Drawing a commercial joinery unit, like a mid-floor display unit for a retail store. We…
SST_1602 – Building Takeoffs
In this manual are going to cover the concept of creating a building takeoff report. In order to do that we are going to cover the basics of creating worksheets (which is the technique we need to use to create a report). We will also look at designing a building takeoff, because while Vectorworks has the ability to report all the information you require, it doesn’t know yet what information that might be.
It is most important that you understand the concept of using worksheets. We have covered worksheets and other manuals, and I will not be repeating some of that information, but I will be covering enough for you to understand how a worksheet is designed to be used.
It is very important to decide what you want to report. There is an almost unlimited choice about what to report, so you have to think carefully about what is most important.
You will find it easier to create your report if you design it first. Sometimes the choices you make about the reporting will have an effect on the tools you use, or the options you set for the tools.
For example, if you look at walls, you might want to report the basic area of the wall, as you might do for a foundation wall. In this case there is no need to create a wall style that has components.
Contents
- Introduction
- Introduction to Worksheets
- Designing Your Report
- Foundations Part 1
- Foundations Part 2
- Floor Framing
- Flooring
- Walls
- Doors and Windows
- Doors
- Windows
- Roofs and Ceilings
- Ceilings
- Roofs
- Roof Accessories
- Conclusion
[ms-protect-content id=”34491,34492,34493, 34494, 34495, 34496, 344927″] Click on this link to read the manual…
Click on this link to download the completed exercise file (v2016)
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is there a link to download SST_1602?
Sorry for the delay, I have now added the manual and a link to the file with the report in it.
Great manual Jonathan. Thanks for putting it together. You’re so right in your final comments in the manual. There is some work to make sure things are consistent in the objects and classes, etc. but once it’s done its just a matter of dropping the worksheet into the next project and voila.
Cheers.
Thank you. Sometimes it is difficult to know what the results are when I write my manuals, so it’s nice to have some feedback to make sure I’m providing you with the training you need. The first project that you create your building take off for will seem to take an extraordinary long time to get right. But the next project that you need to create the building takeoffs for will be extremely quick. And every project from then on will also be quick. If you charge your clients a lump sum for your projects, the first project will lose money, but the subsequent projects will make a good profit, a really good profit. You should take this profit and reinvest it in training and technology so that you can ensure that your company is well funded and productive
Jonathan, I have a questions related to this topic…
If I am using Space objects and reporting their areas to a Worksheet, how can I make columns in that Worksheet for Cost per square foot and Cost per Space object?
So the columns would be:
Space name / Space Area / Cost per SF / Cost for this space?
Would I need to use the “Additional Info” data fields of each space object to input the Cost per SF, the report that to the Worksheet? And then could I create a formula manually in that 4th column to do the math needed?
Thanks!
Update: Using the Additional Info data for Space Objects works, but I can’t figure out the formula for the 4th column.
Another update: With Jon’s help, I determined that the Additional Data fields of the Space object report text rather than a number, even when you type a number in. So, the trick its to get that text to be reported to the worksheet, then use the VALUE function to turn it into a number, then you can do math to it in the Worksheet.