Kotelys
Take-off guides, written for the trade.
The method, the units, bill conventions and a worked example, item by item. For quantity surveyors, estimators and contractors, with their sources. They follow French practice.
The guides
Method
- Measuring an area on a PDF drawingChecked scale, outline, L-shaped rooms, voids, perimeter: measuring accurately on a PDF, with a worked example.
- The scale of a drawing1:50, 1:100, conversions, scale bar, calibration on a dimension, reduced PDF: reading and checking a scale.
- How to do a take-offPreliminary take-off, documents, step-by-step method, units, checks: an accurate take-off for any trade.
- Take-off calculationsWhat take-off calculations must contain, how to set them out in columns, rounding, and a worked model.
- Take-off from a scanned drawingPaper drawing, archives, photo, JPG: digitising, setting the scale, checking for distortion, with a worked example.
- Take-off glossaryAbout sixty French take-off terms explained simply: contract documents, units, measuring, deductions, items.
Compare and choose
- Choosing PDF take-off softwareEight criteria to check during a trial: scale, deductions, take-off calculations, Excel, price, data.
- PDF take-off without AutoCADMeasuring the PDF you received with no DWG or drafting software, and knowing when drafting is still needed.
- Take-off in Excel or take-off software?What Excel does well, what it cannot see, where mistakes come from, and when a spreadsheet is enough.
- Paper take-off or PDF take-offScale rule and highlighter or screen: what paper keeps, what the PDF brings, how to move from one to the other.
- QuoterPlan alternativeThe criteria to compare in the same order, what Kotelys does, what it does not, and a test to run yourself.
Take-off
- Partition and lining take-offPlasterboard partitions, linings and suspended ceilings: heights, openings, worked example.
- Roof take-offSlopes, ridges, verges, hips and valleys: the pitch factor explained, with a worked example.
- Elevation take-offCladding, render, external insulation: wall area, openings, voids not deducted, reveals, worked example.
- Painting take-offWalls, ceilings, woodwork: ceiling height, openings and reveals, developed area, worked example.
- Tiling and flooring take-offFloors, wall tiling, skirting: area per room, deductions, tiling height, waste, worked example.
- Structural work take-offFootings, ground beams, walls, slabs and blockwork: units, junction rules, concrete volumes, worked example.
- Electrical take-offSockets, light points, emergency lighting, RJ45 and cable trays: count, measure, organise by room, worked example.
- External works take-offStripping, earthworks, pavements, kerbs, drainage and manholes: units, bulking, trenches, a car park example.
What Kotelys measures in each trade: the trade pages.
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