Welcome to Walls & Ceilings’ new column, The Bridge. All about estimating, it will attempt to connect the complex worlds of design and construction. For the premiere installment, I’d like to discuss a basic component of the estimator’s job.
An important and often neglected part of the take-off or quantity survey (I prefer the latter) process begins with what is commonly known in the profession as referencing. There are many aspects to this process and this month we will discuss one of the easiest and most effective methods: indexing of the drawings. Another important component of the estimating process is an integral part of indexing— familiarization or, simply put, the “get to know you” stage of the survey.