Building Take-off - Written EstimatesDesign and Architectural Home Estimate Building Take-Off Costs Design and architectural area where home estimate building take-off costs may be reduced somewhat is during the design stages. However, such details should not affect the architectural lines or appearance of the house, but rather the room arrangement and other factors. The following design elements might be considered before final plans are chosen. Click here to view a modified sample estimate. The size of the house or project, width and length, should be such that standard length joists and rafters and standard spacing can be used without wasting material.
Also reflected in the house size is the use of standard width sheets of sheathing materials on the exterior as well as in the interior. Any waste or ripping required ads to both the labor and material costs.
The rooms should be arranged so that the plumbing, water, and heating lines are short and risers can serve more than one room. An "expandable" house may mean the use of a steeper pitched roof to provide space for future rooms in the attic area. It might also be desirable to include second floor dormers in the original design of the home building take-off . Additional rooms can thus be provided at a much lower cost than by adding to the side or rear of the house at a future date. Roughing in plumbing and heating lines to the second floor will also reduce future costs when the second floor is completed, yet not add appreciably to the original construction costs. While a rectangular plan is the most economical from many standpoints, it should not always govern final design. A rectangular plan of the house proper, with a full or crawl basement, can be made more desirable by a garage or porch wing of a different size or alignment. Such attachments require only shallow footings, with out the excavation necessary for basement areas. The type of foundation to be used, such as slab, crawl space, or basement, is an important consideration. Base this selection on climatic conditions and needs of the family for storage, hobby, or recreational space. While space in the basement is not as desirable as in areas above grade, its cubic-foot cost is a great deal lower. The design of a slab type house usually includes some additional space for heating, laundry, and storage. This extra area may often cost as much as a full basement. Many multilevel houses include habitable rooms over concrete slabs as well as a full basement. Many contemporary house designs include a flat or low pitched truss roof which allows one type of member to serve as both ceiling joists and rafters. This generally reduces the cost of building take-off compared to that of a pitched roof, both in materials and labor. However, all styles of houses are not adaptable to such a roof. Many contractors incur savings by using preassembled roof trusses for pitched roofs.
Dealers who handle large quantities of lumber are usually equipped to furnish trusses of this type. Pitched roofs are of gable or hip design, with the gambrel roof a variation of each. While the hip roof is somewhat more difficult to frame than the gable roof, it usually requires less trim and siding.
Furthermore, painting is much simpler in the hip roof because of less wall area by elimination of the gable and because of accessibility. In the gambrel roof, which is adapted to two-story houses, roof shingles serve also as siding over the steep pitched portions. Choice of Building Take-Off Materials The type and grade of materials used in a house can vary greatly and savings home building take-off can be affected in their choice. It is poor practice to use a low grade or an inferior material which could later result in excessive maintenance costs. On the other hand, it is not economical to use a material of too high a grade when not needed for strength or appearance. Click here to view a modified sample material or building take-off estimate. 1. Consider the use of concrete blocks for foundation walls as opposed to the use of poured concrete. It is less costly to provide a good water-resistant surface on a poured wall than on a block wall. On the other hand, a common hollow concrete block has better insulating properties than a poured concrete wall of equal thickness. Costs often vary by areas. 2. If precast blocks are available, consider them for chimneys. These blocks are made to take flue linings of varied sizes and are laid up more rapidly than brick. Concrete block units are also used in laying up the base for a first floor fireplace, rather than bricks. Prefabricated, lightweight chimneys that require no masonry may also save money.
3. Dimension material varies somewhat in cost by species and grades. Use the better grades for joists and rafters and the lower cost grades for studs. Do not use better grades of lumber than are actually needed. Conversely, grades that involve excessive cutting and selection would dissipate the saving by increased labor costs. Proper moisture content is an important factor. 4. Conventional items such as cabinets, moldings, windows, and other millwork, which are carried as stock or can be easily ordered, also reduce costs. Any special, nonstandard materials which require extra machine setups will be much more expensive. This need not restrict the homebuilder in his design, however, as there are numerous home estimate building take-off choices of millwork components from many manufacturers. 5. The use of a single material for wall and floor covering will provide a substantial saving. A combination subfloor underlayment of 5/8 or 3/4 inch tongued and grooved plywood will serve both as sub-floor and as a base for resilient tile or similar material, as well as for carpeting. Panel siding consisting of 4-foot-wide full height sheets of plywood or similar material serves both as sheathing and a finish siding. Exterior siding with a painted finish and corner bracing on the stud wall may also qualify as a panel siding. Plywood may be obtained with a paper overlay, as well as rough sawn, striated, reverse board and batten, brushed, and other finishes.
6. In planning a truly low cost estimate building take-off where each dollar is important, a crawl space design with the use of a treated wood post foundation is worth investigating. This construction utilizes treated wood foundation posts bearing on concrete footings. The post support floor beams upon which the floor joists rest. A variation of this design includes spacing of the beams on 48 inch centers and the use of 1-1/8 inch thick tongue and groove plywood eliminating the need for joists as such. 7. Home estimate building take-off costs of exterior siding or other finish materials often vary a great deal. Many factory primed sidings are available which require only finish coats after they are applied. A rough sawn low grade cedar or similar species in board and batten pattern with a stained finish will often reduce the overall cost of exterior coverings. Many species and textures of plywood are available for the exterior. When these sheet materials are of the proper thickness and application, they might also serve as sheathing. Paint ability of species is also important. Edge grained boards or paper overlaid plywood provide good bases for paint. In applying all exterior siding and trim, galvanized or other rust resistant nails reduce the need for frequent treatment or refinishing. Stainless steel or aluminum nails on siding having a natural finish are a must. Corrosion resistant nails will add slightly to the cost but will save many dollars in reduced maintenance costs in home take-off materials. 8. Interior coverage also deserves consideration. While gypsum board drywall construction may be lower in cost per square foot, it requires decorating before it can be considered complete; plaster walls do not require immediate decorating. These costs vary by areas, depending largely on the availability of the various trades. 9. There are many home building take-off costs related considerations in the choice of flooring, trim, and other interior finish. Areas which will be fully carpeted do not require a finish floor. However, there is a trend to provide a finish floor under the carpeting. The replacement cost of the carpeting may be substantially greater than the cost of the original finish floor.
Species of trim, jambs, and other interior moldings vary from relatively low cost softwood to the higher cost hardwoods such as oak or birch. Softwoods are ordinarily painted, while the hardwoods have a natural finish or are lightly stained. The softwoods, though lower in cost, are less resistant to blows and impacts. Another consideration is the selection of panel and flush doors. Flush doors can be obtained in a number of species and grades. Unselected gum, for example, might have a paint finish while the more costly woods are best finished with a varnish or sealer. Hollow core flush doors are lower in cost and, are satisfactory for interior use, but exterior flush doors should be solid core and insulated to better resist weather. The standard exterior panel door can be selected for many styles of architecture. If we could be of service to you for writing an building take-off estimate Contact us with your questions for residential, disaster and insurance related projects. All estimate " Price Quotes" will depend on the size and detailed information that is provided by the customer for each room or project.
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