Steel estimating · Quantity takeoffs
Steel takeoffs and estimates your bid can stand on.
Steelest prepares structural and miscellaneous steel takeoffs, detailing hour estimates and bid quantities from your contract drawings. AISC or Eurocode, imperial or metric. Every element is marked on the drawing, so you can check the count before you price it.
AISC · EUROCODE 3 · EN 1090 · IMPERIAL & METRIC
| Subject | Qty | Taken from |
|---|---|---|
| Columns, with anchor bolts | 48 | Column schedule, foundation plan |
| Beams, repetitive | 113 | Framing plans, level 2 to roof |
| Beams, medium | 37 | Girders, perimeter, continuous |
| Braces | 24 | Bracing elevations, X = 3 pcs |
| Roof frames | 6 | Mechanical roof plan, RTUs |
| Lintels and bollards | 9 | Door schedule, site plan |
| Markers on the drawings | 237 | One marker per element, checked |
Illustrative takeoff summary. Every line is traceable to a marker on the PDF.
Standards
AISC and Eurocode practice, your section tables
Units
Imperial or metric, in your bid sheet format
Deliverables
Excel workbook plus marked-up PDFs with a legend
Time zone
CET (UTC+1): our working day starts before yours
01 / Services
What we count, and what you get back.
One method for every package: counted element by element from the structural set, classified by complexity, checked against the drawing and delivered in your own format.
Structural steel takeoffs
Piece counts, lengths and tonnage by section, size and grade: columns, beams, braces, roof frames and anchor bolts from framing plans, elevations and schedules.
Read more →COUNTS · LENGTHS · TONNAGEDetailing hour estimates
Member-by-member counts classified by connection complexity, unit times applied, secondary steel, checking and erection sheets factored in: the hours behind a detailing quote you can defend.
Read more →HOURS BY SUBJECT · YOUR RATESMiscellaneous metals takeoffs
Stairs, handrails, ladders, platforms, lintels, bollards, embeds and canopies, listed item by item from the architectural and structural sets.
Read more →STAIRS · RAILS · LINTELS · EMBEDSRevision and change-order quantities
Delta takeoffs between the bid set, addenda and issued-for-construction drawings, so you know exactly what grew, what shrank and what moved.
BID SET VS IFC · ADDENDAMarked-up drawings you can audit
Every counted element carries a Bluebeam marker with its ID, section and location. A legend with per-subject counters ships with the PDFs.
BLUEBEAM REVU · LEGEND · COUNTERSOverflow estimating support
Bid-day help when your estimating desk is full: takeoffs and quantity schedules in your templates, ready to drop into your proposal.
YOUR TEMPLATES · YOUR CATEGORIES02 / Standards
Counted to the practice your drawings follow.
Imperial and metric packages pass through the same desk every week. Section designations, grades and bolt sizes stay exactly as your drawings show them.
AISC · Imperial units
AISC-practice takeoffs in feet, inches and pounds
- W, HSS, C, L, WT and pipe sections, with weights from the AISC shapes tables and tonnage in tons
- Anchor rods, base plates and embeds from the column schedule and foundation plan
- Bar joists and deck kept separate from fabricated tonnage
- Quantities laid out in your bid sheet, by sequence or by level
Eurocode · Metric units
Eurocode-practice takeoffs in metres and kilograms
- IPE, HEA/HEB/HEM, UB/UC, PFC, SHS/RHS/CHS and plate, with weights from the relevant section tables
- Steel grades (S275, S355) and execution class carried into the quantity schedule
- Purlins, side rails and cold-formed items listed separately where supplied by others
- Quantities laid out as a bill of quantities, by phase or by level
03 / Process
From drawings to a checked takeoff in five steps.
01
Send the drawings
The structural set as a minimum. Architectural and mechanical sheets help with lintels, bollards, stairs and roof openings. PDF, DWG or a link to your project portal.
02
Scope and quote
You get a quote and a delivery date before anything is counted, with the scope spelled out: what is in, what is out, which units and which format.
03
Takeoff in Bluebeam
Every member gets a marker with its ID, section and location. Columns, beams, braces and roof frames are counted plan by plan and elevation by elevation, never copied from a previous job.
04
Check
Every framing line has a marker and every marker sits on a framing line. Workbook totals are reconciled against the marker counts before anything leaves.
05
Delivery
The workbook in your format, the marked-up PDFs with a legend and counters, and a short list of questions for the engineer where the drawings don’t add up.
04 / Why Steelest
A number you can audit, not just a number.
A takeoff is only as good as the count behind it. Steelest delivers the count, the markers and the assumptions together, so your estimator can check any line in minutes.
- Counted from the drawings of this project, never carried over from a similar one
- Your spreadsheet, your categories, your unit rates: nothing to re-enter
- The same method on every package, so estimates are comparable across bids
- Drawings stay confidential; we are happy to sign your NDA before opening the first file
| Deliverable | What it contains |
|---|---|
| Workbook | Quantities or hours by subject, section, grade and level, with remarks. Your template or ours, in Excel or ODS. |
| Marked-up PDFs | Bluebeam markers on every counted element (ID, section, location), colour legend and per-subject counters. |
| Takeoff summary | Totals per subject, element list with IDs, and a comparison with a reference project of yours if you provide one. |
| Questions for the engineer | Anything that could not be read with confidence or that conflicts between sheets, listed instead of guessed. |
What arrives with every package.
05 / Questions
What estimators ask before the first package.
What do you need to start a steel takeoff?
The structural drawings: framing plans, elevations, sections and schedules. For miscellaneous metals and roof frames, the architectural and mechanical sets as well. Specifications help with grades and finishes but are not essential for a first count.
Do you work in imperial and metric?
Yes. Imperial packages follow AISC practice, metric packages follow Eurocode practice, and section designations are kept exactly as the drawings show them.
What format do the results come in?
An Excel or ODS workbook, the marked-up PDFs with a legend, and a short list of open questions. If you send your own estimating template, the numbers go straight into it.
How is a takeoff priced?
Each package is quoted up front, based on the drawing set and the scope you need counted. You know the price and the delivery date before the work starts.
Can I check the count myself?
That is the point of the markers. Open the PDF in Bluebeam, filter the markups by subject, and every count in the workbook is there on the drawing with its ID and location.
Do you also do steel detailing?
No. Steelest is an estimating service: takeoffs, quantities and detailing hour estimates. Your detailer, in-house or external, gets a clean starting point.
Request a quote
Bid due? Send the drawings.
Email the structural set with your deadline. You get a quote and a delivery date before anything is counted.