempered, insulating or monolithic, and where the low-e coating is, which is what film manufacturers' limits depend on. Without it, the SF are still counted and every lite goes on the field-verify list.

Can you take off window film on an existing building with no drawings?

No. Film on a building with no drawings is a field-measure job. On renovation sets we work from the drawings and mark DLOs for field verification, because drawings of existing buildings can drift from what was built.

Does the takeoff tell me whether a film is safe on a given glass?

It flags the lites that hit a published trigger, such as IWFA's size limits for annealed glass, for the manufacturer's review. The film manufacturer's own checklist decides what is warranted. We never state compatibility as a warranty.