"Saved me 25 hours on a 60-page commercial mechanical set. Equipment schedules extracted correctly — RTUs, AHUs, VAV boxes. Ductwork footage was within 3% of my manual check."
Commercial HVAC Estimating. Ductwork, Equipment, Diffusers. About 15 Minutes.
Upload your commercial mechanical plan set. Get ductwork footage by size, equipment schedules with tonnage and CFM, diffuser counts by zone, refrigerant piping, and VAV system counts — organized for Accubid, ConEst, or FastDuct.
Commercial HVAC Estimating
Ductwork, equipment, diffusers — commercial projects
Manual takeoffs are the most expensive hour you do not bill.
A commercial plan set takes 8 to 40 hours to count by hand. At estimator rates of $75 to $150 per hour, that is $600 to $6,000 in labor on every bid. Most contractors do not skip bids because the work is not there. They skip bids because the counting takes too long to make the turnaround worth it. TakeoffBuilder does not replace your judgment. It eliminates the hours you spend before your judgment ever gets to work.
- 8 to 40 hours per plan set at $75 to $150 per hour equals $600 to $6,000 in labor
- One TakeoffBuilder credit: $199. Any size plan. 15 to 30 minutes.
- The math works on the first job. Every job after that is margin.
Every hour you count is an hour you are not bidding.
The bottleneck is not the pricing. It is the counting.
What Commercial HVAC Estimating Delivers
AI extracts ductwork footage, equipment schedules, diffuser counts, and piping quantities from your commercial mechanical plans.
Equipment Schedules
RTUs, AHUs, FCUs, VAVs with tonnage and CFM
Commercial Equipment Schedules
RTUs, AHUs, FCUs, and VAV boxes extracted from equipment schedules with tonnage, CFM, and model requirements. Location tags cross-referenced to plan symbols. Multi-zone and multi-floor commercial systems handled.
- RTUs: tonnage, CFM, electrical requirements by unit
- AHUs and FCUs: airflow, static pressure, coil configuration
- VAV boxes: max/min CFM, zone assignments, reheat coils
Ductwork Takeoff
Supply, return, exhaust — by size and gauge
Commercial Ductwork Takeoff
Rectangular, round, and oval ductwork by linear foot, separated by size and gauge. Supply, return, and exhaust duct counted separately. Fittings (elbows, tees, reducers, offsets) counted by type.
- Rectangular duct: linear footage by size and gauge (26 ga, 24 ga)
- Round and spiral duct by diameter (6", 8", 10", 12", 14")
- Fittings: elbows, tees, reducers, offsets — by type and size
Diffuser & Grille Counts
Supply, return, exhaust — by size and zone
Diffuser & Grille Distribution
Supply diffusers, return grilles, and exhaust grilles counted separately by size and type. 2x2, 2x4, round, linear bar, and specialty diffusers identified. Organized by floor and zone for phased installation.
- Supply diffusers: 2x2, 2x4, round, linear — by size and zone
- Return and transfer grilles by size and type
- Exhaust grilles and toilet room exhaust separated
Manual takeoffs are the most expensive hour you do not bill.
A commercial plan set takes 8 to 40 hours to count by hand. At estimator rates of $75 to $150 per hour, that is $600 to $6,000 in labor on every bid. Most contractors do not skip bids because the work is not there. They skip bids because the counting takes too long to make the turnaround worth it. TakeoffBuilder does not replace your judgment. It eliminates the hours you spend before your judgment ever gets to work.
- 8 to 40 hours per plan set at $75 to $150 per hour equals $600 to $6,000 in labor
- One TakeoffBuilder credit: $199. Any size plan. 15 to 30 minutes.
- The math works on the first job. Every job after that is margin.
Manual takeoffs are the most expensive hour you do not bill.
A commercial plan set takes 8 to 40 hours to count by hand. At estimator rates of $75 to $150 per hour, that is $600 to $6,000 in labor on every bid. Most contractors do not skip bids because the work is not there. They skip bids because the counting takes too long to make the turnaround worth it. TakeoffBuilder does not replace your judgment. It eliminates the hours you spend before your judgment ever gets to work.
Every hour you count is an hour you are not bidding.
The bottleneck is not the pricing. It is the counting.
Commercial HVAC Contractors Who Use It
Mechanical estimators on commercial projects who needed ductwork and equipment counts faster.
6 reviews
"The equipment schedule extraction is spot-on. I verify the counts and adjust any field conditions. Saves me 20+ hours per commercial mechanical project."
"We can bid way more jobs now. The tool gives the baseline counts, I review and adjust, export to Accubid. Total time under an hour."
"Use it to verify sub bids. Caught a 20% undercount on a recent electrical sub package. Paid for a month of credits on that one catch. Now I run every sub bid through it before signing."
"Sprinkler layouts are complex — density zones, obstruction calcs, riser diagrams. The AI catches head counts and pipe footage I'd need hours to verify manually. Especially useful on large commercial projects."
"No subscription is the key for me. I pay credits when I bid, not monthly whether I use it or not. Slow months cost me nothing. Busy months I load up credits at the 10-pack rate and save 25%."
Commercial HVAC Estimating — Questions
What commercial HVAC contractors ask about AI-assisted mechanical takeoffs.
Will it catch everything, or will I miss items?
Accuracy runs 95%+ on standard commercial drawings. Anything the AI isn't confident about gets flagged — with the exact page and location. You review flagged items manually. Most contractors find the spot-check takes 5-10 minutes and catches less than 5% edge cases.
- 95%+ accuracy on standard commercial plans
- Flagged items show exact page and location for manual review
What if my plans are old, scanned, or hand-drawn?
We've processed 47-page scanned permit sets, faded drawings from the 80s, and hand-drawn TI plans. Accuracy may be slightly lower on degraded scans — the AI flags anything it's uncertain about rather than guessing. You get honest results, not inflated claims.
- Works on scanned, hand-drawn, and CAD exports
- Lower confidence items flagged, not silently guessed
How long does it actually take?
About 15 minutes for a typical 30-page commercial set. Larger plan sets — 80-100 pages — run 25-40 minutes. You'll get an email when results are ready. Upload before lunch, have counts before you leave the office.
- 30 pages: ~15 minutes
- Email notification when complete — no waiting at the screen
What exactly do I get back?
An Excel spreadsheet (or CSV) organized by trade category — circuits, devices, wire footage by gauge, conduit runs with sizing. The same format you'd hand to a supplier or import into your estimating software. Plus a flagged items list with page references.
- Excel, CSV, or JSON — your choice
- Organized by category, ready to import or price
How do I get started?
Create a free account with one Google click and we’ll show you a real commercial plan set alongside the AI-generated takeoff from it. See the output format, accuracy, and how flagged items work — before uploading any of your own plans. No credit card required.
- One Google click — no credit card required
- See a real example plan and takeoff output immediately
Does it export to Accubid, ConEst, or FastDuct?
Yes. Excel (.xlsx) and CSV export organized by ductwork size, equipment type, and diffuser category. Import directly into Accubid, ConEst, or FastDuct. Or price it in the Excel — formatted with category headers the way those tools expect.
- Excel and CSV — import into any HVAC estimating software
- Organized by category for Accubid, ConEst, FastDuct
Visit our complete FAQ page or contact support for specific questions about your projects
Build Your TakeoffSee a Real Commercial HVAC Takeoff Free
Upload any commercial mechanical plan set with a free account. Get ductwork footage, equipment schedules, and diffuser counts in about 15 minutes. No credit card required.
- See a live example takeoff — free when you sign up
- ~15 minutes for a 30-page commercial mechanical set
- Export to Accubid, ConEst, FastDuct, or Excel
Commercial HVAC Estimating
~15 minutes. Ductwork, equipment, diffusers.