Job takeoff
Porch addition takeoff
Build a porch onto the front of the house: the footings dug by hand, cavity walls with the door and windows lintelled, a tiled or shingled lean-to with its flashing and gutter, a floor slab, the ceiling, plaster or taped drywall and tiles inside, and the doorway into the house, with every structural member listed and never sized.
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.
- 16Measurements in
- 3332Trades out
Choose the build-up
Each layer changes the materials below; the dimensions stay the same.
Calculators behind the other choices:
Calculators behind the other choices:
Compare one layer at these dimensions, with the rest of the build-up held as you have it:
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 porch 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 | |
|---|---|---|
Footing trenches, dug by handTrench Excavation & Backfill Volume CalculatorA hand-dug trench on the walls' centre line, as wide as the footing and as deep as you gave, running up to the house's own footing at each end. The hole itself is the working's excavation line; the headline is that volume grown by a quarter as dug ground loosens, which is what leaves in the skip.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The loose-volume allowance: set by the Porch addition takeoff. Change any other figure on the Trench Excavation & Backfill Volume Calculator | 3.9 yd³ | |
Dig out the floor areaTrench Excavation & Backfill Volume CalculatorThe floor's footprint inside the walls dug out to the depth you gave, once both leaves stand at the damp course, and loosened by a quarter like the trenches. Where the footing is wider than the wall, the strip of it inside the inner face was taken out with the trenches already and is counted again here: on the opening porch about 0.1 m³ (3 1/2 cu ft) loose, which the skip carries too.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The loose-volume allowance: set by the Porch addition takeoff. Change any other figure on the Trench Excavation & Backfill Volume Calculator | 0.9138 yd³ | |
Footing concreteContinuous Footing / Grade Beam Volume CalculatorTrench-fill concrete along the walls' centre line at the design's width and depth, with the calculator's waste allowance. The mix, any reinforcement and how the new footing meets the house's own are the designer's; this row never chooses a footing.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The waste factor: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. Change any other figure on the Continuous Footing / Grade Beam Volume Calculator | 2.34 yd³ | |
Blocks below the damp course (DPC), both leavesConcrete CMU Block Counter & Grout Infill CalculatorThe short walls between the footing concrete and the damp course, inner and outer leaf each on its own centre line, in solid blocks with no cell grouted; whether the cavity below ground is filled or closed is the designer's call.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The waste factor: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. Change any other figure on the Concrete CMU Block Counter & Grout Infill Calculator | 57 blocks | |
Hardcore under the floorGravel Base Layer Tonnage CalculatorCrushed stone under the porch floor, by weight, at the calculator's opening compacted thickness and density; the design sets the thickness, and the sand blinding spread on it before the membrane is not in the row.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
Change any other figure on the Gravel Base Layer Tonnage Calculator | 0.8341 tons | |
Floor insulation boardsFoam Board Insulation CalculatorInsulation boards laid on the membrane across the porch floor, at the calculator's opening sheet and cutting allowance; strips cut from them line the slab's edge. A porch kept outside the house's heated space has no thickness set for it by the energy rules, so the thickness is the owner's or the designer's choice.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The cutting waste: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. Change any other figure on the Foam Board Insulation Calculator | 1 sheet (4x8 ft) | |
Floor slab concreteConcrete CalculatorConcrete for the porch floor, cast over the insulation at the calculator's opening thickness and waste allowance, both of which the designer sets. It is kept low enough that the screed and tiles finish flush with the hall floor through the front door.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The waste factor: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. | 0.3299 cubic yards | |
Inner leaf blocks, full heightConcrete CMU Block Counter & Grout Infill CalculatorBlockwork for the inner leaf at full wall height wherever no door or window breaks it, on the leaf's centre line, laid solid. The working gives the mortar the blocks take.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The waste factor: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. Change any other figure on the Concrete CMU Block Counter & Grout Infill Calculator | 69 blocks | |
Inner leaf blocks between the heads and the eavesConcrete CMU Block Counter & Grout Infill CalculatorThe inner leaf above every opening, one run as long as the door and windows together and as tall as the wall above their heads. The lintels sit in these courses, so the row runs a little over.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The waste factor: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. Change any other figure on the Concrete CMU Block Counter & Grout Infill Calculator | 9 blocks | |
Inner leaf blocks under the cillsConcrete CMU Block Counter & Grout Infill CalculatorThe inner leaf below every window, one run as long as the windows together and as tall as the cill; the door opening has none.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The waste factor: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. Change any other figure on the Concrete CMU Block Counter & Grout Infill Calculator | 15 blocks | |
Facing bricks, full heightBrick CalculatorFacing brick at full wall height wherever the door or a window does not break the outer leaf, on the leaf's centre line, at the brick and joint the sizes below set and the calculator's allowance. The working gives the mortar in bags.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The waste factor: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. | 595 bricks | |
Facing bricks between the heads and the eavesBrick CalculatorBrickwork between the lintels and the eaves, over the door and every window, one run as long as all of them together; a soldier course over the door, where the design has one, comes from these bricks.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The waste factor: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. | 57 bricks | |
Facing bricks under the cillsBrick CalculatorThe outer leaf below every window, one run as long as the windows together and as tall as the cill.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The waste factor: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. | 91 bricks | |
Wall ties across the cavityBrick Veneer Wall Tie Density CalculatorTies bedded across the cavity as the leaves rise, over the cavity's own area less the door and windows, at the calculator's US spacing of one to about 0.25 m² (2.67 sq ft). British practice spaces them by its own table, and neither figure has the extra ties at each jamb and where the porch walls meet the house.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
Change any other figure on the Brick Veneer Wall Tie Density Calculator | 33 ties | |
Weeps above the damp courseCavity Wall Weep Hole Spacing CalculatorWeeps in the outer leaf just above the damp course, at the calculator's opening centres along its run, stopping at the door opening. Each lintel's tray drains through weeps of its own, not counted here.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
Change any other figure on the Cavity Wall Weep Hole Spacing Calculator | 8 weep holes | |
Lean-to rafters (roof timbers)Roof Truss Spacing & Count CalculatorOne rafter at each end of the porch and the rest between them at the calculator's opening centres, each running from the plate on the front wall up to a plate or hangers fixed to the house. The designer sets their size, their centres and how they are held at the house.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
Change any other figure on the Roof Truss Spacing & Count Calculator | 5 trusses | |
FasciaFascia Board CalculatorFascia along the porch's one eave, in stock lengths with the calculator's allowance. The two sides are verges, finished with a dry verge or mortar under tiles and a rake trim under shingles, which are not in the row.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The cut and scarf allowance: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. | 1 x 12 ft board | |
Roof deck boards, plywood or OSBPlywood and OSB Sheet Calculator (Subfloor, Wall and Roof)Sheets over the slope, the porch's width by the rafter length, with the calculator's cutting allowance: the deck the shingles are nailed to.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The waste factor: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. Change any other figure on the Plywood and OSB Sheet Calculator (Subfloor, Wall and Roof) | 2 sheets (4x8 ft) | |
Roof underlay, breathableRoofing Underlayment CalculatorUnderlay over the porch's one slope, its width times the rafter's length from the eave up to the house wall, lapped at the calculator's allowance. The page's rolls are US 1,000 sq ft (about 93 m²) synthetics, of which a porch uses a fraction; British breathable membranes are sold in smaller rolls, so the lapped area in the working is the figure to buy by.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The overlap allowance: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. Change any other figure on the Roofing Underlayment Calculator | 1 roll | |
Shingles, in squaresRoof Squares CalculatorShingles over the slope in squares of 100 sq ft (9.29 m²), with the calculator's waste allowance; three-tab and architectural shingles come three bundles to the square. The page is given the area on the slope with its pitch at 0, so the slope is counted once.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The waste: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. | 0.5566 squares | |
Lead or metal flashing where the roof meets the house wallExterior Flashing Layout Trim Sheet CalculatorThe flashing dressed over the roof's top edge against the house, counted in pieces at the length the sizes below set: 1.5 m (5 ft) lead in metric, a 10 ft (3.05 m) coil piece in imperial. The cavity tray cut into the house wall above it is listed as work.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
Change any other figure on the Exterior Flashing Layout Trim Sheet Calculator | 1 sheet | |
Gutter and downpipe (downspout) along the eaveGutter CalculatorGutter along the porch's one eave in stock sections; its working counts the downpipe (downspout), which runs down a front corner to a drain or soakaway listed as work.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
| 1 x 10 ft section | |
Gutter bracketsGutter Hanger Spacing CalculatorBrackets for the short gutter at the calculator's opening spacing, with one at each end.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
Change any other figure on the Gutter Hanger Spacing Calculator | 5 hangers | |
Flashing tape round the entrance frameWindow Opening Flashing Membrane CalculatorFlashing tape for the outer door's frame, the sill, both jambs and the head, lapped past each corner by the calculator's run-past, with its allowances. A British door frame bedded against insulated cavity closers is sealed to them and not taped, so the row can be unticked there.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The waste allowance: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. Change any other figure on the Window Opening Flashing Membrane Calculator | 29.7 ft | |
Flashing tape round each glazing frameWindow Opening Flashing Membrane CalculatorThe same tape round every window, sill, jambs and head, at each window's opening from its cill to the head height, with the calculator's allowances.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The waste allowance: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. Change any other figure on the Window Opening Flashing Membrane Calculator | 39.6 ft | |
Ceiling boardCeiling Plasterboard (Gypsum Board) Sheet CalculatorBoard for a flat ceiling over the floor inside the walls, fixed under ceiling joists at the eave height, at the calculator's opening sheet and cutting allowance. A ceiling boarded up the slope of the rafters is larger by the roof's slope factor.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The waste allowance: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. Change any other figure on the Ceiling Plasterboard (Gypsum Board) Sheet Calculator | 1 sheet | |
Drywall (plasterboard) on the new wallsCeiling Plasterboard (Gypsum Board) Sheet CalculatorBoard over the inside face of the three new walls, floor to ceiling, less the door and the windows, fixed to battens (furring strips) or on adhesive dabs over the blockwork, at the calculator's opening sheet and cutting allowance; the ceiling sheet page takes any area. The house wall inside the porch keeps its own face and is painted.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The waste allowance: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. Change any other figure on the Ceiling Plasterboard (Gypsum Board) Sheet Calculator | 3 sheets | |
Joint compound (mud) for the walls and ceilingDrywall Joint Compound CalculatorCompound for bedding the tape and the fill and finish coats over the ceiling and the new walls together, from the calculator's coverage for a three-coat finish with its pan and sanding allowance: whole boxes with imperial showing, the weight of ready-mixed compound with metric.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The pan and sanding loss: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. Change any other figure on the Drywall Joint Compound Calculator | 1 x 4.5 gal box | |
Joint tape for the walls and ceilingDrywall Joint Tape CalculatorTape for the joints between boards at the calculator's rate for its opening 8 ft (2.4 m) boards, and for the angles: the ceiling's edge all round and the four inside corners floor to ceiling, where new board meets the house wall or another new wall. The corners round the door and window reveals take bead or tape of their own, not counted here.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The waste allowance: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. Change any other figure on the Drywall Joint Tape Calculator | 97.76 ft | |
Floor tilesFloor & Wall Tile CalculatorTiles for the floor inside the walls at the calculator's opening tile and lay, laid once the screed has dried. The adhesive and grout are the tiler's, and the strip where the porch floor meets the hall's is listed as work.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The pattern waste: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. | 7 tiles | |
Wall paint insidePaint CalculatorTwo coats over the four walls inside the porch, the house wall with them, less the outer door, the house's front door and the windows, each door taken off at the outer door's opening and each window at its own. A thinned mist coat goes on the new plaster first, listed as work.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
| 0.48 gal | |
Ceiling paintCeiling Paint CalculatorThe porch's ceiling, two coats at the calculator's opening spread rate.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
| 0.1215 gal | |
Skip (dumpster) for the spoilSkip & Dumpster Size CalculatorSpoil from the trenches and the floor dig, loosened by a quarter, as soil: heavy enough that a skip can reach its weight limit before it is full, so book by the working's count of loads by weight. It carries the strip the two digs share, as the floor dig's note says; an old canopy, step or porch taken away first adds to it.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
Change any other figure on the Skip & Dumpster Size Calculator | 4.81 yd³ | |
Footing trenches, dug by handTrench Excavation & Backfill Volume CalculatorA hand-dug trench on the walls' centre line, as wide as the footing and as deep as you gave, running up to the house's own footing at each end. The hole itself is the working's excavation line; the headline is that volume grown by a quarter as dug ground loosens, which is what leaves in the skip.
Why this quantity? | 2.7 m³ (loose) | |
Dig out the floor areaTrench Excavation & Backfill Volume CalculatorThe floor's footprint inside the walls dug out to the depth you gave, once both leaves stand at the damp course, and loosened by a quarter like the trenches. Where the footing is wider than the wall, the strip of it inside the inner face was taken out with the trenches already and is counted again here: on the opening porch about 0.1 m³ (3 1/2 cu ft) loose, which the skip carries too.
Why this quantity? | 0.675 m³ (loose) | |
Footing concreteContinuous Footing / Grade Beam Volume CalculatorTrench-fill concrete along the walls' centre line at the design's width and depth, with the calculator's waste allowance. The mix, any reinforcement and how the new footing meets the house's own are the designer's; this row never chooses a footing.
Why this quantity? | 1.81 m³ | |
Blocks below the damp course (DPC), both leavesConcrete CMU Block Counter & Grout Infill CalculatorThe short walls between the footing concrete and the damp course, inner and outer leaf each on its own centre line, in solid blocks with no cell grouted; whether the cavity below ground is filled or closed is the designer's call.
Why this quantity? | 35 blocks | |
Hardcore under the floorGravel Base Layer Tonnage CalculatorCrushed stone under the porch floor, by weight, at the calculator's opening compacted thickness and density; the design sets the thickness, and the sand blinding spread on it before the membrane is not in the row.
Why this quantity? | 0.7128 metric tons | |
Floor insulation boardsFoam Board Insulation CalculatorInsulation boards laid on the membrane across the porch floor, at the calculator's opening sheet and cutting allowance; strips cut from them line the slab's edge. A porch kept outside the house's heated space has no thickness set for it by the energy rules, so the thickness is the owner's or the designer's choice.
Why this quantity? | 1 sheet (2400x1200 mm) | |
Floor slab concreteConcrete CalculatorConcrete for the porch floor, cast over the insulation at the calculator's opening thickness and waste allowance, both of which the designer sets. It is kept low enough that the screed and tiles finish flush with the hall floor through the front door.
Why this quantity? | 0.2376 m³ | |
Inner leaf blocks, full heightConcrete CMU Block Counter & Grout Infill CalculatorBlockwork for the inner leaf at full wall height wherever no door or window breaks it, on the leaf's centre line, laid solid. The working gives the mortar the blocks take.
Why this quantity? | 55 blocks | |
Inner leaf blocks between the heads and the eavesConcrete CMU Block Counter & Grout Infill CalculatorThe inner leaf above every opening, one run as long as the door and windows together and as tall as the wall above their heads. The lintels sit in these courses, so the row runs a little over.
Why this quantity? | 7 blocks | |
Inner leaf blocks under the cillsConcrete CMU Block Counter & Grout Infill CalculatorThe inner leaf below every window, one run as long as the windows together and as tall as the cill; the door opening has none.
Why this quantity? | 12 blocks | |
Facing bricks, full heightBrick CalculatorFacing brick at full wall height wherever the door or a window does not break the outer leaf, on the leaf's centre line, at the brick and joint the sizes below set and the calculator's allowance. The working gives the mortar in bags.
Why this quantity? | 470 bricks | |
Facing bricks between the heads and the eavesBrick CalculatorBrickwork between the lintels and the eaves, over the door and every window, one run as long as all of them together; a soldier course over the door, where the design has one, comes from these bricks.
Why this quantity? | 44 bricks | |
Facing bricks under the cillsBrick CalculatorThe outer leaf below every window, one run as long as the windows together and as tall as the cill.
Why this quantity? | 71 bricks | |
Wall ties across the cavityBrick Veneer Wall Tie Density CalculatorTies bedded across the cavity as the leaves rise, over the cavity's own area less the door and windows, at the calculator's US spacing of one to about 0.25 m² (2.67 sq ft). British practice spaces them by its own table, and neither figure has the extra ties at each jamb and where the porch walls meet the house.
Why this quantity? | 33 ties | |
Weeps above the damp courseCavity Wall Weep Hole Spacing CalculatorWeeps in the outer leaf just above the damp course, at the calculator's opening centres along its run, stopping at the door opening. Each lintel's tray drains through weeps of its own, not counted here.
Why this quantity? | 8 weep holes | |
Lean-to rafters (roof timbers)Roof Truss Spacing & Count CalculatorOne rafter at each end of the porch and the rest between them at the calculator's opening centres, each running from the plate on the front wall up to a plate or hangers fixed to the house. The designer sets their size, their centres and how they are held at the house.
Why this quantity? | 5 trusses | |
FasciaFascia Board CalculatorFascia along the porch's one eave, in stock lengths with the calculator's allowance. The two sides are verges, finished with a dry verge or mortar under tiles and a rake trim under shingles, which are not in the row.
Why this quantity? | 1 x 3.6 m board | |
Roof underlay, breathableRoofing Underlayment CalculatorUnderlay over the porch's one slope, its width times the rafter's length from the eave up to the house wall, lapped at the calculator's allowance. The page's rolls are US 1,000 sq ft (about 93 m²) synthetics, of which a porch uses a fraction; British breathable membranes are sold in smaller rolls, so the lapped area in the working is the figure to buy by.
Why this quantity? | 1 roll | |
Batten rows up the slopeRoof Batten Spacing Calculator (Tile Roofing)Rows of battens from the eave up to the house at the tile's gauge, the sizes' own. The battens to buy are the rows times the porch's width, each joint made over a rafter.
Why this quantity? | 7 rows | |
Tile fixings (nails and clips), with the tile countRoof Covering Fixing CalculatorNails and clips for every tile over the slope, at the tile's cover and gauge, two to a tile in the field and four at the perimeter as the calculator opens, with its spare allowance; its working's units in total is the tile count. On a roof this small a large share of the tiles are at an edge, so the tile maker's fixing specification for the site's wind (BS 5534 in the UK) can ask for more.
Why this quantity? | 111 fixings | |
Lead or metal flashing where the roof meets the house wallExterior Flashing Layout Trim Sheet CalculatorThe flashing dressed over the roof's top edge against the house, counted in pieces at the length the sizes below set: 1.5 m (5 ft) lead in metric, a 10 ft (3.05 m) coil piece in imperial. The cavity tray cut into the house wall above it is listed as work.
Why this quantity? | 2 sheets | |
Gutter and downpipe (downspout) along the eaveGutter CalculatorGutter along the porch's one eave in stock sections; its working counts the downpipe (downspout), which runs down a front corner to a drain or soakaway listed as work.
Why this quantity? | 1 x 4 m section | |
Gutter bracketsGutter Hanger Spacing CalculatorBrackets for the short gutter at the calculator's opening spacing, with one at each end.
Why this quantity? | 5 hangers | |
Flashing tape round the entrance frameWindow Opening Flashing Membrane CalculatorFlashing tape for the outer door's frame, the sill, both jambs and the head, lapped past each corner by the calculator's run-past, with its allowances. A British door frame bedded against insulated cavity closers is sealed to them and not taped, so the row can be unticked there.
Why this quantity? | 8.8 m | |
Flashing tape round each glazing frameWindow Opening Flashing Membrane CalculatorThe same tape round every window, sill, jambs and head, at each window's opening from its cill to the head height, with the calculator's allowances.
Why this quantity? | 11.88 m | |
Ceiling boardCeiling Plasterboard (Gypsum Board) Sheet CalculatorBoard for a flat ceiling over the floor inside the walls, fixed under ceiling joists at the eave height, at the calculator's opening sheet and cutting allowance. A ceiling boarded up the slope of the rafters is larger by the roof's slope factor.
Why this quantity? | 1 sheet | |
Plaster on the inside of the new wallsFloat and Set Plaster CalculatorA backing coat and a finish coat over the inside face of the three new walls, floor to ceiling, less the door and the windows, at the calculator's opening thicknesses and allowance; the working gives each coat's bags. The house wall inside the porch keeps its own face and is painted.
Why this quantity? | 89.12 kg | |
Skim coat on the ceiling boardSkim Coat Plaster CalculatorFinish plaster over the boarded ceiling, at the calculator's opening thickness and allowance.
Why this quantity? | 6.21 kg | |
Floor tilesFloor & Wall Tile CalculatorTiles for the floor inside the walls at the calculator's opening tile and lay, laid once the screed has dried. The adhesive and grout are the tiler's, and the strip where the porch floor meets the hall's is listed as work.
Why this quantity? | 7 tiles | |
Wall paint insidePaint CalculatorTwo coats over the four walls inside the porch, the house wall with them, less the outer door, the house's front door and the windows, each door taken off at the outer door's opening and each window at its own. A thinned mist coat goes on the new plaster first, listed as work.
Why this quantity? | 1.75 L | |
Ceiling paintCeiling Paint CalculatorThe porch's ceiling, two coats at the calculator's opening spread rate.
Why this quantity? | 0.432 L | |
Skip (dumpster) for the spoilSkip & Dumpster Size CalculatorSpoil from the trenches and the floor dig, loosened by a quarter, as soil: heavy enough that a skip can reach its weight limit before it is full, so book by the working's count of loads by weight. It carries the strip the two digs share, as the floor dig's note says; an old canopy, step or porch taken away first adds to it.
Why this quantity? | 3.38 m³ |
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.
- Footing trenches, dug by hand11 h (6.0–24)
- Dig out the floor area2.5 h (1.4–5.6)
- Footing concrete4.1 h (2.0–8.5)
- Blocks below the damp course (DPC), both leaves4.8 h (3.1–9.1)
- Hardcore under the floor0.3 h (0.1–1.0)
- Floor insulation boards0.4 h (0.2–1.1)
- Floor slab concrete0.6 h (0.3–1.1)
- Inner leaf blocks, full height5.9 h (3.8–11)
- Inner leaf blocks between the heads and the eaves0.8 h (0.5–1.4)
- Inner leaf blocks under the cills1.3 h (0.8–2.4)
- Facing bricks, full height20 h (13–42)
- Facing bricks between the heads and the eaves1.9 h (1.3–4.0)
- Facing bricks under the cills3.1 h (2.0–6.4)
- Fascia2.0 h (1.0–4.9)
- Roof deck boards, plywood or OSB0.7 h (0.4–1.4)
- Roof underlay, breathable0.2 h (0.1–0.5)
- Shingles, in squares0.6 h (0.4–1.4)
- Lead or metal flashing where the roof meets the house wall2.2 h (0.7–4.4)
- Gutter and downpipe (downspout) along the eave1.0 h (0.5–2.0)
- Flashing tape round the entrance frame4.0 h (1.0–8.0)
- Flashing tape round each glazing frame8.0 h (2.0–16)
- Ceiling board0.3 h (0.2–0.6)
- Drywall (plasterboard) on the new walls1.0 h (0.5–1.8)
- Joint compound (mud) for the walls and ceiling1.4 h (0.8–2.9)
- Floor tiles1.4 h (0.8–2.7)
- Wall paint inside1.6 h (0.9–3.6)
- Ceiling paint0.4 h (0.2–0.9)
About 81 person-hours in the rows that carry them, between 44 and 168.
Trade by trade
- Labourer1 labourer2½ days
- Mason1 mason + 1 labourer2½ days
- Carpenter1 carpenter + 1 labourerunder a quarter of a day
- Roofer2 roofershalf a day
- Glazier2 glaziers1 day
- Drywaller1 drywaller + 1 labourerunder a quarter of a day
- Taper1 taper + 1 labourerunder a quarter of a day
- Tiler1 tilerunder a quarter of a day
- Painter1 painterhalf a day
About 6½ days, one trade after another at eight hours a day. Left out: drying and curing, deliveries, inspections, trades overlapping.
6 rows carry no hours of their own
- Wall ties across the cavity: counted with Facing bricks, full height and Facing bricks between the heads and the eaves and Facing bricks under the cills
- Weeps above the damp course: counted with Facing bricks, full height and Facing bricks between the heads and the eaves and Facing bricks under the cills
- Lean-to rafters (roof timbers): The roof structure is not rated here: its span, pitch and the engineer's details set the time more than any count of members.
- Gutter brackets: counted with Gutter and downpipe (downspout) along the eave
- Joint tape for the walls and ceiling: counted with Joint compound (mud) for the walls and ceiling
- Skip (dumpster) for the spoil: counted with Footing trenches, dug by hand and Dig out the floor area
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.
- Footing trenches, dug by hand9.7 h (5.4–22)
- Dig out the floor area2.4 h (1.3–5.4)
- Footing concrete4.1 h (2.1–8.6)
- Blocks below the damp course (DPC), both leaves3.0 h (1.9–5.6)
- Hardcore under the floor0.3 h (0.1–1.0)
- Floor insulation boards0.4 h (0.2–1.1)
- Floor slab concrete0.5 h (0.3–1.1)
- Inner leaf blocks, full height4.7 h (3.0–8.8)
- Inner leaf blocks between the heads and the eaves0.6 h (0.4–1.1)
- Inner leaf blocks under the cills1.0 h (0.7–1.9)
- Facing bricks, full height16 h (10–33)
- Facing bricks between the heads and the eaves1.5 h (1.0–3.1)
- Facing bricks under the cills2.4 h (1.6–5.0)
- Fascia1.9 h (1.0–4.8)
- Roof underlay, breathable0.2 h (0.1–0.5)
- Tile fixings (nails and clips), with the tile count2.7 h (1.4–11)
- Lead or metal flashing where the roof meets the house wall2.2 h (0.7–4.3)
- Gutter and downpipe (downspout) along the eave1.0 h (0.5–1.9)
- Flashing tape round the entrance frame4.0 h (1.0–8.0)
- Flashing tape round each glazing frame8.0 h (2.0–16)
- Ceiling board0.3 h (0.2–0.6)
- Plaster on the inside of the new walls1.1 h (0.7–2.3)
- Skim coat on the ceiling board0.4 h (0.2–0.8)
- Floor tiles1.3 h (0.8–2.6)
- Wall paint inside1.6 h (0.9–3.5)
- Ceiling paint0.4 h (0.2–0.9)
About 72 person-hours in the rows that carry them, between 38 and 155.
Trade by trade
- Labourer1 labourer2 days
- Mason1 mason + 1 labourer2 days
- Carpenter1 carpenter + 1 labourerunder a quarter of a day
- Roofer2 roofershalf a day
- Glazier2 glaziers1 day
- Drywaller1 drywaller + 1 labourerunder a quarter of a day
- Plasterer1 plastererunder a quarter of a day
- Tiler1 tilerunder a quarter of a day
- Painter1 painterunder a quarter of a day
About 6 days, one trade after another at eight hours a day. Left out: drying and curing, deliveries, inspections, trades overlapping.
6 rows carry no hours of their own
- Wall ties across the cavity: counted with Facing bricks, full height and Facing bricks between the heads and the eaves and Facing bricks under the cills
- Weeps above the damp course: counted with Facing bricks, full height and Facing bricks between the heads and the eaves and Facing bricks under the cills
- Lean-to rafters (roof timbers): The roof structure is not rated here: its span, pitch and the engineer's details set the time more than any count of members.
- Batten rows up the slope: counted with Tile fixings (nails and clips), with the tile count
- Gutter brackets: counted with Gutter and downpipe (downspout) along the eave
- Skip (dumpster) for the spoil: counted with Footing trenches, dug by hand and Dig out the floor area
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 porch is a small building with a large share of joins. Its walls stand on footings of their own but meet the house at each end, where they are tied into the house wall with a vertical damp course between old and new; its roof leans on the house, so a cavity tray is cut into the house wall above the roof line and a flashing is dressed over the roof's top edge; and it is built round the front door, whose frame, step and threshold may all be disturbed. In England and Wales a small ground-floor porch is exempt from the building regulations while it keeps the front door between it and the house and the house's heating is not run into it; across North America an enclosed porch is an addition that needs a permit.
The walls on this page are cavity walls to full height, an inner leaf of block and an outer leaf of facing brick or of rendered (stucco) block, with the outer door in the front and windows where you put them. On walls this short, a run measured round the outside face is about a fifth longer than the inner leaf, so each leaf is measured along its own centre line, in three rows: clear of the openings at full height, over the heads of the door and windows, and under the windows' cills (sills). A lintel (a header) goes over every opening, bedded with its cavity tray, and the cavity is closed round each opening. The units a reader sees pick the bricks and blocks too: a British porch in 215 × 65 mm (about 8 1/2 × 2 1/2 in) brick on 440 × 215 mm (about 17 3/8 × 8 1/2 in) block when metric is showing, a North American one in US modular units when imperial is, with the other market's sizes one choice away.
The roof is a lean-to: rafters from a plate on the front wall up to the house, a fascia and gutter along the eave, and either tiles on battens or asphalt shingles on a boarded deck (sheathing). The units pick the covering, tiles when metric is showing and shingles when imperial is, each one choice away in the other. The tile's size follows the units too, a 300 mm (about 11 3/4 in) cover tile in metric and a 12 in (305 mm) one in imperial, and the fixing row's working gives the tile count. The two sides are verges, finished with dry verge units or mortar under tiles and a drip edge (rake trim) under shingles. A flat porch roof is not built here.
Inside, the ground is dug out, filled with hardcore, sealed with a membrane, insulated and cast as a slab, then screeded and, if chosen, tiled; the ceiling is boarded, the new walls finished and the whole porch painted. The units pick the finish as well: plaster in two coats on the walls and a skimmed ceiling, the British finish, when metric is showing, and drywall (plasterboard) on the walls as well as the ceiling, taped and finished with joint compound, the North American one, when imperial is. The front door into the house can stay as it is. Where it is widened or taken out to join the porch to the hall, the wall above is propped and carried on a lintel or a beam, which this page lists and never sizes, and in England and Wales taking that door out, or heating the porch from the house, can take the porch outside its exemption.
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.
- Settle the size against the planning rules and the building regulations' exemption, or take out the permit; have the footings, the lintels and any beam into the house chosen by the designer; and trace the drains, cables, pipes and any meter under the footprint.
- Take away any old canopy, porch or step, peg the three walls out square off the house wall by their diagonals, dig the trenches by hand, and have them seen before the concrete goes in.
- Pour the footings, build both leaves to the damp-proof course, dig out the floor, and lay the hardcore, the membrane lapped up to the damp course, the insulation and the slab.
- Raise both leaves together, tying each wall into the house with a vertical damp course where it meets it, closing the cavity round every opening and bedding a lintel and its tray over the door and each window.
- Fix the wall plate and the rafters, cut the cavity tray into the house wall above the roof line, and fix the fascia and the underlay; batten and tile, or deck and shingle, the slope, dress the flashing over its top edge, and hang the gutter with its downpipe run to a drain.
- Fit the outer door, its threshold and the windows. If the doorway into the house is to be widened, do it now, while the porch is still bare: prop the wall above, cut the opening and set its lintel or beam on its bearings. Then board the ceiling, plaster the walls or board them and tape and finish every joint, making good round the new opening, and screed the floor.
- Tile the floor once the screed has dried, paint, connect any light or socket and have it tested, and clear the spoil and the waste.
What this takeoff does not cover
- What any member must be to carry its load: the porch's footings and slab, the lintels over its door and windows, its rafters, and the lintel or beam, padstones and props at a widened doorway into the house. They appear as work to be done, or as a count at the design's spacing, never with a size.
- Planning permission, whether the porch is within the size that needs none, and whether it falls inside the building regulations' exemption, which the council decides; in North America, the permit office.
- A gas or electricity meter, or its box, inside the porch's footprint, which the supplier or utility moves.
- Heating the porch from the house, which in England and Wales can take it outside the exemption, and any radiator or circuit that would do it.
- The floor's damp-proof membrane (a vapor barrier, in North America) as a quantity: one sheet laid on the blinded hardcore and lapped up to the damp course, listed as work, with no seam between widths for the seam tape page to count.
- Drainage under the footprint beyond connecting the downpipe to a drain or soakaway, and a build-over agreement where a public sewer runs beneath.
- The masonry above the eaves in each side wall where it is built up to the roof's slope: each is a triangle, half the porch's depth times the roof's rise.
- A flat porch roof, whose deck, insulation, covering and trims are the flat roof replacement page's rows over this footprint; and a gabled or hipped porch roof's second slope, ridge and hips.
- Roof tiles as a row of their own: on the tiled lean-to, the row that ends "with the tile count" gives it as its working's units in total, before any cut at a verge or broken in handling.
- A glazed porch of frames on dwarf walls, whose masonry stops at the cill and whose frames, and what carries the roof on them, are the glazier's and the designer's.
- The outer (front) door and windows themselves, a step or ramp up to the outer door, and the reveals round the openings inside, a narrow strip at each that the plaster row does not count.
Quote check
Been given a quote for this job?
Paste it into the porch 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.
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Frequently asked questions
- What does the porch takeoff give for a typical job?
- Opened at Width along the house 2.4 m · Projection from the house 1.5 m · Wall height, damp course to eaves 2.4 m · Cavity wall thickness 0.3 m · Outer door opening width 1 m · Height of the door and window heads 2.1 m · Windows 2 · Window opening width, each 0.6 m · Height of the window cills 0.9 m · Footing width, from the design 0.45 m · Footing concrete depth, from the design 0.8 m · Trench depth 1 m · Damp-proof course above the ground 0.15 m · Dig over the floor 0.25 m · Roof slope factor 1.15 · Eaves overhang 0.15 m, it orders: Footing trenches, dug by hand, 2.7 m³ (loose); Dig out the floor area, 0.68 m³ (loose); Footing concrete, 1.81 m³; Blocks below the damp course (DPC), both leaves, 35 blocks; Hardcore under the floor, 0.71 metric tons; Floor insulation boards, 1 sheet (2400x1200 mm); Floor slab concrete, 0.24 m³; Inner leaf blocks, full height, 55 blocks; Inner leaf blocks between the heads and the eaves, 7 blocks; Inner leaf blocks under the cills, 12 blocks; Facing bricks, full height, 470 bricks; Facing bricks between the heads and the eaves, 44 bricks; Facing bricks under the cills, 71 bricks; Wall ties across the cavity, 33 ties; Weeps above the damp course, 8 weep holes; Lean-to rafters (roof timbers), 5 trusses; Fascia, 1 x 3.6 m board; Roof underlay, breathable, 1 roll; Batten rows up the slope, 7 rows; Tile fixings (nails and clips), with the tile count, 111 fixings; Lead or metal flashing where the roof meets the house wall, 2 sheets; Gutter and downpipe (downspout) along the eave, 1 x 4 m section; Gutter brackets, 5 hangers; Flashing tape round the entrance frame, 8.8 m; Flashing tape round each glazing frame, 11.9 m; Ceiling board, 1 sheet; Plaster on the inside of the new walls, 89.1 kg; Skim coat on the ceiling board, 6.21 kg; Floor tiles, 7 tiles; Wall paint inside, 1.75 L; Ceiling paint, 0.43 L; Skip (dumpster) for the spoil, 3.38 m³. Opened at Width along the house 8 ft · Projection from the house 5 ft · Wall height, damp course to eaves 8 ft · Cavity wall thickness 11.8 in · Outer door opening width 3.5 ft · Height of the door and window heads 7 ft · Windows 2 · Window opening width, each 2 ft · Height of the window cills 3 ft · Footing width, from the design 18 in · Footing concrete depth, from the design 2.5 ft · Trench depth 3.5 ft · Damp-proof course above the ground 6 in · Dig over the floor 9.75 in · Roof slope factor 1.15 · Eaves overhang 6 in: Footing trenches, dug by hand, 3.9 yd³; Dig out the floor area, 0.91 yd³; Footing concrete, 2.34 yd³; Blocks below the damp course (DPC), both leaves, 57 blocks; Hardcore under the floor, 0.83 tons; Floor insulation boards, 1 sheet (4x8 ft); Floor slab concrete, 0.33 cubic yards; Inner leaf blocks, full height, 69 blocks; Inner leaf blocks between the heads and the eaves, 9 blocks; Inner leaf blocks under the cills, 15 blocks; Facing bricks, full height, 595 bricks; Facing bricks between the heads and the eaves, 57 bricks; Facing bricks under the cills, 91 bricks; Wall ties across the cavity, 33 ties; Weeps above the damp course, 8 weep holes; Lean-to rafters (roof timbers), 5 trusses; Fascia, 1 x 12 ft board; Roof deck boards, plywood or OSB, 2 sheets (4x8 ft); Roof underlay, breathable, 1 roll; Shingles, in squares, 0.56 squares; Lead or metal flashing where the roof meets the house wall, 1 sheet; Gutter and downpipe (downspout) along the eave, 1 x 10 ft section; Gutter brackets, 5 hangers; Flashing tape round the entrance frame, 29.7 ft; Flashing tape round each glazing frame, 39.6 ft; Ceiling board, 1 sheet; Drywall (plasterboard) on the new walls, 3 sheets; Joint compound (mud) for the walls and ceiling, 1 x 4.5 gal box; Joint tape for the walls and ceiling, 97.8 ft; Floor tiles, 7 tiles; Wall paint inside, 0.48 gal; Ceiling paint, 0.12 gal; Skip (dumpster) for the spoil, 4.81 yd³. Every figure follows the dimensions you give it.
- Which calculators does the porch takeoff run?
- 25 calculators, for 33 lines: Trench Excavation & Backfill Volume Calculator, Continuous Footing / Grade Beam Volume Calculator, Concrete CMU Block Counter & Grout Infill Calculator, Gravel Base Layer Tonnage Calculator, Foam Board Insulation Calculator, Concrete Calculator, Brick Calculator, Brick Veneer Wall Tie Density Calculator, Cavity Wall Weep Hole Spacing Calculator, Roof Truss Spacing & Count Calculator, Fascia Board Calculator, Plywood and OSB Sheet Calculator (Subfloor, Wall and Roof), Roofing Underlayment Calculator, Roof Squares Calculator, Exterior Flashing Layout Trim Sheet Calculator, Gutter Calculator, Gutter Hanger Spacing Calculator, Window Opening Flashing Membrane Calculator, Ceiling Plasterboard (Gypsum Board) Sheet Calculator, Drywall Joint Compound Calculator, Drywall Joint Tape Calculator, Floor & Wall Tile Calculator, Paint Calculator, Ceiling Paint Calculator, Skip & Dumpster Size Calculator. Each has a page of its own with its formula and its sources; the takeoff runs them all on one set of dimensions.25 calculators, for 32 lines: Trench Excavation & Backfill Volume Calculator, Continuous Footing / Grade Beam Volume Calculator, Concrete CMU Block Counter & Grout Infill Calculator, Gravel Base Layer Tonnage Calculator, Foam Board Insulation Calculator, Concrete Calculator, Brick Calculator, Brick Veneer Wall Tie Density Calculator, Cavity Wall Weep Hole Spacing Calculator, Roof Truss Spacing & Count Calculator, Fascia Board Calculator, Roofing Underlayment Calculator, Roof Batten Spacing Calculator (Tile Roofing), Roof Covering Fixing Calculator, Exterior Flashing Layout Trim Sheet Calculator, Gutter Calculator, Gutter Hanger Spacing Calculator, Window Opening Flashing Membrane Calculator, Ceiling Plasterboard (Gypsum Board) Sheet Calculator, Float and Set Plaster Calculator, Skim Coat Plaster Calculator, Floor & Wall Tile Calculator, Paint Calculator, Ceiling Paint Calculator, Skip & Dumpster Size 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 porch takeoff leave out?
- 11 things, each named on this page: What any member must be to carry its load; Planning permission, whether the porch is within the size that needs none, and whether it falls inside the building regulations' exemption, which the council decides; in North America, the permit office; A gas or electricity meter, or its box, inside the porch's footprint, which the supplier or utility moves; Heating the porch from the house, which in England and Wales can take it outside the exemption, and any radiator or circuit that would do it; The floor's damp-proof membrane (a vapor barrier, in North America) as a quantity; Drainage under the footprint beyond connecting the downpipe to a drain or soakaway, and a build-over agreement where a public sewer runs beneath; The masonry above the eaves in each side wall where it is built up to the roof's slope; A flat porch roof, whose deck, insulation, covering and trims are the flat roof replacement page's rows over this footprint; and a gabled or hipped porch roof's second slope, ridge and hips; Roof tiles as a row of their own; A glazed porch of frames on dwarf walls, whose masonry stops at the cill and whose frames, and what carries the roof on them, are the glazier's and the designer's; The outer (front) door and windows themselves, a step or ramp up to the outer door, and the reveals round the openings inside, a narrow strip at each that the plaster row does not count.
- Can I check a quote for this job against the takeoff?
- Yes. The porch 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.