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Switched to digital takeoffs and it backfired hard on a bid last month
I moved all my estimating to a tablet with some fancy takeoff software, figured it would save me time on a school renovation bid in Phoenix. Spent 3 days clicking and measuring on screen, got my numbers tight, submitted it. Turns out the software had a scaling error I didn't catch, and I underbid the HVAC ductwork by $8,000. Now I'm double checking every digital measurement with a paper printout before I hit send. Anyone else dealt with software bugs messing up their bids?
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samward12d ago
... and my buddy over in Tucson had a similar thing happen but with concrete. He used one of those plan digitizers for a strip mall foundation and it somehow doubled the footer volume. Showed up on site with a truck he didn't order. @leo_harris I feel you on the drone thing too, my friend tried that on a commercial roof last summer and the software ate half the parapet wall. He ended up short by like 40 squares and had to beg the supplier for a rush delivery. Now he treats digital tools like they're useful, but always wrong until proven right.
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leo_harris12d ago
The last time I trusted software blindly, I was using a drone for roof measurements on a house in Flagstaff and it didn't account for the pitch correctly, so I ordered 15% too much shingle. Had to store five pallets in my driveway for three months while I worked them into other jobs. Now I triple check any digital tool against a manual calc before I even think about ordering materials, you know?
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