Fought hard against model-based estimating, finally gave in

For like 3 years I was the guy insisting on doing all my takeoffs by hand with a scale ruler and printed plans. Even built a whole spreadsheet system for it. Then my project manager made me try out PlanSwift on a 40-unit apartment complex bid last month. I messed up the first 2 tries pretty bad, but after that third run I timed myself and realized the spreadsheet method took me 11 hours while the software did it in 4. I still think the old way has its place for tiny jobs, but for anything over $500k I'm a convert now. Anyone else have a tool they resisted forever and finally caved on?

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barbara_jenkins662mo ago

Wait you held out for THREE YEARS on hand takeoffs? Oh honey. I admire the commitment but that's just... wow. 11 hours vs 4 hours on one bid and you were still making your own spreadsheets? I gave up after my first quarter with a scale ruler because my eyes kept crossing on the third sheet of a duplex. Your poor wrist must have been screaming at you.

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nina_hall482mo ago

@barbara_jenkins66 is RIGHT about the wrist thing, I had to start wearing a brace on big jobs and just ignored it like an idiot. The real kicker was when I added up all the wasted time and realized I could have learned a whole new skill in those hours. Now I keep the old ruler around for quick sanity checks, but that's about it.

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