"60-page commercial mechanical set. Ductwork footage was within 3% of my manual check. Equipment schedule was clean. Saved me 2 days."
HVAC Takeoffs in 15 Minutes. Ductwork, Equipment, Diffusers — Counted.
Upload your mechanical plan set. Get linear footage by duct size, equipment schedules with tonnage and CFM, diffuser counts by zone, and refrigerant piping quantities — organized for Accubid, ConEst, or FastDuct.
HVAC Takeoff
Ductwork, equipment, diffusers — 15 minutes
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.
What HVAC Contractors Get From Every Takeoff
Ductwork footage, equipment schedules, diffuser counts, piping — from your commercial mechanical plans.
Ductwork Footage by Size
Rectangular, round, and oval ductwork counted by linear foot — separated by size (6" through 48") and gauge (26 ga, 24 ga). Supply, return, and exhaust duct counted separately with fittings by type.
- Rectangular duct by size and gauge (26 ga, 24 ga)
- Round and spiral duct by diameter
- Fittings: elbows, tees, reducers — by type and size
Equipment Schedules
RTUs, AHUs, FCUs, and VAV boxes extracted with tonnage, CFM, and location tags — organized the way your supplier expects for ordering.
- RTUs: tonnage, CFM, electrical requirements
- AHUs and FCUs: airflow, static pressure, coil type
- VAV boxes: max/min CFM, zone assignments, reheat coils
Diffuser & Grille Counts
Supply diffusers, return grilles, and exhaust grilles counted by size and type — 2x2, 2x4, round, linear bar. Organized by floor and zone for installation phasing.
- Supply diffusers: 2x2, 2x4, round, linear — by size
- Return and transfer grilles by size and type
- Exhaust grilles and toilet room exhaust separated
Export Ready for Accubid, ConEst, FastDuct
Excel and CSV export organized by ductwork size, equipment type, and diffuser category. Import directly into Accubid, ConEst, or FastDuct. Or price in Excel — formatted how those tools expect.
- Excel organized by ductwork size and category
- Import into Accubid, ConEst, or FastDuct
- See a live example takeoff — free when you sign up
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.
Any PDF format works — CAD exports, scanned drawings, permit sets up to 150MB. Drag and drop or browse. We've processed 47-page commercial permit sets, multi-building residential packages, and hand-drawn TI plans.
Construction-trained AI reads your legends, schedules, notes, and drawings — understanding trade-specific symbols the way an experienced estimator would. Not generic object detection. Trade-specific symbol recognition trained on thousands of real plan sets.
Anything the AI isn't confident about gets flagged — with the exact page and location shown. You verify flagged items manually. Everything else ships in your Excel. Most contractors check flagged items in 5-10 minutes.
Download as Excel, CSV, or JSON. Import directly into PlanSwift, Accubid, or your estimating software. Or price it right there — the counts are organized exactly the way suppliers need them.
Every hour you count is an hour you are not bidding.
The bottleneck is not the pricing. It is the counting.
HVAC Contractors Who Use It on Real Jobs
Mechanical estimators who were skeptical first. Signed up free, saw the example takeoff, then bought credits.
6 reviews
"The equipment schedule extraction is accurate. RTUs, AHUs, VAV counts — all matched my manual count. I spot-checked it twice before trusting it on live bids."
"We can bid 3x more jobs now. The AI handles the baseline counts, I review and adjust, export to Accubid. Total time: under an hour per job."
"Diffuser counts on open-ceiling retail — 312 diffusers, 3 sizes. AI had it in 18 minutes. I reviewed in 20. Done."
"Export to FastDuct works. Organized exactly how I need it — by duct size, separated by supply and return. No reformatting required."
"Signed up for a free account to see the example takeoff. Tested it on a 45-page commercial set I’d already counted. AI was within 4% on ductwork footage. Bought credits the same day."
HVAC Takeoff — Contractor Questions
Honest answers to what HVAC estimators ask before running their first takeoff.
What HVAC items does it actually count?
Ductwork (rectangular, round, oval, flex) by linear foot and size. Equipment schedules: RTUs, AHUs, FCUs, VAVs with tonnage, CFM, and model requirements. Supply, return, and exhaust diffusers and grilles by size and zone. Refrigerant piping line sets by size and length.
- Ductwork by size and type — rectangular, round, spiral, flex
- Equipment: RTUs, AHUs, FCUs, VAVs, packaged units with full schedules
How accurate is ductwork measurement?
Linear measurements are within 2-3% of manual takeoffs on scaled plans. The AI reads plan scale, converts to real dimensions, and calculates footage from drawing geometry. Non-scaled sketches or plans with missing scale references get flagged.
- Within 2-3% on properly scaled mechanical plans
- Plans without scale reference flagged automatically
Does it work on VAV and complex systems?
Yes. The AI recognizes VAV terminal units, zone controllers, and reheat coils from mechanical drawings. It reads equipment schedules specifically looking for VAV box schedules with CFM ranges and zone assignments. Complex systems flag more items — you review those manually.
- VAV boxes with CFM ranges and zone assignments
- Complex systems flag more items — you review
How long does an HVAC takeoff take?
About 15 minutes for a typical 30-page mechanical set. Larger jobs — 80-100 pages — run 25-35 minutes. Review of flagged items typically takes 15-25 minutes additional depending on system complexity. Most contractors are done in under an hour total.
- 30-page mechanical set: ~15 minutes AI analysis
- Add 15-25 minutes for flagged item review
Can I export to Accubid, ConEst, or FastDuct?
Yes — Excel (.xlsx) and CSV at any time. 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 export — import into any estimating software
- Organized by category for Accubid, ConEst, FastDuct import
What if my equipment isn't in a standard schedule?
Equipment buried in general notes, referenced in spec sections, or described in abbreviation tables all get picked up. The AI reads the full set — not just the M-sheets. If equipment is described ambiguously, it gets flagged with the page reference so you know exactly where to look.
- Reads general notes, spec references, and abbreviation tables
- Ambiguous equipment flagged with page reference
Ready to run your first HVAC takeoff?
Build Your TakeoffSee a Real HVAC Takeoff Free
Upload any 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
HVAC Takeoffs
~15 minutes. Ductwork, equipment, diffusers.