Quantity takeoff services in New York, built for how contractors actually bid.

Estimating Buddies turns architectural, structural, MEP, and civil drawings into itemized, bid-ready quantities and construction cost estimates - for general contractors, subcontractors, builders, and developers working across New York City and New York State.

Takeoff Sheet - Rev 03

48'-0" × 36'-0"

Bid Ready
A1S2M4E1

Concrete - slab on grade

142 CY

Structural steel - tonnage

38.4 TN

Drywall - gyp. bd.

9,120 SF

Conduit - EMT

2,640 LF

48hr

Typical turnaround on standard takeoffs

CSI

Divisions organized, trade by trade

5

Boroughs plus statewide NY coverage

On this page

What We Offer

Estimating and takeoff services under one roof

Instead of juggling a separate vendor for every trade, most New York contractors run their quantity takeoff, material takeoff, and cost estimating work through one team that already knows their drawings.

01

Quantity takeoff services New York

Full building quantity takeoffs from architectural, structural, and site drawings - organized by CSI division so every trade can price directly from the sheet.

02

Material takeoff services New York

Trade-specific material lists for concrete, framing, drywall, roofing, flooring, and finishes, sized for ordering and procurement, not just budgeting.

03

Construction cost estimating New York

Quantities priced against current material, labor, and equipment rates to produce a working construction cost estimate you can carry into a bid.

04

Construction bid estimating New York

Bid-ready packages built to your due date - line items, unit pricing, and a summary sheet formatted the way your estimator already reviews a bid.

05

MEP estimating services New York

Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing quantities and pricing pulled independently or alongside the architectural package, including fire protection.

06

Subcontractor estimating New York

Scope-specific takeoffs sized to a single trade package, so a subcontractor can bid their portion without paying for a full-building estimate.

Who We Serve

Built around how each side of a New York project bids work

A general contractor, a specialty subcontractor, and a developer all need a takeoff for different reasons. We format the deliverable around the role, not just the drawing set.

GC

General contractors

Full-scope quantity takeoffs across every division so your estimator can build a complete bid without re-measuring a single sheet.

SC

Subcontractors

Trade-isolated takeoffs - concrete, electrical, drywall, mechanical, and more - priced and packaged for a single bid submission.

HB

Home builders

Material lists and cost estimates for custom homes, additions, and small multifamily projects, sized for lender packages and permit budgets.

RD

Real estate developers

Early construction cost estimates for feasibility and pro forma work, refined into a full takeoff as drawings move toward permit.

AE

Architects & engineers

Design-stage quantity checks that flag scope or cost issues before a set goes out to bid, without slowing your production schedule.

OS

Owners & suppliers

Independent quantity verification for owners comparing bids, and material lists for suppliers quoting a project directly from drawings.

Project Types

Takeoffs for the kind of work New York actually builds

Row houses, high-rise towers, transit infrastructure, and everything in between - the drawing set changes, so the takeoff approach has to change with it.

Residential construction

Single-family homes, custom builds, townhouses, brownstones, and co-op or condo renovations across the five boroughs and beyond.

Multifamily & apartment

Ground-up apartment buildings and multifamily conversions, with quantities broken out by unit type and shared common areas.

Commercial buildings

Office, retail, hospitality, and mixed-use projects, including tenant improvement and interior fit-out scopes.

High-rise construction

Structural, façade, curtain wall, and MEP quantities for towers where a measurement error carries real cost at scale.

Industrial & warehouse

Distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, and cold storage buildings, with an emphasis on structural steel and site utilities.

Civil & infrastructure

Roadway, utility, drainage, and public works quantities for municipal, MTA-adjacent, and site development projects.

Renovation & restoration

Occupied-building renovations, façade restoration, landmark work, and Local Law 11 repair scopes that need careful phasing.

Institutional & public

Schools, municipal buildings, and public works projects, including SCA and prevailing-wage bid packages.

Tenant improvement

Interior build-outs and fit-outs where the shell is already standing and the takeoff is almost entirely finishes and MEP.

What's Included

What actually shows up in the estimate

A takeoff is only useful if it matches how your team bids. Here's what we build into every quantity takeoff and cost estimate, regardless of project size.

01

Quantities broken out by CSI MasterFormat division and sub-item

02

Material takeoff quantities in the unit each trade actually orders in - square feet, linear feet, cubic yards, tons, or count

03

Labor and material waste factors applied where the trade and material call for them

04

Scope notes, assumptions, and exclusions attached to each line item

05

Marked-up, color-coded drawings showing exactly where each quantity was measured

06

A takeoff spreadsheet in Excel format, plus a PDF summary sheet

07

Unit pricing and extended totals when a full cost estimate is requested

08

Version tracking so revised drawings and addenda are reflected without starting over

Sample Estimate

What a takeoff sheet looks like before it reaches your desk

A shortened excerpt from a typical residential quantity takeoff - the full deliverable runs one sheet per CSI division.

Project: 4-Unit Townhouse - Queens, NY

DOC EB-TK-0114

Excel + PDF

03 30 00

Cast-in-place concrete, foundation walls

96.5

CY

04 20 00

CMU block, party walls

2,180

SF

06 10 00

Wood framing, roof and floor

18,400

BF

07 50 00

Membrane roofing, TPO

2,950

SF

09 29 00

Gypsum board, interior partitions

11,760

SF

22 10 00

Domestic water piping, copper

640

LF

26 05 00

Electrical conduit and wire, EMT

3,120

LF

Full deliverable includes 14 CSI divisions, marked-up drawing set, and Excel workbook.

How the Process Works

From uploaded drawings to a bid-ready number

The same six steps run whether you're sending a single-trade scope or a full architectural set.

01

Send your plans

Upload PDF drawings, CAD files, or a BIM model along with the trades or divisions you need measured and your bid deadline.

02

Scope confirmation

We confirm which drawings, revisions, and specification sections apply before any measuring starts, so nothing gets missed at handoff.

03

Digital takeoff

An estimator measures the set division by division using on-screen takeoff software, cross-checking architectural, structural, and MEP sheets against each other.

04

Internal quality check

A second estimator reviews the quantities against the marked-up drawings before pricing is applied or the sheet is finalized.

05

Delivery

You receive the Excel takeoff, PDF summary, and marked-up drawings, formatted the way your team already reviews a bid.

06

Revisions, at no extra step

If drawings change or an addendum is issued before your bid date, we update the affected quantities rather than starting the takeoff over.

Software & Pricing Sources

The tools behind the numbers

Every takeoff is measured digitally and cross-referenced against current market pricing, not a flat rate table from last year.

On-Screen TakeoffPlanSwiftBluebeam RevuTrimble / BIM

Regional material pricing

Material costs are checked against current New York-area supplier and distributor pricing rather than national averages.

Local labor rates

Labor is priced using New York labor conditions, including prevailing-wage considerations for public and municipal work.

Recent bid history

Where available, recent comparable bid data is used to sanity-check unit pricing before it's handed back to you.

Manufacturer & supplier quotes

For specified products and equipment, we reference manufacturer data and supplier quotes rather than generic placeholders.

Accuracy & Quality Control

How a takeoff gets checked before it reaches you

A missed quantity on a bid day costs real money. Every deliverable runs through the same four-step check before it ships.

Check 01

Drawing cross-reference

Architectural, structural, and MEP sheets are cross-checked against each other for conflicting dimensions or scope gaps.

Check 02

Independent re-measure

A second estimator re-measures a sample of line items independently and compares results against the original takeoff.

Check 03

Unit & total logic review

Units of measure and extended totals are reviewed for consistency, so a linear-foot item isn't accidentally carried as square feet.

Check 04

Final sign-off

A lead estimator signs off on the completed sheet before it's packaged and delivered, with assumptions and exclusions documented.

Why Contractors Choose Us

Reasons New York contractors keep sending us their drawings

Estimators who read New York drawings daily

Our team works exclusively on takeoffs and cost estimates, with a working knowledge of NYC DOB drawing conventions, CSI formatting, and how local trades actually bid.

Every quantity is checked twice

A second estimator reviews line items against the marked-up drawing before delivery - no sheet goes out on a single pass.

Deadlines are treated as fixed

If we take on your bid date, we build the schedule backward from it, including time for a revision if addenda land late.

You get the drawing, not just the number

Every takeoff ships with the marked-up, color-coded sheet it came from, so your team can verify or reuse the measurement directly.

Scoped to fit the bid, not oversold

A subcontractor bidding one trade gets a trade-specific takeoff - you're not paying for a full-building estimate you don't need.

Format matches how you already work

Excel, PDF, CSI-organized, or matched to your existing bid template - the deliverable fits into your process instead of creating a new one.

Service Area

Quantity takeoff services across New York State

Every takeoff is delivered digitally, so distance from our office never affects turnaround - from Manhattan high-rises to upstate industrial builds.

New York City

ManhattanBrooklynQueensThe BronxStaten Island

Long Island

Nassau CountySuffolk CountyHempsteadHuntingtonRiverhead

Hudson Valley & Westchester

Westchester CountyYonkersWhite PlainsPoughkeepsieNewburgh

Upstate New York

BuffaloRochesterAlbanySyracuseIthaca

Building Code Awareness

Takeoffs that account for New York's own rules

New York construction runs on a distinct set of local requirements. We factor the relevant ones into scope notes so quantities aren't measured in a vacuum.

DOB

NYC Department of Buildings requirements

Drawing sets and quantities are reviewed with DOB filing conventions in mind, particularly for occupancy and egress-driven scope.

LL11

Local Law 11 (FISP) façade work

Façade repair and inspection-driven scopes are quantified with the phased, floor-by-floor approach these projects typically require.

LL97

Local Law 97 retrofit scope

Energy retrofit and electrification quantities are broken out separately where a building is pursuing Local Law 97 compliance work.

NYCECC

NYC Energy Conservation Code

Insulation, glazing, and mechanical quantities reflect current NYCECC requirements rather than a generic national baseline.

ADA

ADA and accessibility scope

Accessible route, fixture, and clearance requirements are called out explicitly in renovation and alteration takeoffs.

WAGE

Prevailing wage & public works

Labor pricing on municipal, SCA, and other public works projects is built around prevailing-wage requirements, not private-market rates.

Cost of a Quantity Takeoff

What actually moves the price of an estimate

There's no single flat rate for a construction quantity takeoff - cost depends on scope and timeline more than square footage alone. These are the factors that set the price on a quote.

01

Project size & complexity

A single-family renovation prices differently than a high-rise with a full structural and MEP package.

02

Number of trades included

A full-building takeoff across every CSI division costs more than a single trade-specific scope.

03

Drawing completeness

Incomplete or design-development drawings take longer to measure than an issued-for-bid set.

04

Turnaround time

Same-day or 24-hour turnaround on a tight bid date costs more than a standard multi-day schedule.

05

Level of detail requested

A line-item, itemized takeoff with waste factors and unit pricing takes more time than a rough conceptual quantity.

06

Revisions & addenda

Projects with multiple drawing revisions before bid day are scoped to include the extra passes needed to keep quantities current.

Because of these variables, we quote every project individually after a short review of your drawings and bid date, rather than publishing a flat per-square-foot rate that wouldn't hold up across project types.

Send Us Your Plans

Request a takeoff quote

Upload your drawings and we'll return a firm, no-obligation quote before any work begins - there's no cost to find out what your New York project would run.

  • 48-hour typical turnaround on standard takeoffs
  • CSI-organized Excel workbook with drawing markups
  • Works from PDF, CAD, or a BIM model
  • Revision updates before the bid date

Frequently asked questions

Questions we hear most from New York contractors

A completed takeoff includes itemized quantities organized by CSI division, the unit of measure each trade uses, marked-up drawings showing where each quantity was measured, and a written note of any assumptions or exclusions. If a cost estimate is requested, unit pricing and extended totals are added on top of the raw quantities.

Cost depends on project size, the number of trades included, drawing completeness, and turnaround time. A single-trade takeoff on a small renovation costs far less than a full-building estimate on a high-rise. We provide a fixed quote after reviewing your drawings rather than charging a generic per-square-foot rate.