Flooring takeoff with per-material square footage in Excel.
Trace each room's floor area on the finish plan with BidScreen XL's Area tool. Separate by material type (carpet, LVT, tile, hardwood, polished concrete). Square footage drops into your Excel bid with per-SF unit costs and labor rates.
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ROOM / TYPE | SF | WASTE % | $/SF | TOTAL |
| 2 | Lobby — porcelain tile | 1,840 | 15% | $18.50 | $39,159 |
| 3 | Corridor — LVT plank | 3,240 | 8% | $6.20 | $21,694 |
| 4 | Office — carpet tile | 5,860 | 5% | $5.40 | $33,229 |
| 5 | Restroom — ceramic | 640 | 12% | $14.80 | $10,609 |
| 6 | Cove base — all rooms | 1,420 | 10% | $3.20 | $4,995 |
| 7 | TOTAL FLOORING | $109,686 |
Illustrative flooring estimating workbook. Per-room floor area populates live from BidScreen XL Area traces.
The bottlenecks every flooring estimator knows.
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Counting room areas on a multi-story commercial finish plan is slow with a scale ruler.
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Different floor materials (carpet, LVT, tile, hardwood, polished concrete) have very different unit costs; mixing them costs accuracy.
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Transition strips, base, and edge banding linear footage drives a non-trivial cost line.
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Plan revisions for changed finish schedules send you back to retrace every affected room.
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Material waste varies by product — carpet seam waste differs from LVT plank waste differs from tile cut waste.
The flooring quantities every bid needs.
Per-room floor area
Trace each room's footprint on the floor plan. Per-room area lands in Excel with the room name and finish type.
Carpet SF (broadloom or tile)
Aggregate area for rooms specified for broadloom carpet or carpet tile. Apply broadloom seam waste (10-15%) or carpet-tile waste (5%).
LVT / hardwood / vinyl plank SF
Aggregate area for plank flooring. Apply waste (5-10%) and finish-direction adjustments where called out.
Tile SF (ceramic, porcelain, stone)
Aggregate area for tile floors and walls. Pattern complexity drives waste (10-15% for straight set, 15-20% for diagonal).
Transition / base linear footage
Trace baseboards, cove base, and transition strips on the floor plan. LF rolls into accessory cost lines.
Substrate prep area
Self-leveling underlayment, primer, vapor barrier — typically tied to the same floor area as the finish material, but priced separately.
Built for how this trade actually estimates.
Area tool traces each room directly on the finish plan; per-room square footage lands in Excel.
Separate Excel rows for each finish type let you build per-material unit costs and waste percentages.
Continuous Length traces baseboard and transition LF; flows into the same workbook.
Plan revisions update the bid automatically; re-trace one room and totals recalculate.
Same workflow handles new construction, repaints, and partial renovations.
BidScreen XL
PDF and CAD measurement directly inside Microsoft Excel. Trace the drawing, the quantity lands in your estimating cell as a live formula.
$400/yr rental · $799 perpetual
Considering BidScreen XL against another flooring takeoff product?
Honest side-by-side comparisons — feature matrix, 5-year cost, and a fair note on when the competitor is actually the right choice.
- Switching from
Bluebeam Revu
PDF tool with measurement features. BidScreen XL adds the same measurement inside Microsoft Excel — quantities land as cells, not exports.
See comparison - Switching from
PlanSwift
Standalone takeoff at $1,749/yr (perpetual retired). BidScreen XL is $400/yr or $799 perpetual and feeds Excel directly.
See comparison - Switching from
STACK
Cloud-only at $2,988/yr Premium or $3,588/yr Pro. BidScreen XL is a desktop Excel add-in at $400/yr.
See comparison - Switching from
On-Screen Takeoff
ConstructConnect bundle-only (~$1,850/yr+). BidScreen XL is sold standalone at $400/yr, lives in Excel.
See comparison
Frequently asked
Does BidScreen XL identify finish types from the finish schedule automatically?
No — you tag each traced area in Excel with its finish type from the schedule. Most users build a per-room row that names the finish, then a SUMIF or pivot rolls up the per-finish totals. For a 100-room hotel project, the rollup is fast once the per-room template is set up.
How do I handle complex patterns (herringbone, diagonal, mixed)?
Bump the waste percentage. Straight-set tile runs 10-15% waste; diagonal 15-20%; herringbone or mixed pattern 20-25%. The square footage from BidScreen XL is exact; waste is the judgment call.
What about millwork base, casework, and built-ins?
BidScreen XL measures floor areas and linear footage of base trim. Casework and millwork volumes are usually priced as a separate trade line item (often supplied by a millwork sub); the flooring bid stops at the base of those.
Does this handle exterior tile, patios, decks?
Yes — same workflow on a site plan. Trace each tile-paved area, sum the SF, apply weather-appropriate waste (slightly higher than interior). Exterior product pricing differs but the takeoff math is the same.
Try BidScreen XL on a real bid for 14 days, no card.
The fastest way to know if Vertigraph fits your workflow is to install it and run one bid. The honest answer for your bid mix shows up after two or three real estimates.