Computer takoffs

Hi, anybody using programs such as on screen takeoff ? To quote from PDF An estimator from the aluminum sub I use showed it to me, very impressive, to someone used to scale and pencil. I quote some large, cut up new construction homes, and this seems like a good program, just not sure how difficult it is to learn. There may be similar programs out there as well,anybody using them? Thanks

guppy, There's many out there. It just so happens I just recently succumbed to the 21st century.....Went through the dance. They all have "trial" periods enabling you to decipher which one works best for you. I don't know much but here goes.....

I went with "Quickeye", as it was the most "friendly" to me. The fella that developed it is a long-time drywall estimator, so it seems to be fairly understandable for us old-schoolers. One perk that Quickeye has is that it's one of the few , (I'm told), that works with MAC's.....I use a pc so it's no diff. to me.

I also explored "Planswift" and "Bluebeam"....You might check-out those three.

BTW - It's absolutely awesome!. I kick myself for procrastinating all these years.....I completely skipped-over the "digitizer" phase....However, I don't think I missed much. I never could justify the cost/learning curve.

my $0.02

Sounds interesting. I don't do much new work, mostly additions but it's common now to get a pdf file of the plans and I can never get the scale right.

Nope. I use a 10 cent ink pen and a 15 cent note pad from dollar general. Then I transfer that info to a 25 cent pre-printed estimate form. Works out pretty well more times than not.

The only thing I see wrong with computer programs and other fancy gadgets is that they seem to cause some folks to lose sight of what's really important. The basics!