Craft Quantities
Plan & Takeoffs

Job takeoff

Suspended ceiling grid takeoff

Tiles, hanger wires, wall angle and runner splices for a lay-in grid ceiling.

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
  • 4Trades 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 suspended ceiling 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

4 of 4 trades chosenNot pricedNot in project

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

TradeQuantity
Drop Ceiling Tile CalculatorTiles for the room at the default module.
Base
127 tiles
Border-cut allowance
+7 tiles · 5%, trade convention
Adjusted
134 tiles
Order
134 tiles, already whole
Why this quantity?
  1. Base quantity127 tilescalculatorDrop Ceiling Tile Calculator v1.1.0, headline with the border-cut allowance at 0%
  2. Border-cut allowance7 tilesworked outthe adjusted figure less the base, at 5% (the calculator's working figure, a trade convention)
  3. Adjusted quantity134 tilescalculatorDrop Ceiling Tile Calculator v1.1.0, headline with the border-cut allowance at 5%
  4. Order quantity134 tilesworked out134 tiles, already whole

Resting on

  • Room length26 ftgivenyour room length
  • Room width19.5 ftgivenyour room width
  • Tile Size: 2x2 ftassumedthe Drop Ceiling Tile Calculator's default
  • Which Way the Long Side of the Panel Runs: Along the room's lengthassumedthe Drop Ceiling Tile Calculator's default
  • Border-Cut Allowance (%)5%assumedthe Drop Ceiling Tile Calculator's default

The border-cut allowance: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention.

Change any other figure on the Drop Ceiling Tile Calculator

134 tiles
Suspended Ceiling Wire Hanger Count CalculatorHanger wires at the default grid spacing.
Base
32 hangers
Allowance
+0 hangers · none added
Adjusted
32 hangers
Order
32 hangers, already whole
Why this quantity?
  1. Base quantity32 hangerscalculatorSuspended Ceiling Wire Hanger Count Calculator v1.0.1, headline
  2. Allowance0 hangersworked outnone: the calculator adds no allowance, and none was added
  3. Adjusted quantity32 hangersworked outthe base plus the allowance
  4. Order quantity32 hangersworked out32 hangers, already whole

Resting on

  • Room length26 ftgivenyour room length
  • Room width19.5 ftgivenyour room width
  • Maximum Hanger Grid Spacing (Each Direction)4 ftassumedthe Suspended Ceiling Wire Hanger Count Calculator's default

Change any other figure on the Suspended Ceiling Wire Hanger Count Calculator

32 hangers
Suspended Ceiling Wall Angle Take-OffWall angle around the perimeter, in stock lengths.
Base
8 lengths
Waste allowance
+1 length · 10%, trade convention
Adjusted
9 lengths
Order
9 lengths, already whole
Why this quantity?
  1. Base quantity8 lengthscalculatorSuspended Ceiling Wall Angle Take-Off v1.0.1, headline with the waste allowance at 0%
  2. Waste allowance1 lengthworked outthe adjusted figure less the base, at 10% (the calculator's working figure, a trade convention)
  3. Adjusted quantity9 lengthscalculatorSuspended Ceiling Wall Angle Take-Off v1.0.1, headline with the waste allowance at 10%
  4. Order quantity9 lengthsworked out9 lengths, already whole

Resting on

  • Room length26 ftgivenyour room length
  • Room width19.5 ftgivenyour room width
  • Extra Perimeter from Recesses and Columns0 ftassumedthe Suspended Ceiling Wall Angle Take-Off's default
  • Internal Corners4assumedthe Suspended Ceiling Wall Angle Take-Off's default
  • External Corners0assumedthe Suspended Ceiling Wall Angle Take-Off's default
  • Stock Length of the Wall Angle12 ftassumedthe Suspended Ceiling Wall Angle Take-Off's default
  • Waste Allowance (%)10%assumedthe Suspended Ceiling Wall Angle Take-Off's default

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

Change any other figure on the Suspended Ceiling Wall Angle Take-Off

9 lengths
Drop-Ceiling Main Runner Splice CalculatorSplices where each main, run along the room's length, exceeds a single stock length, times the number of main lines: the room's width divided by the main spacing, rounded up.
Base
10 splices
Allowance
+0 splices · none added
Adjusted
10 splices
Order
10 splices, already whole
Why this quantity?
  1. Base quantity10 splicescalculatorDrop-Ceiling Main Runner Splice Calculator v1.1.1, headline
  2. Allowance0 splicesworked outnone: the calculator adds no allowance, and none was added
  3. Adjusted quantity10 splicesworked outthe base plus the allowance
  4. Order quantity10 splicesworked out10 splices, already whole

Resting on

  • Room length26 ftgivenyour room length
  • Standard Runner Length12 ftassumedthe Drop-Ceiling Main Runner Splice Calculator's default
  • Room width19.5 ftgivenyour room width
  • Main runner spacing4 ftgivenyour main runner spacing

Change any other figure on the Drop-Ceiling Main Runner Splice Calculator

10 splices
Drop Ceiling Tile CalculatorTiles for the room at the default module.
Base
134 tiles
Border-cut allowance
+6 tiles · 5%, trade convention
Adjusted
140 tiles
Order
140 tiles, already whole
Why this quantity?
140 tiles
Suspended Ceiling Wire Hanger Count CalculatorHanger wires at the default grid spacing.
Base
34 hangers
Allowance
+0 hangers · none added
Adjusted
34 hangers
Order
34 hangers, already whole
Why this quantity?
34 hangers
Suspended Ceiling Wall Angle Take-OffWall angle around the perimeter, in stock lengths.
Base
8 lengths
Waste allowance
+1 length · 10%, trade convention
Adjusted
9 lengths
Order
9 lengths, already whole
Why this quantity?
9 lengths
Drop-Ceiling Main Runner Splice CalculatorSplices where each main, run along the room's length, exceeds a single stock length, times the number of main lines: the room's width divided by the main spacing, rounded up.
Base
10 splices
Allowance
+0 splices · none added
Adjusted
10 splices
Order
10 splices, already whole
Why this quantity?
10 splices

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.

No row going in carries a rate yet.

4 rows carry no hours of their own
  • Drop Ceiling Tile: no rate for its work here yet
  • Suspended Ceiling Wire Hanger Count: no rate for its work here yet
  • Suspended Ceiling Wall Angle Take-Off: no rate for its work here yet
  • Drop-Ceiling Main Runner Splice: no rate for its work here yet

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.

No row going in carries a rate yet.

4 rows carry no hours of their own
  • Drop Ceiling Tile: no rate for its work here yet
  • Suspended Ceiling Wire Hanger Count: no rate for its work here yet
  • Suspended Ceiling Wall Angle Take-Off: no rate for its work here yet
  • Drop-Ceiling Main Runner Splice: no rate for its work here yet

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 grid ceiling is four quantities that come off the room in four different ways, which is exactly the case an assembly exists for. The tiles follow the area divided by a module. The hangers follow the area divided by a spacing, which is a different division and a different number. The wall angle follows the perimeter. The splices follow the length of each main run against the stock length of a main runner, times the number of mains across the room — a quantity that a room-area estimate misses entirely.

The module is the decision everything else follows from. A 600 mm (2 ft) grid and a 600 × 1200 (2 × 4 ft) grid cover the same ceiling with different tile counts, different runner lengths and a visibly different room, and changing your mind after the angle is fixed means taking the angle off.

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. Set the datum with a laser and mark it right round the room before fixing anything.
  2. Fix the wall angle to the line, mitring the corners rather than butting them.
  3. Set out the grid from the centre so the border tiles are equal and not slivers.
  4. Hang the wires at the spacing, plumb and tight — a slack wire is a grid that waves.
  5. Run the mains, then the cross tees, squaring as you go.
  6. Drop the tiles in last, after the trades above the ceiling have finished.

What this takeoff does not cover

  • Everything in the void: services, insulation, fire barriers and the hangers for anything other than the grid itself.
  • Light fittings, diffusers, sprinkler heads and the extra support each one needs.
  • Seismic or wind restraint, and the perimeter fixing regime a rated ceiling requires.
  • Cutting the border tiles, which is where the labour is.

Quote check

Been given a quote for this job?

Paste it into the suspended ceiling 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 suspended ceiling takeoff give for a typical job?
Opened at Room length 8 m · Room width 6 m · Main runner spacing 1.2 m, it orders: Drop Ceiling Tile, 140 tiles; Suspended Ceiling Wire Hanger Count, 34 hangers; Suspended Ceiling Wall Angle Take-Off, 9 lengths; Drop-Ceiling Main Runner Splice, 10 splices. Opened at Room length 26 ft · Room width 19.5 ft · Main runner spacing 4 ft: Drop Ceiling Tile, 134 tiles; Suspended Ceiling Wire Hanger Count, 32 hangers; Suspended Ceiling Wall Angle Take-Off, 9 lengths; Drop-Ceiling Main Runner Splice, 10 splices. Every figure follows the dimensions you give it.
Which calculators does the suspended ceiling takeoff run?
4 calculators, one to a line: Drop Ceiling Tile Calculator, Suspended Ceiling Wire Hanger Count Calculator, Suspended Ceiling Wall Angle Take-Off, Drop-Ceiling Main Runner Splice 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 suspended ceiling takeoff leave out?
4 things, each named on this page: Everything in the void; Light fittings, diffusers, sprinkler heads and the extra support each one needs; Seismic or wind restraint, and the perimeter fixing regime a rated ceiling requires; Cutting the border tiles, which is where the labour is.
Can I check a quote for this job against the takeoff?
Yes. The suspended ceiling 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.