Craft Quantities
Plan & Takeoffs

Job takeoff

Insulate a floor takeoff

Insulation, vapour control and underlayment over a floor area.

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.

  • 2Measurements in
  • 3Trades 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 floor insulation quote check: each line is read against these same calculators — what it leaves out, what it adds, and what to ask.

Check the quote

Every trade, from those dimensions

3 of 3 trades chosenNot pricedNot in project

then change a dimension, and each line shows what moved.

TradeQuantity
Foam Board Insulation Calculator
Base
7 sheets (4x8 ft)
Cutting waste
+1 sheet (4x8 ft) · 10%, trade convention
Adjusted
8 sheets (4x8 ft)
Order
8 sheets (4x8 ft), already whole
Why this quantity?
  1. Base quantity7 sheets (4x8 ft)calculatorFoam Board Insulation Calculator v1.1.0, headline with the cutting waste at 0%
  2. Cutting waste1 sheet (4x8 ft)worked outthe adjusted figure less the base, at 10% (the calculator's working figure, a trade convention)
  3. Adjusted quantity8 sheets (4x8 ft)calculatorFoam Board Insulation Calculator v1.1.0, headline with the cutting waste at 10%
  4. Order quantity8 sheets (4x8 ft)worked out8 sheets (4x8 ft), already whole

Resting on

  • Floor length16.5 ftgivenyour floor length
  • Floor width13 ftgivenyour floor width
  • Cutting Waste (%)10%assumedthe Foam Board Insulation Calculator's default

The cutting waste: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention.

Change any other figure on the Foam Board Insulation Calculator

8 sheets (4x8 ft)
Vapor Barrier Calculator
Base
1 roll
Seam overlap allowance
+0 rolls · 10%, trade convention
Adjusted
1 roll
Order
1 roll, already whole
Why this quantity?
  1. Base quantity1 rollcalculatorVapor Barrier Calculator v1.1.0, headline with the seam overlap allowance at 0%
  2. Seam overlap allowance0 rollsworked outthe adjusted figure less the base, at 10% (the calculator's working figure, a trade convention)
  3. Adjusted quantity1 rollcalculatorVapor Barrier Calculator v1.1.0, headline with the seam overlap allowance at 10%
  4. Order quantity1 rollworked out1 roll, already whole

Resting on

  • Floor length16.5 ftgivenyour floor length
  • Floor width13 ftgivenyour floor width
  • Seam Overlap Allowance (%)10%assumedthe Vapor Barrier Calculator's default

The seam overlap allowance: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention.

Change any other figure on the Vapor Barrier Calculator

1 roll
Laminate/Vinyl Plank Floor Underlayment Roll Calculator
Base
3 rolls
Allowance
+0 rolls · none added
Adjusted
3 rolls
Order
3 rolls, already whole
Why this quantity?
  1. Base quantity3 rollscalculatorLaminate/Vinyl Plank Floor Underlayment Roll Calculator v1.1.1, headline
  2. Allowance0 rollsworked outnone: the calculator adds no allowance, and none was added
  3. Adjusted quantity3 rollsworked outthe base plus the allowance
  4. Order quantity3 rollsworked out3 rolls, already whole

Resting on

  • Floor length16.5 ftgivenyour floor length
  • Floor width13 ftgivenyour floor width
  • Roll Coverage Area100 sq ftassumedthe Laminate/Vinyl Plank Floor Underlayment Roll Calculator's default

Change any other figure on the Laminate/Vinyl Plank Floor Underlayment Roll Calculator

3 rolls
Foam Board Insulation Calculator
Base
7 sheets (2400x1200 mm)
Cutting waste
+1 sheet (2400x1200 mm) · 10%, trade convention
Adjusted
8 sheets (2400x1200 mm)
Order
8 sheets (2400x1200 mm), already whole
Why this quantity?
8 sheets (2400x1200 mm)
Vapor Barrier Calculator
Base
1 roll
Seam overlap allowance
+0 rolls · 10%, trade convention
Adjusted
1 roll
Order
1 roll, already whole
Why this quantity?
1 roll
Laminate/Vinyl Plank Floor Underlayment Roll Calculator
Base
3 rolls
Allowance
+0 rolls · none added
Adjusted
3 rolls
Order
3 rolls, already whole
Why this quantity?
3 rolls

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.

  • Foam Board Insulation3.6 h (2.0–10.0)
  • Vapor Barrier1.2 h (0.6–2.4)

About 4.8 person-hours in all, between 2.6 and 12.

Trade by trade

  1. Labourer1 labourerhalf a day

About half a day, 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
  • Laminate/Vinyl Plank Floor Underlayment Roll: counted with the work it belongs to

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.

  • Foam Board Insulation3.6 h (2.0–10)
  • Vapor Barrier1.2 h (0.6–2.4)

About 4.8 person-hours in all, between 2.6 and 12.

Trade by trade

  1. Labourer1 labourerhalf a day

About half a day, 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
  • Laminate/Vinyl Plank Floor Underlayment Roll: counted with the work it belongs to

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

Insulating a floor is a stack of three layers over one area, and the order matters more than the quantities do. Insulation first, vapour control over it on the warm (room) side, then whatever the covering needs under it — put the vapour layer on the wrong face and the insulation collects the moisture instead of resisting it.

The area is the easy part. What it cannot tell you is the depth you have to work in: an insulation thickness that meets a target on paper is only usable if the doors still open and the floor still meets the stair.

What lies beneath decides the product, and the area cannot see it. A suspended timber floor is insulated between the joists, which means the material has to be held up there — netting, counter-battens or friction alone — and a ventilated void underneath it stays cold and windy by design, so anything that lets air wash across the underside of the insulation cancels most of it. A solid floor is the opposite problem: the board goes under or over the slab, carries the floor load, and has to be a grade rated for compression rather than the softest thing that hits the R-value.

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.

  1. Check the subfloor is dry, sound and level enough — insulation over a damp slab traps the damp, and a slab with no damp-proof membrane needs one before the boards go down.
  2. Insulation boards tight and staggered, with no gaps at the edges.
  3. Vapour control layer over the insulation, on its warm side, lapped and taped at every joint and turned up at the perimeter.
  4. Perimeter edging strip before the underlayment, so the floor can move.
  5. Underlayment, then the covering to its own instructions.

What this takeoff does not cover

  • The floor covering itself, and any adhesive or levelling compound it needs.
  • Thermal design. Reaching a target U-value depends on the whole floor build-up and the ground beneath it, not on the area. This page neither asks for a thickness nor recommends one — the board count is the same at any thickness — so choose it, and a grade rated for compression on a solid floor, separately.
  • A damp-proof membrane under the insulation on a solid floor, which is a separate sheet from the vapour control layer above it.
  • Perimeter edging, tapes and fixings.
  • Ventilation to a suspended timber floor — blocking the airflow under one is how a dry floor becomes a wet one.

Quote check

Been given a quote for this job?

Paste it into the floor insulation quote check. Every line of it is read against these same calculators and your measurements. Quantities only, never prices.

Check the quoteEvery quote check

  • 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

Other job takeoffs

All job takeoffs

Frequently asked questions

What does the floor insulation takeoff give for a typical job?
Opened at Floor length 5 m · Floor width 4 m, it orders: Foam Board Insulation, 8 sheets (2400x1200 mm); Vapor Barrier, 1 roll; Laminate/Vinyl Plank Floor Underlayment Roll, 3 rolls. Opened at Floor length 16.5 ft · Floor width 13 ft: Foam Board Insulation, 8 sheets (4x8 ft); Vapor Barrier, 1 roll; Laminate/Vinyl Plank Floor Underlayment Roll, 3 rolls. Every figure follows the dimensions you give it.
Which calculators does the floor insulation takeoff run?
3 calculators, one to a line: Foam Board Insulation Calculator, Vapor Barrier Calculator, Laminate/Vinyl Plank Floor Underlayment Roll 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 floor insulation takeoff leave out?
5 things, each named on this page: The floor covering itself, and any adhesive or levelling compound it needs; Thermal design; A damp-proof membrane under the insulation on a solid floor, which is a separate sheet from the vapour control layer above it; Perimeter edging, tapes and fixings; Ventilation to a suspended timber floor.
Can I check a quote for this job against the takeoff?
Yes. The floor insulation 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.