Craft Quantities
Plan & Takeoffs

Quote check

Check a porch 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.
  • 3331Lines the job needs
  • 16Measurements
  • QuestionsNever a verdict

How the quote is read

Each line of a porch quote is matched to the line of the job it names, or marked as something the Porch addition 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 16 measurements — width along the house, projection from the house, wall height, damp course to eaves, cavity wall thickness, outer door opening width, height of the door and window heads, windows, window opening width, each, height of the window cills, footing width, from the design, footing concrete depth, from the design, trench depth, damp-proof course above the ground, dig over the floor, roof slope factor, eaves overhang — run through the same calculators as the takeoff, so the two give the same figure for the same job.

Reading a porch quote

A porch quote is a small building priced as one sum, so worth asking what the sum stands on: whether the footings are a fixed figure or provisional until the trenches are dug and seen, whether the lintels and any beam over a widened doorway have been chosen yet, and whether planning, the building control fee or a North American permit sit inside the price or with you.

The joins with the house are worth seeing named one by one: tying the walls into the house wall, the cavity tray cut in above the roof, the flashing over the roof's top edge, and making good round the front door. So is the finish inside: whether the walls are plastered or left as bare brick, whether the ceiling is boarded, and whether the floor is screeded and tiled. The outer door and windows may come from a separate supplier, so worth settling whose price includes fitting them, their threshold, and the downpipe's connection to a drain.

Whether a porch needs approval at all turns on its floor area, its height and how close it stands to a road, and a price can rest on an assumption about it. In England a small porch inside the permitted-development limits needs no planning application, and one that stays shut off from the house by the existing door, with safety glazing, is normally exempt from the Building Regulations up to the size those set. In North America an enclosed porch is generally treated as an addition, with a permit and inspections. Worth asking which of these the price assumes, and who pays for drawings and fees if the answer is different.

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 porch 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

Porch · 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 inWidth 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

  • 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 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

The reference

Every line the reading looks for

For 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 inWidth 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. 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 Porch addition 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 porch job need?
It depends on the measurements, so this page asks for yours. At the size it opens on — 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 — the lines come to: Footing trenches, dug by hand, 2.7 m³ (loose); Dig out the floor area, 0.68 m³ (loose); Footing concrete, 1.81–1.99 m³; Blocks below the damp course (DPC), both leaves, 35–39 blocks; Hardcore under the floor, 0.71–0.82 metric tons; Floor insulation boards, 1 sheet (2400x1200 mm); Floor slab concrete, 0.23–0.25 m³; Inner leaf blocks, full height, 55–60 blocks; Inner leaf blocks between the heads and the eaves, 7–8 blocks; Inner leaf blocks under the cills, 12–13 blocks; Facing bricks, full height, 448–491 bricks; Facing bricks between the heads and the eaves, 42–45 bricks; Facing bricks under the cills, 68–74 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; Tile fixings (nails and clips), with the tile count, 111–122 fixings; Lead or metal flashing where the roof meets the house wall, 2–3 sheets; Gutter and downpipe (downspout) along the eave, 1–2 x 4 m sections; Gutter brackets, 5 hangers; Flashing tape round the entrance frame, 8.4–9.2 m; Flashing tape round each glazing frame, 11.3–12.4 m; Ceiling board, 1 sheet; Plaster on the inside of the new walls, 81.4–89.1 kg; Skim coat on the ceiling board, 5.67–6.21 kg; Floor tiles, 7–8 tiles; Wall paint inside, 1.75–2.01 L; Ceiling paint, 0.43–0.5 L; Skip (dumpster) for the spoil, 3.38 m³. In imperial units — 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 — they come to: Footing trenches, dug by hand, 3.9 yd³; Dig out the floor area, 0.91 yd³; Footing concrete, 2.34–2.56 yd³; Blocks below the damp course (DPC), both leaves, 57–63 blocks; Hardcore under the floor, 0.83–0.96 tons; Floor insulation boards, 1 sheet (4x8 ft); Floor slab concrete, 0.31–0.34 cubic yards; Inner leaf blocks, full height, 69–75 blocks; Inner leaf blocks between the heads and the eaves, 9–10 blocks; Inner leaf blocks under the cills, 15–16 blocks; Facing bricks, full height, 568–622 bricks; Facing bricks between the heads and the eaves, 54–60 bricks; Facing bricks under the cills, 87–95 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, 0.53–0.58 squares; Lead or metal flashing where the roof meets the house wall, 1–2 sheets; Gutter and downpipe (downspout) along the eave, 1–2 x 10 ft sections; Gutter brackets, 5 hangers; Flashing tape round the entrance frame, 28.4–31 ft; Flashing tape round each glazing frame, 37.8–41.4 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, 93.3–102 ft; Floor tiles, 7–8 tiles; Wall paint inside, 0.48–0.55 gal; Ceiling paint, 0.12–0.14 gal; Skip (dumpster) for the spoil, 4.81 yd³.
Which line on a porch quote varies the most?
The Gutter and downpipe (downspout) along the eave: 1–2 x 4 m sections for a job measured 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, depending on how much is allowed for loss over the net figure, up to 15%.
What does a porch quote often leave out?
The reading names every line of the job that nothing on the quote reads as — any of the 33 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 31 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.