Job takeoff
Basement or foundation wall (poured concrete) takeoff
Concrete, a reinforcement grid, the outside waterproofing, its protection board and the footing drain for a new poured basement or foundation wall, from its length, height and thickness.
A takeoff is the trade word for the shopping list a job produces — every material, and how much of each, worked out by its own cited calculator.
- 4Measurements in
- 5Trades out
Give the job once
Every figure on the right follows these, in the units you choose.
Been given a quote for this job?
Paste it into the basement wall quote check: each line is read against these same calculators — what it leaves out, what it adds, and what to ask.
Check the quoteEvery trade, from those dimensions
then change a dimension, and each line shows what moved.
| Trade | Quantity | |
|---|---|---|
Concrete for the wallConcrete CalculatorThe wall's length by its height by its thickness, the volume page's own arithmetic with the wall standing on its edge, and its allowance for spillage.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The waste factor: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. | 27.36 yd³ | |
Reinforcement grid across the wall faceRebar CalculatorOne grid over the wall's face at the page's opening spacing: a figure to order against where the drawing calls for that grid, not a bar schedule. A wall reinforced at both faces takes it twice.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The lap-splice allowance: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. | 85 x 20 ft sticks | |
Forms for both faces of the wallWall Formwork and Shuttering Calculator (Form Area, Ties, Wales and Studs for a Poured Wall)Both faces the full height, round the footprint, with the tie grid, wales and studs at the form maker's spacings the page opens on; replace them with your form system's own.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
| 2080 sq ft | |
Waterproofing on the outside faceBasement Wall Waterproofing Coating Coverage CalculatorThe outside face from the footing to the finished ground, at the coverage and coats on the product.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
Change any other figure on the Basement Wall Waterproofing Coating Coverage Calculator | 45.5 gal | |
Footing drain pipePerimeter Weeping Tile Pipe Segment CalculatorPerforated pipe in lengths round the foot of the wall. Laid beside the footing it runs a little longer than the wall's own centre line, by the footing's projection at each outside corner.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
Change any other figure on the Perimeter Weeping Tile Pipe Segment Calculator | 13 segments | |
Concrete for the wallConcrete CalculatorThe wall's length by its height by its thickness, the volume page's own arithmetic with the wall standing on its edge, and its allowance for spillage.
Why this quantity? | 21.12 m³ | |
Reinforcement grid across the wall faceRebar CalculatorOne grid over the wall's face at the page's opening spacing: a figure to order against where the drawing calls for that grid, not a bar schedule. A wall reinforced at both faces takes it twice.
Why this quantity? | 44 x 12 m sticks | |
Forms for both faces of the wallWall Formwork and Shuttering Calculator (Form Area, Ties, Wales and Studs for a Poured Wall)Both faces the full height, round the footprint, with the tie grid, wales and studs at the form maker's spacings the page opens on; replace them with your form system's own.
Why this quantity? | 192 m² | |
Waterproofing on the outside faceBasement Wall Waterproofing Coating Coverage CalculatorThe outside face from the footing to the finished ground, at the coverage and coats on the product.
Why this quantity? | 168 L | |
Footing drain pipePerimeter Weeping Tile Pipe Segment CalculatorPerforated pipe in lengths round the foot of the wall. Laid beside the footing it runs a little longer than the wall's own centre line, by the footing's projection at each outside corner.
Why this quantity? | 14 segments |
Estimates, not a quote. Each row gives its base, the allowance on top, the adjusted figure and what to order; change an allowance on the row, or open its reasoning to see every figure it rests on. A trade's own page carries what it does not cover — open the one you are about to order against.
Labour and programme
Person-hours for the rows going in, from trade rules of thumb: a range for each piece of work, never a price.
- Concrete for the wall46 h (23–95)
- Forms for both faces of the wall193 h (116–483)
- Waterproofing on the outside face85 h (25–169)
- Footing drain pipe48 h (9.9–119)
About 371 person-hours in the rows that carry them, between 174 and 866.
Trade by trade
- Labourer2 labourers + 1 mason + 1 plant operator1½ days
- Carpenter1 carpenter + 1 labourer12 days
- Waterproofing operative1 waterproofing operative + 1 labourer8½ days
About 22 days, one trade after another at eight hours a day. Left out: drying and curing, deliveries, inspections, trades overlapping.
1 row carries no hours of its own
- Reinforcement grid across the wall face: Fixing reinforcement is not rated here: the bar schedule, the shapes and laps it sets, and the inspection before the pour change its time several-fold.
Labour and programme
Person-hours for the rows going in, from trade rules of thumb: a range for each piece of work, never a price.
- Concrete for the wall46 h (23–96)
- Forms for both faces of the wall192 h (115–480)
- Waterproofing on the outside face84 h (25–168)
- Footing drain pipe48 h (10–120)
About 370 person-hours in the rows that carry them, between 173 and 864.
Trade by trade
- Labourer2 labourers + 1 mason + 1 plant operator1½ days
- Carpenter1 carpenter + 1 labourer12 days
- Waterproofing operative1 waterproofing operative + 1 labourer8½ days
About 21½ days, one trade after another at eight hours a day. Left out: drying and curing, deliveries, inspections, trades overlapping.
1 row carries no hours of its own
- Reinforcement grid across the wall face: Fixing reinforcement is not rated here: the bar schedule, the shapes and laps it sets, and the inspection before the pour change its time several-fold.
Setups you have saved
The build-up, the dimensions and any allowance you changed — kept on this device, and reusable on any job. Your prices are not copied in: they stay in your price book, so a setup never holds a stale one.
How far does a budget go?
At your own prices, with this build-up unchanged.
About this job
A basement wall is a retaining wall with a house on top of it, and the quantities follow three faces of it. The concrete is the wall's length by its height by its thickness. The waterproofing and the board that protects it cover only the part below the finished ground, the outside face from the footing up to grade, which is why the page asks for that depth separately from the wall's height. The drain runs along the foot, round the whole footprint.
The thickness and the steel are not choices this page makes. A basement wall holds back the soil's pressure, which grows with depth and with wet or heavy ground, and its thickness and reinforcement come from the engineer's drawing or the code's tables for your height of backfill. The rebar row here is one grid across the face at the page's opening spacing, a figure to order against when the drawing calls for that grid, never a design.
Waterproofing and damp-proofing are different jobs. A coating that only damp-proofs slows moisture through the wall; a waterproofing system resists water under pressure, and wet ground or a high water table calls for it. The coating row counts the product at its coverage and coats; which product the ground needs is the specification's.
How each line reads
- Base
- What the calculator gives for these dimensions, before anything is added.
- Allowance
- Cutting waste, a lap or spare stock — named, with where it comes from, and changeable on the row.
- Adjusted
- The base with its allowance on top.
- Order
- What to buy: the adjusted figure in whole boards, bags, rolls or lengths.
The order this happens in
Quantities do not tell you the sequence, and on this job the sequence is where the money goes wrong.
- Set out the wall on the footing and check the footing's level and line before the forms go up.
- Fix the reinforcement on its chairs and spacers, to the drawing's laps and cover.
- Erect and brace the forms, ties at the maker's spacing, and check them plumb.
- Pour in lifts, vibrating each, and leave the forms on for the cure the specification asks for.
- Strip the forms, make good the tie holes, and let the face dry before the waterproofing goes on.
- Apply the waterproofing to the outside face from the footing to grade, in the coats the product asks for.
- Protect the waterproofing before any backfill touches it.
- Lay the footing drain round the foot of the wall, falling to its outlet, in its gravel and filter fabric.
- Backfill in layers, compacting each, once the floor above is in or the wall is braced.
What this takeoff does not cover
- The wall's design: its thickness, its reinforcement and the backfill height it may carry are the engineer's or the code's figures, and this page takes them as entered.
- The forms' bracing, brackets and form oil, and the box-out for any window or door in the wall, which the wall formwork page adds when you enter the openings there.
- The footing under the wall, which the strip footing page counts.
- The dig, the over-dig and the backfill, whose volumes are the ground's and the working space's, and the gravel round the drain.
- Insulation on the wall's face, inside or out, and the damp-proof course where a wall above sits on it.
- The drain's outlet: a sump, a soakaway or a connection to a sewer, each a decision for the ground and the local rules.
- The board that protects the waterproofing from the backfill. The protection board page counts its sheets from the same face, the wall's length by its depth below ground.
Quote check
Been given a quote for this job?
Paste it into the basement wall quote check. Every line of it is read against these same calculators and your measurements. Quantities only, never prices.
What it leaves out
Every line this takeoff has that nothing on the quote reads as.
What it adds
Labour, removal, hire, fees — each named for what it is.
What to ask
One list of questions, ready to copy. Never a verdict.
More takeoffs
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Frequently asked questions
- What does the basement wall takeoff give for a typical job?
- Opened at Wall length, round the footprint 40 m · Wall height, footing to top 2.4 m · Wall thickness (from the drawing) 200 mm · Depth below finished ground 2.1 m, it orders: Concrete for the wall, 21.1 m³; Reinforcement grid across the wall face, 44 x 12 m sticks; Forms for both faces of the wall, 192 m²; Waterproofing on the outside face, 168 L; Footing drain pipe, 14 segments. Opened at Wall length, round the footprint 130 ft · Wall height, footing to top 8 ft · Wall thickness (from the drawing) 7.75 in · Depth below finished ground 7 ft: Concrete for the wall, 27.4 yd³; Reinforcement grid across the wall face, 85 x 20 ft sticks; Forms for both faces of the wall, 2,080 sq ft; Waterproofing on the outside face, 45.5 gal; Footing drain pipe, 13 segments. Every figure follows the dimensions you give it.
- Which calculators does the basement wall takeoff run?
- 5 calculators, one to a line: Concrete Calculator, Rebar Calculator, Wall Formwork and Shuttering Calculator (Form Area, Ties, Wales and Studs for a Poured Wall), Basement Wall Waterproofing Coating Coverage Calculator, Perimeter Weeping Tile Pipe Segment Calculator. Each has a page of its own with its formula and its sources; the takeoff runs them all on one set of dimensions.
- What does the basement wall takeoff leave out?
- 7 things, each named on this page: The wall's design; The forms' bracing, brackets and form oil, and the box-out for any window or door in the wall, which the wall formwork page adds when you enter the openings there; The footing under the wall, which the strip footing page counts; The dig, the over-dig and the backfill, whose volumes are the ground's and the working space's, and the gravel round the drain; Insulation on the wall's face, inside or out, and the damp-proof course where a wall above sits on it; The drain's outlet; The board that protects the waterproofing from the backfill.
- Can I check a quote for this job against the takeoff?
- Yes. The basement wall quote check reads a quote's lines against these same calculators and your measurements, and reports what it leaves out, what it adds and what to ask. It reads quantities, never prices.