Planning guide for 2027
How to price a job from plans, trade by trade, in 2027
Price a job from plans one trade at a time: take off the quantities, confirm each line against its sheet, add the scope the takeoff leaves out, then apply a dated material price, your own labor rates, and overhead and margin.
An automatic takeoff returns the counted and measured lines for a trade; what it leaves out, the waste, the supplier quotes and the labor are still the estimator's work, and they differ from trade to trade.
Written to plan 2027 work. It describes what is true today and what to check during 2027, and it makes no forecasts. Portravo facts and prices are as of November 13, 2026. This guide will be revised when those facts are re-checked.
Portravo publishes this guide. Where it describes Portravo, it uses what the product pages state.
The same five steps for every trade
- 01Take off the trade: counts, lengths, areas and volumes, each tied to the sheet it came from.
- 02Confirm or edit each line against its sheet. In Portravo nothing is priced until you do, and lines left pending are skipped and counted. See the confirm gate.
- 03Add what the takeoff does not cover for that trade, from the lists below, as your own lines, allowances or exclusions.
- 04Price materials from a dated basis, and get supplier quotes for the large lines and for anything the takeoff lists but does not price.
- 05Apply your own labor rates by role, then overhead and margin, and export.
The trade sections below repeat what Portravo's trade takeoff pages say each takeoff returns and leaves out. Portravo publishes no accuracy figure for these trades, so every line comes to you to review.
On the upload page, each trade shows whether it runs Automatic today or is Done by our team by hand.
Electrical: what comes back and what you still do
Portravo reads the electrical sheets in your plan set, matches each symbol to the legend, and counts it sheet by sheet. Every counted symbol is marked on the drawing so you can check it.
What the takeoff returns
Receptacleseach
Duplex, GFCI, special-purpose (range, dryer), ceiling, double duplex, floor boxes
Switches and controlseach
Single-pole, three-way, four-way, dimmers, wireless switches, occupancy sensors
Lights and fanseach
Recessed, ceiling, wall, pendant, strip and exterior lights, chandeliers, ceiling fans, exhaust fans
Life safety and low voltageeach
Smoke, CO and combination detectors, exit and emergency lights, data, TV and phone outlets, doorbells
Serviceeach
Panels and junction boxes
What you still check
- Open each line and look at the marks on the drawing. Where two readings disagreed, the line is on the Check these list with both numbers.
- Read the assumptions on each priced line. When the plans do not state a rating, like 15A or tamper-resistant, the line says the price assumes it.
- Check the sheets the run read only for reference, and anything on the list as not found.
What you add or price yourself
- It does not measure wire or conduit runs. It counts devices and fixtures. A priced device carries its box, plate and a wire allowance per device.
- The panel, circuits and service are not priced unless a line lists them. Grounding and bonding are not taken off.
- Some counted items have no safe price match, like the ceiling fans, smoke detectors and special-purpose outlets in the sample. They stay unpriced until you price them.
Framing: what comes back and what you still do
Portravo reads the framing plans in your set and the sheets around them. It turns the printed callouts and the drawn members into framing lines, each tied to the sheet it came from.
What the takeoff returns
Stud walls and plateslinear feet
Wall runs with stud size and spacing from the callouts and wall notes
Floor joists and rimeach and linear feet
Joists per zone from the printed spacing and the zone width, rim from the floor edge
Beams, girders and headerslinear feet
LVL, PSL and built-up members, with the size and series printed on the plans
Posts and columnseach
Posts from the callouts and the drawn post symbols
Roof framingeach
Rafters and trusses from the spacing and the drawn layout, gable ends included
Sheathingsquare feet
Subfloor, wall and roof sheathing from floor areas, wall heights, openings and roof slope
What you still check
- Check the joist and stud counts against the spacing printed on the plans.
- Confirm wall heights and stud lengths. When the plans state them once for a whole floor, the line says where the number came from.
- Look at the Check these list for members the readings did not agree on.
What you add or price yourself
- Framing hardware is not taken off yet: connectors, anchors, nails and bracing.
- Interior stairs, rails and attic access are not taken off. Neither are exterior wood steps and landings.
- Engineered lumber (I-joists, LVL, PSL, rim board) and trusses are on the takeoff but not priced. You price them from your supplier.
HVAC: what comes back and what you still do
Portravo reads the mechanical sheets in your plan set, plus the floor plans and schedules that show where the baths, laundry and kitchen are. It counts the HVAC items it finds, sheet by sheet.
What the takeoff returns
Equipmenteach
Furnaces, air handlers, condensers, heat pumps, thermostats, wood stoves and fireplaces
Registers and grilleseach
Supply registers and return grilles, split by the CFM printed on the plans
Ventilationeach
Bath and kitchen exhaust fans, range hoods, dryer vents, and one wall or roof cap per termination
What you still check
- Check each register and grille count against the sheet it cites.
- Check the exhaust caps. They are worked out from the rooms on the floor plans and checked against the exhaust labels on the elevations.
- Add the furnace, air handler or condenser from your supplier's quote.
What you add or price yourself
- Ductwork is not taken off. Duct runs are read only to place the registers and equipment.
- Equipment is listed but not priced. The right unit depends on the load and your supplier.
- Flues, chimneys and hearths are not included with stoves and fireplaces.
Plumbing: what comes back and what you still do
Portravo reads the plumbing sheets and risers in your plan set, and the floor plans and fixture schedules beside them. Fixture counts are read two ways and compared before they reach you.
What the takeoff returns
Fixtureseach
Toilets, lavatories, kitchen sinks, tubs, showers, laundry sinks, washer boxes, hose bibbs, floor drains
Appliance hookupseach
Water heater, dishwasher, ice maker box, sump pump
Watereach and linear feet
Service entry, meter, treatment equipment, and water pipe by printed size
Drain, waste and venteach and linear feet
Cleanouts, roof vents, and DWV pipe by printed size
Fuel gaseach and linear feet
Gas meter, appliance connections, shutoff valves, and gas pipe by printed size
What you still check
- Where the floor plan and the riser disagree on a fixture count, the floor plan count is used and the riser count is shown for you to decide.
- Check that pipe lengths per size add up to the total printed on the riser.
- Look at any pipe size label the line marks as unclear.
What you add or price yourself
- Pipe is not measured off a diagram drawn not to scale. Without printed lengths or a scaled plan, that pipe is listed as not found for you to fill in.
- No waste allowance is added to pipe. The length is the printed length.
- Lines with no safe price match stay unpriced until you price them.
Landscape and irrigation: what comes back and what you still do
Portravo reads the planting and irrigation sheets in your set. It takes the quantities from the printed schedules and checks them against the tags, symbols and linework on the plans.
What the takeoff returns
Plantingeach
Trees (with one staking kit per tree), shrubs, massed shrubs, grasses and ground covers
Areassquare feet
Sod, seed and surfacing like decomposed granite or gravel
Mulch and topsoilcubic yards
From the printed areas and depths. Mulch comes as a low to high range
Existing treeseach
Trees to remove and trees to protect
Irrigationeach
Heads, rotors, sprays and bubblers, valves, controller, backflow, sensors, meter, and one valve box per valve
Irrigation pipelinear feet
Pipe, dripline and sleeves, plus a fittings allowance carried on the pipe
Edginglinear feet
From the schedule, or measured from the plan when only the line style is given
What you still check
- Check where a schedule quantity and the plan tags or symbols disagree. Those lines are flagged.
- Confirm the stated defaults: one staking kit per tree, one valve box per valve, the fittings allowance, and the waste on sod, pipe and edging.
- Pick a mulch quantity inside the range given.
What you add or price yourself
- Control wire, drip fittings, air relief and flush valves and thrust blocks are not drawn as quantities. They ride the fittings allowance or you price them on site.
- Fine grading and soil amendment are not taken off.
- Tree removal and protection are counted but not priced. Plants a store does not carry are priced from a regional estimate and marked Estimate.
The landscape and irrigation takeoff page: what it reads off the drawings
Trades without a trade page
Painting, Concrete, Roofing and Drywall can be picked on the upload page, which shows whether each is Automatic or Done by our team today. A takeoff done by our team is priced by hand, usually within 1 business day, or refunded in full. For concrete, the concrete takeoff guide works through cubic yards from plan dimensions.
Pricing the confirmed lines
From quantity to price
- Material: each priced material line shows its source, location and as-of date. That is a local Home Depot price where one is available, or the Portravo benchmark as a fallback, labeled indexed when a regional adjustment was applied. Get supplier quotes for the large lines.
- Unpriced lines: anything with no safe price match stays unpriced until you price it. From the trade sections above, HVAC equipment, engineered lumber and trusses, and tree removal and protection are examples.
- Labor: hours times your rate card. Where a role has no rate of your own, a metro rate from BLS wage data is used and labeled. Enter your 2027 rates before the first bid of the year.
- Overhead and margin: set them on the estimate. The markup and margin calculator shows how the two differ.
- Output: Excel for you, with the full bill of materials and its source and date columns, and a clean PDF for the customer.
What a takeoff costs
Prices as of November 13, 2026. One takeoff is one trade on one project: $75 pay as you go. The whole job, every trade on one project, is $149. Two or more single trades on the upload page never cost more than the whole job: when they would, the order becomes the whole job. Monthly plans start at $199 for 5 takeoffs. See pricing.
Your first takeoff has a 14-day money-back guarantee. The terms say what it covers.
Questions
- Which trades does Portravo take off automatically?
- The upload page shows it trade by trade, as of today: Automatic or Done by our team. Trade takeoff pages exist for electrical, framing, HVAC, plumbing and landscape and irrigation.
- Does the takeoff price HVAC equipment?
- No. Furnaces, air handlers, condensers and similar equipment are listed when the plans show them but are not priced. Carry your supplier's quote as its own line.
- Does an electrical takeoff include wire and conduit?
- No. It counts devices and fixtures. A priced device carries its box, plate and a wire allowance per device; wire and conduit runs are not measured.
- Should I order a whole job or single trades?
- If you are pricing every trade, the whole job is $149; one trade is $75. On the upload page, two or more single trades never cost more than the whole job.
What would change this advice
- A trade takeoff starts reading or pricing something it leaves out today, such as ductwork, wire runs or framing hardware. The trade sections here come from the same data as the trade pages, so they change with them.
- A new trade page, or a trade moving between Automatic and Done by our team.
- Portravo changes its prices. The figures here are read from the same settings checkout uses.
- You find something here that is wrong or out of date. Write to hello@portravo.com and we will check it, then correct and re-date the guide.