Job takeoff
Stud partition takeoff
Studs, jointing compound and outlets for a single run of internal partition.
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.
- 3Measurements 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 stud partition 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 | |
|---|---|---|
Framing Stud CalculatorStuds at standard centres, plus a king and a jack stud each side of each opening.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
| 15 studs | |
Drywall Joint Compound CalculatorCompound for one face, with each opening taken off as a 1.95 m² (21 sq ft) door — double it for both faces.
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 | |
Outlet Spacing CalculatorMinimum outlet count treating the wall as one uninterrupted run. A door ends a wall space, so with a door in the run, count each space either side of it on the outlet calculator and add them — that can be one more outlet per door.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
| 2 outlets (minimum) | |
Framing Stud CalculatorStuds at standard centres, plus a king and a jack stud each side of each opening.
Why this quantity? | 15 studs | |
Drywall Joint Compound CalculatorCompound for one face, with each opening taken off as a 1.95 m² (21 sq ft) door — double it for both faces.
Why this quantity? | 5.07 kg | |
Outlet Spacing CalculatorMinimum outlet count treating the wall as one uninterrupted run. A door ends a wall space, so with a door in the run, count each space either side of it on the outlet calculator and add them — that can be one more outlet per door.
Why this quantity? | 2 outlets (minimum) |
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.
- Framing Stud2.2 h (1.2–4.4)
- Drywall Joint Compound1.2 h (0.7–2.5)
About 3.4 person-hours in the rows that carry them, between 1.9 and 6.8.
Trade by trade
- Carpenter2 carpentersunder a quarter of a day
- Taper1 taper + 1 labourerunder a quarter of a day
About under a quarter of 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
- Outlet Spacing: Electrical work is not rated here: it is work for a registered electrician, and access (open new walls against an occupied house being rewired) changes 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.
- Framing Stud2.2 h (1.2–4.4)
- Drywall Joint Compound1.2 h (0.7–2.4)
About 3.4 person-hours in the rows that carry them, between 1.9 and 6.8.
Trade by trade
- Carpenter2 carpentersunder a quarter of a day
- Taper1 taper + 1 labourerunder a quarter of a day
About under a quarter of 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
- Outlet Spacing: Electrical work is not rated here: it is work for a registered electrician, and access (open new walls against an occupied house being rewired) changes 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 partition is priced by three different measures at once. The framing follows the wall's length and its openings, the board and the compound follow its face area, and the outlets follow the length again but against an entirely different rule — an electrical spacing requirement rather than a material one. That is three quantities from two dimensions, and getting one of them from the wrong measure is the usual error.
The compound figure here is for one face. A partition has two, so double it unless you are boarding against an existing wall — and remember that the second face is the one that decides whether services can still be run.
Where the wall stops is where partitions usually go wrong, and no dimension on this page reaches it. A partition under a concrete soffit needs a head that lets the slab above deflect without loading the studs, which is a deflection track and a slip joint rather than a screwed connection; fix it solid and the first live load upstairs cracks the board along the ceiling line. A door in the run is the other one. The stud row already adds a king and a jack stud each side of every opening, so do not add them again; the header over it and the cripples above it are in no row here.
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.
- Mark the line on the floor and transfer it to the ceiling with a plumb or a laser.
- Fix the head and base plates, then set the studs at their centres.
- Frame the openings — a door needs a header and cripples, not just a gap.
- Run services and fit any insulation before the second face goes on.
- Board one side, then the other; stagger the joints between faces.
- Tape, fill and sand both faces.
What this takeoff does not cover
- The boards themselves. This takeoff counts the studs, the jointing compound for one face and the outlets. The drywall calculator counts board for a four-walled room at one standard sheet, 2400 × 1200 mm (4 × 8 ft), so for a single partition take both faces' area, less the openings, and divide it by the area of the sheet you buy, then add a cutting allowance — the drywall calculator adds 10%.
- Head and base plates, about twice the wall length in timber; the header and cripples at each opening; and extra studs at corners and junctions. The stud row is a count of pieces, not a timber schedule.
- Acoustic or fire performance. A rated or sound-insulated partition has a specified build-up, and neither its layers nor its insulation are derived from a wall's length.
- Door linings, casings, ironmongery and the door.
- Everything electrical beyond the outlet count: cable, boxes, circuits and the design that puts them on one.
Quote check
Been given a quote for this job?
Paste it into the stud partition 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 stud partition takeoff give for a typical job?
- Opened at Wall length 4 m · Wall height 2.4 m · Doors / openings 1, it orders: Framing Stud, 15 studs; Drywall Joint Compound, 5.07 kg; Outlet Spacing, 2 outlets (minimum). Opened at Wall length 13 ft · Wall height 8 ft · Doors / openings 1: Framing Stud, 15 studs; Drywall Joint Compound, 1 x 4.5 gal box; Outlet Spacing, 2 outlets (minimum). Every figure follows the dimensions you give it.
- Which calculators does the stud partition takeoff run?
- 3 calculators, one to a line: Framing Stud Calculator, Drywall Joint Compound Calculator, Outlet Spacing 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 stud partition takeoff leave out?
- 5 things, each named on this page: The boards themselves; Head and base plates, about twice the wall length in timber; the header and cripples at each opening; and extra studs at corners and junctions; Acoustic or fire performance; Door linings, casings, ironmongery and the door; Everything electrical beyond the outlet count.
- Can I check a quote for this job against the takeoff?
- Yes. The stud partition 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.