Schwehr Projects · Services · 01 · Takeoffs

Quantity takeoff services for heavy civil, earthworks and utility contractors.

Earthworks, roadworks, underground utilities and subdivision servicing, measured from your drawing set and delivered as an Excel workbook where every line names the drawing, the station or structure, and the quantity. Fixed fee per set, agreed before work starts, from Edmonton for contractors across Alberta and BC.

Get a fixed quote on a drawing set See what a takeoff line looks like

What gets measured

Earthworks to final lift, in the units your bid form asks for.

Earthworks and grading

Topsoil strip and stockpile, by area and depth
Common excavation and embankment, cut and fill balanced by station from the cross sections
Shrink and swell applied on their own column, never buried in the quantity
Unsuitable excavation and replacement, ditching, slope rounding, riprap and erosion control
Haul analysis: mass haul and average haul distance when the bid form or your fleet pricing needs it

Roadworks and surfacing

Subgrade preparation and proof roll areas
Granular sub-base and base by lift, in cubic metres or tonnes at your density
Asphalt by lift and mix type, with tack and prime coat areas
Curb and gutter, sidewalk, medians and islands
Pavement markings, signage and guardrail by length

Drainage and underground utilities

CSP and concrete culverts with end treatments, bedding and backfill
Storm and sanitary pipe by diameter and depth range, manholes and catch basins
Water main, valves, hydrants and service connections
Trench excavation, bedding and backfill volumes derived from pipe depth and trench width

Structures and site works

Footings, walls, slabs and headwalls, with formwork contact area
Reinforcing by weight where the bar schedule allows
Fencing, gates, landscaping and reclamation areas
Lump-sum items broken into measurable parts so they can be priced, not guessed

What you get

Inputs, takeoff, assumptions and the drawings reviewed, in one workbook.

Every dimension taken from a drawing sits in an inputs block with its sheet and note quoted, and the takeoff lines are formulas on those inputs. Each line carries the item, the location as a station range or structure, the basis of the quantity and the source, in the same order as your bid form or proposal sections.

An assumptions sheet lists every question the drawings left open and what it does to the quantity, ready to send as RFIs. A drawings-reviewed sheet records what was in the package, what governs and what is superseded, which is how a stale concept sketch gets caught before it is priced.

Sample storm sewer takeoff · Subdivision phase, one runIllustrative figures

Ref	Item	Location	Qty	Unit
C-401	Storm sewer, 600 mm concrete, 2.0 to 3.0 m depth	MH 12 to MH 15	186.0	m
C-401	Storm sewer, 450 mm PVC, 2.0 to 3.0 m depth	MH 15 to MH 17	94.5	m
C-402	Manhole, 1200 mm precast, 2.0 to 3.0 m	MH 12, 13, 14, 15	4	ea
C-402	Catch basin, 600 mm, with lead	Sta 1+040 to 1+320	6	ea
C-401	Trench bedding and cover, Class B, derived	MH 12 to MH 17	412	m³

Pipe measured plan length between structure centres, with depth ranges from the profile. Bedding volume calculated from trench width and pipe depth on its own tab, so the factor can be changed without re-measuring.

How it is done

Measured the way an estimator would check it.

Earthworks are taken from the cross sections by average end area, station by station, with the cut and fill totals carried into a mass haul when the job is long enough for haul distance to matter. If you have a DTM or a machine-control surface, volumes are checked against it and the difference explained rather than ignored. Pipe is measured plan length between structure centres with depth taken from the profile, and trench volumes are derived from pipe depth so that a change in bedding spec is a one-cell edit, not a re-measure.

Every quantity is in the unit your bid form uses. If the form wants tonnes and the drawing gives cubic metres, the conversion sits on its own column with the density shown. Where the drawings disagree with the specification or the bid form, the line is flagged and the question written up for the RFI list on the scope sheet.

Tools are Bluebeam Revu for measurement and Microsoft Excel for the workbook. No proprietary file formats: you get an .xlsx your estimator can change any cell of.

Pricing and turnaround

A fixed fee per drawing set, quoted before any work starts.

Fixed fee per set

Quoted from the drawing count and scope within one business day. A small civil set, say an access road with a few crossings, is typically two to four working days. Larger sets are scheduled against the tender close with a buffer for addenda.

Hourly for checks

Checking a takeoff someone else produced, re-measuring a disputed quantity for a change order, or measuring one discipline on a job you are otherwise pricing yourself is billed hourly.

What I need from you

The full drawing set with cross sections or a surface file, the specification and bid form, addenda to date, and any geotechnical report that drives shrink and swell or unsuitable material assumptions.

Terms

Invoice on delivery, net 30. Ongoing takeoff work for a contractor with a steady bid calendar runs under a simple master agreement with a per-set fee schedule. First set for a new client at a reduced fee.

Questions

What contractors ask before the first job.

Do you price the takeoff as well?

Yes, as a separate step. A takeoff is quantities only, which suits contractors who have their own rates. The estimating service builds the takeoff into a full unit-price estimate with crews, productions and quotes.

Can you check a takeoff we already have?

Yes. A second measure of the high-value items, usually earthworks and pipe, is a common hourly job before a large bid closes. You get a comparison sheet showing both sets of quantities and where they differ.

What file formats do you work from?

PDF drawing sets are the norm. DWG, DXF, LandXML surfaces and machine-control files are used to check volumes when you have them. Scanned paper sets are workable but take longer.

Metric or imperial?

Metric is standard for Alberta and BC civil work. Imperial units are handled when an owner or supplier specifies them, with the conversion shown on the sheet.

Is the takeoff confidential?

Yes. Drawing sets, your rates and the finished workbook are covered by the confidentiality terms in the master agreement, and nothing from one client is reused for another.

Where I work

Remote from Edmonton, across Alberta and British Columbia.

Drawings, specs and workbooks travel well, so most work is done remotely for contractors in Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray, Lloydminster and Lethbridge, and across the BC Interior including Kamloops, Kelowna, Prince George and the Peace region. Site visits are arranged when a job calls for one, for example a pre-bid walk-through, a pit survey or a start-up week with the site team.

Schwehr Projects Ltd. is an Alberta corporation. Work in BC is done under the same agreement, with BC MoTI Blue Book and HETS equipment rates applied where the owner requires them.

Next step

Send the set and get a fee back within one business day.

Drawings, specs and the bid form by email or shared link. The first takeoff for a new client is at a reduced fee so you can check the work against your own numbers before committing to more.

Send the job details

Emailvern@schwehrprojects.com
Phone780-231-1997
TermsFixed fee or hourly, agreed first · Net 30