Craft Quantities
Plan & Takeoffs

Quote check

Check a garden room quote

Paste the quote you were given and enter your measurements. Every line is read against the job: what the quote leaves out, what it adds, which quantities sit outside the computed range, and what to ask. Quantities only — never prices.
  • 3028Lines the job needs
  • 15Measurements
  • QuestionsNever a verdict

How the quote is read

Each line of a garden room quote is matched to the line of the job it names, or marked as something the Garden room or backyard office takeoff does not measure — labour, removal, hire, fees, or anything else. Work the takeoff lists as part of the job but gives no quantity for is read as that work, not as something the quote adds.

The job’s own figures come from 15 measurements — length, along the front, depth, front to back, height clad outside, room height, floor to ceiling, wall thickness, sheathing to lining, roof overhang, each edge, door opening width, door opening height, windows, window opening width, each, window opening height, each, supply cable route, house to room, cable trench depth, dig over the footprint, membrane turned over each roof edge — run through the same calculators as the takeoff, so the two give the same figure for the same job.

Reading a garden room quote

A garden room can be bought as a kit to assemble, as a supplier's room built on your ground, or as a builder's own design, and each of the three leaves a different share of the job out of the price. Worth asking whether the figure includes the base as well as the building, who designs and drives the ground screws or pours the piers, whose record of them comes with the handover, and whether the turf and soil dug off the footprint are taken away or left in a heap for you.

The layers between the frame and the weather are where two quotes for one size of room part company. Worth seeing named the breather membrane, the battens that hold the cladding off it, the insulation in the floor, the walls and the roof with its thickness, the vapour control layer, the roof membrane with its edge trims, and whether the cladding is stained or left to weather. The power is another trade's work inside the same price or beside it: worth settling whether the armoured cable, its trench, the new way in the board (panel) back at the house and the electrician's certificate are all in, and where the water off the roof is meant to go.

Whether the room needs planning permission or building control turns on how tall the room is, its distance from the boundary, its floor area and whether anyone will sleep in it, and a price may rest on an assumption about each. Worth asking which one the quote makes, and in North America whether the permit, its drawings and the inspections for an accessory structure are part of the figure.

Three steps

  1. Give your measurements. The page opens on a typical job so it has something to show.
  2. Paste the quote's lines as they came, or add them one at a time. Leave the prices in — they are taken out, never read.
  3. Read the report: what is left out, what is added, what sits outside the range, and one list of questions to send.

Your quote

The garden room quote you were given

Paste from an email, or open or drop a PDF, Excel, CSV or text file, or a photo of the quote. Amounts of money are taken out before anything is read — this page compares quantities, never prices.

Nothing you paste or open leaves this device.

or one the job needs:

The reading

What the quote says, against the job

Garden room · Length, along the front 13 ft · Depth, front to back 10 ft · Height clad outside 8 ft · Room height, floor to ceiling 7 ft · Wall thickness, sheathing to lining 4.75 in · Roof overhang, each edge 6 in · Door opening width 5 ft · Door opening height 6.5 ft · Windows 2 · Window opening width, each 3 ft · Window opening height, each 3.5 ft · Supply cable route, house to room 49 ft · Cable trench depth 2 ft · Dig over the footprint 4 in · Membrane turned over each roof edge 4 inLength, along the front 4 m · Depth, front to back 3 m · Height clad outside 2.4 m · Room height, floor to ceiling 2.2 m · Wall thickness, sheathing to lining 0.12 m · Roof overhang, each edge 0.15 m · Door opening width 1.5 m · Door opening height 2 m · Windows 2 · Window opening width, each 0.9 m · Window opening height, each 1 m · Supply cable route, house to room 15 m · Cable trench depth 0.6 m · Dig over the footprint 0.1 m · Membrane turned over each roof edge 0.1 m

  • What it leaves out

    Every line the job needs that nothing on the quote reads as, with the quantity your measurements produce.

  • What it adds

    Lines this job's takeoff does not measure — labour, removal, hire, fees, anything else — each named for what it is.

  • What sits outside the range

    Quantities above or below the computed range, by how much, in the quote's unit or converted and shown.

  • What to ask

    One list of questions, in the quote's order, ready to copy and send. Questions, never a verdict.

Paste the quote above, or add its lines one at a time. The reading appears here as each line is read.

Outside what this takeoff measures

11

Nothing in the reading measures these. Whether the quote covers each is worth asking in its own right: a scope missing from a quote tends to become a cost after work has started. Why each is left out is on the takeoff.

  • What the base and the frame must be to carry the room
  • Planning
  • Whether the house's main board (service panel) has the capacity for the room's circuit, the cable's size and protection, and the earthing arrangement at the room
  • A water supply, a toilet, a sink or a shower in the room, and any foul drainage from it
  • Whether a soakaway (a dry well) will drain in the ground and how big it must be, where the downpipe runs to one; the drain run to it is listed as work, not measured
  • Decking, a veranda, steps up to the door, and a path from the house
  • Choosing the door set and the windows
  • Heating, cooling or mechanical ventilation for the room
  • Architraves (casings) round the door set and the windows, and any window boards (stools): fixed with the skirting as its work, and not counted
  • The roof's fall
  • A roof covered in anything but a single EPDM sheet

The reference

Every line the reading looks for

For Length, along the front 13 ft · Depth, front to back 10 ft · Height clad outside 8 ft · Room height, floor to ceiling 7 ft · Wall thickness, sheathing to lining 4.75 in · Roof overhang, each edge 6 in · Door opening width 5 ft · Door opening height 6.5 ft · Windows 2 · Window opening width, each 3 ft · Window opening height, each 3.5 ft · Supply cable route, house to room 49 ft · Cable trench depth 2 ft · Dig over the footprint 4 in · Membrane turned over each roof edge 4 inLength, along the front 4 m · Depth, front to back 3 m · Height clad outside 2.4 m · Room height, floor to ceiling 2.2 m · Wall thickness, sheathing to lining 0.12 m · Roof overhang, each edge 0.15 m · Door opening width 1.5 m · Door opening height 2 m · Windows 2 · Window opening width, each 0.9 m · Window opening height, each 1 m · Supply cable route, house to room 15 m · Cable trench depth 0.6 m · Dig over the footprint 0.1 m · Membrane turned over each roof edge 0.1 m. Each is the calculator linked under it, run with those measurements; a range is that calculator at both ends of one choice, not a margin for error.

How the ranges are taken

Where the choice is cutting waste, the ends are the site’s own allowances: 5%, the tight buffer of a crew with a planned set-out, and 15%, the wider one a first-timer orders. Where the calculator decides between patterns or materials, the ends are the options it offers. Where it adds nothing for loss, the range runs from the net quantity to 15% over it.

A minimum — the fewest hangers a spacing allows, the least airflow a room needs — has no upper end. A single figure carries an allowance the material itself needs, such as a lap, and names it.

What a reading like this cannot see

  • It does not know your prices, your market, or what the work ought to cost.
  • It does not know the building — the access, the condition of what is there, or what has to happen first.
  • It cannot check a lump sum, because there is no quantity in one.
  • A line it reads as missing may be priced under another name. A quantity outside the range is not evidence of anything. Each is a reason to ask a question.
  • Two quotes are not comparable until their scopes are.
  • It is not advice, and it is no substitute for a second quote.

The full takeoff

Every quantity for this job, with its working

The Garden room or backyard office takeoff runs the same calculators on the same measurements and shows what sits under each line here.

Open the takeoffEvery quote check

  • Base, allowance, order

    Each line's quantity before and after its allowance, and what to buy.

  • Every allowance editable

    Change a waste figure and the order follows, with its source named.

  • Into a project

    Add the whole job to a workspace with your own prices.

Frequently asked questions

What quantities does a garden room job need?
It depends on the measurements, so this page asks for yours. At the size it opens on — Length, along the front 4 m · Depth, front to back 3 m · Height clad outside 2.4 m · Room height, floor to ceiling 2.2 m · Wall thickness, sheathing to lining 0.12 m · Roof overhang, each edge 0.15 m · Door opening width 1.5 m · Door opening height 2 m · Windows 2 · Window opening width, each 0.9 m · Window opening height, each 1 m · Supply cable route, house to room 15 m · Cable trench depth 0.6 m · Dig over the footprint 0.1 m · Membrane turned over each roof edge 0.1 m — the lines come to: Turf, topsoil and ground dug out over the footprint, 1.5 m³ (loose); Weed membrane and stone laid in the dig (gravel or hardcore), 2.64–3.04 metric tons; Floor insulation boards, cut between the joists, 5 sheets (2400x1200 mm); Wall studs, the walls' frame (studwork), 48–56 studs; Sheathing on the walls, OSB or plywood, 12–13 sheets (2440x1220 mm); Roof deck, OSB or plywood, 6 sheets (2440x1220 mm); Rigid insulation boards, warm roof, 6 sheets (2400x1200 mm); EPDM membrane over the roof, 1–2 rolls; Gutter and downpipe (downspout) along the eaves, 2–3 x 4 m sections; Breather membrane (house wrap) on the walls, 1 roll; Flashing tape round the openings, outside, 21–23 m; Battens and counter-battens, 184–212 m; Cladding boards and cover battens (board-and-batten siding), 80–92 boards; Trims outside: corners, heads and reveals, 8–10 sheets; Mastic (caulk) round the openings, 0.53–0.6 L; Exterior stain or paint on the clad walls, 9.46–10.9 L; Trench for the supply cable, dug and backfilled, 3.1 m³ (loose); Insulation batts, walls, 6 packages; Vapour control layer on the walls, 1 roll; Ceiling board (plasterboard or drywall), 4–5 sheets; Board on the walls inside (plasterboard or drywall), 9–10 sheets; Skim coat over the boards, walls and ceiling, 89.9–98.5 kg; Paint on the walls inside, 4.78–5.49 L; Paint on the ceiling, 2.08–2.39 L; Laminate or vinyl plank floor, 6 packs; Skirting (baseboard) round the room; architraves (casings) not counted, 12.7–14 m; Skip (dumpster) or muck away for the spoil, 1.5 m³; Skip or bags for the offcuts and packaging, 1.5 m³. In imperial units — Length, along the front 13 ft · Depth, front to back 10 ft · Height clad outside 8 ft · Room height, floor to ceiling 7 ft · Wall thickness, sheathing to lining 4.75 in · Roof overhang, each edge 6 in · Door opening width 5 ft · Door opening height 6.5 ft · Windows 2 · Window opening width, each 3 ft · Window opening height, each 3.5 ft · Supply cable route, house to room 49 ft · Cable trench depth 2 ft · Dig over the footprint 4 in · Membrane turned over each roof edge 4 in — they come to: Turf, topsoil and ground dug out over the footprint, 2.01 yd³; Concrete for the piers, 1.1–1.2 yd³; Weed membrane and stone laid in the dig (gravel or hardcore), 2.98–3.42 tons; Floor insulation boards, cut between the joists, 5 sheets (4x8 ft); Wall studs, the walls' frame (studwork), 48–56 studs; Sheathing on the walls, OSB or plywood, 13–14 sheets (4x8 ft); Roof deck, OSB or plywood, 6 sheets (4x8 ft); Rigid insulation boards, warm roof, 6 sheets (4x8 ft); EPDM membrane over the roof, 1–2 rolls; Gutter and downpipe (downspout) along the eaves, 2–3 x 10 ft sections; Breather membrane (house wrap) on the walls, 1 roll; Flashing tape round the openings, outside, 70.4–77 ft; Furring (battens) fixed upright on the walls, 288–331 ft; Siding (cladding): lap or plank, vinyl, wood or fibre cement, 3.33–3.64 squares; Trims outside: corners, heads and reveals, 8–10 sheets; Mastic (caulk) round the openings, 0.16–0.18 gal; Exterior stain or paint on the clad walls, 2.5–2.88 gallons; Trench for the supply cable, dug and backfilled, 4.11 yd³; Insulation batts, walls, 6 packages; Vapour control layer on the walls, 1 roll; Ceiling board (plasterboard or drywall), 4–5 sheets; Board on the walls inside (plasterboard or drywall), 9 sheets; Joint compound (mud), walls and ceiling, 1 x 4.5 gal box; Joint tape, walls and ceiling, 218–239 ft; Paint on the walls inside, 1.23–1.42 gal; Paint on the ceiling, 0.56–0.65 gal; Laminate or vinyl plank floor, 6 packs; Skirting (baseboard) round the room; architraves (casings) not counted, 41.9–45.9 linear ft; Skip (dumpster) or muck away for the spoil, 2.01 yd³; Skip or bags for the offcuts and packaging, 1.97 yd³.
Which line on a garden room quote varies the most?
The EPDM membrane over the roof: 1–2 rolls for a job measured Length, along the front 4 m · Depth, front to back 3 m · Height clad outside 2.4 m · Room height, floor to ceiling 2.2 m · Wall thickness, sheathing to lining 0.12 m · Roof overhang, each edge 0.15 m · Door opening width 1.5 m · Door opening height 2 m · Windows 2 · Window opening width, each 0.9 m · Window opening height, each 1 m · Supply cable route, house to room 15 m · Cable trench depth 0.6 m · Dig over the footprint 0.1 m · Membrane turned over each roof edge 0.1 m, depending on how much is allowed for loss over the net figure, up to 15%.
What does a garden room quote often leave out?
The reading names every line of the job that nothing on the quote reads as — any of the 30 lines the takeoff measures. The takeoff also lists 11 things it does not measure, shown under the reading, and each is worth asking about: a scope missing from a quote tends to become a cost after work has started.The reading names every line of the job that nothing on the quote reads as — any of the 28 lines the takeoff measures. The takeoff also lists 11 things it does not measure, shown under the reading, and each is worth asking about: a scope missing from a quote tends to become a cost after work has started.
Can I paste the quote exactly as it came?
Yes — from an email, a PDF or a spreadsheet, one item to a line. Amounts of money are taken out before anything is read, headings and totals are skipped, and each line is shown with what it was read as, so a misreading is one correction. Quantities in the other unit system are converted and the conversion is shown; a count of boxes is never compared with a count of tiles.
Does this check the price as well?
No. It reads quantities, never prices, and this site publishes none: an installed price moves with the market, the season, the access and the specification, so a figure for what the work ought to cost would give you confidence in a number nobody can defend. A quantity against your own measurements is checkable, and every figure here links to the calculator that produced it.