Drawing takeoff
A room-by-room checklist for an electrical takeoff
An electrical takeoff is easier to check when each quantity has a room and a drawing reference. A room-by-room tally also gives you somewhere to put open questions before they become assumptions in the price.
Use this checklist to work through a floor plan, record confirmed symbols and reconcile the totals before you prepare the quotation.
1. Set up a tally for the drawing you will quote
Record the drawing number, revision and floor. List every room or area in the agreed scope before you count. Include circulation and shared areas as separate rows when they form part of the job. Label areas outside the scope so an empty row cannot be mistaken for a missed room.
Check that the legend and small labels are readable. If you are working from paper, use the guide to scanning an electrical drawing clearly before you make the tally.
Give each item type its own column. Use the drawing’s legend and your agreed scope to decide what belongs in each column. If a symbol has different variants, keep them separate until you know they represent the same work.
2. Count one area at a time
- Mark the room boundary on a working copy. Agree which row owns any item near a doorway or shared wall.
- Follow a consistent path through the room. Mark each confirmed symbol on the working copy as you add it to the row.
- Check the relevant notes for items shown as existing, retained, removed or new. Record the work to quote separately when it differs.
- Compare overlapping views before adding another symbol. If a detail and a plan show the same item, record it once and note the reference.
- Mark the row checked only after you have compared the written tally with the marked drawing.
If you are unsure what a symbol means, record the sheet, location and question in an open-items list. Leave it out of confirmed totals until you have enough information to decide. A zero means you checked and found none. Use “not checked” when the room still needs review.
3. Use this room-count worksheet
Copy these columns into a worksheet and add item types as needed. The rows below describe a fictional office on drawing E-01, revision B. The corridor is outside this example’s quoted scope.
| Room or area | Lights | Socket outlets | Open item or scope note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office A | 4 | 2 | Confirmed on E-01, rev B |
| Office B | 3 | 1 | One extra mark to confirm against the legend |
| Corridor | — | — | Outside scope in this example |
| Confirmed total | 7 | 3 | 1 unclassified mark held out |
For your own copy, add the sheet and revision to each row if the rooms come from different drawings. Keep a location reference beside each unresolved item so another estimator can find it without recounting the entire floor.
4. Reconcile the room totals before pricing
Add each confirmed column and compare it with your working marks. If a drawing schedule lists a different quantity, locate the difference before pricing. Check room boundaries, repeated views, revisions and whether the two counts refer to the same scope. Keep unresolved differences visible.
Check the other work the quotation needs. A point tally gives you quantities for the counted items. Cable routes, containment, access and other work may need separate information. Document what you include, exclude or need to confirm before you apply rates.
When you use Quotractor, review AI-assisted counts against the drawing and confirm the job scope before applying your own rates. Use the electrical quotation template outline to turn the reviewed tally into clear priced lines and scope notes.