DrawScheduleWorks answers

Every answer below is aimed at a question people measurably search for, is written from named sources, and links to the page that handles the job itself. None of them is a landing page in disguise.

The answers here are the sums a small construction contractor runs and the paperwork they produce: how to figure cubic yards for a pour, a base or a fill; the material calculators for concrete, gravel, sand, drywall, framing, sheathing, block and stairs; what a concrete or foundation estimate is built from; what free estimating software, subcontractor software and forms software have to compute; what a quote, an invoice and a schedule of values have to show; and what retainage is and how a draw is worked. Each one hands off to the tool or guide that does its arithmetic from your own figures, with no account.

• How to calculate concrete yards for a slab, a footing or a pier: the formula for concrete slab volume over 27, worked on an 18 by 18 pour

  How to calculate concrete yards: length by width by thickness in feet, divided by 27, plus waste. An 18 by 18 ft slab at 6 in is 6 yards, 6.6 with waste.

• How to figure cubic yards: the formula, worked on a 20 by 10 area at 6 inches

  How to figure cubic yards for concrete, fill or gravel: length by width by depth in feet, divided by 27. A 20 by 10 ft area at 6 in is 3.7 yards.

• Aggregate calculator for gravel, crusher run and base rock: the gravel amount calculator in yards and tons, worked on a 30 by 20 ft pad at 6 inches

  An aggregate calculator for gravel, crusher run and base rock: yards from area and depth.

• How many yards in a ton of gravel, and calculating yards of gravel for a base, a drive or a pad at the supplier's density

  How many yards in a ton of gravel: about 0.7 at 1.4 tons per yard, the supplier's figure. How to calculate gravel needed for a 30 by 20 ft pad: 11.1 yards.

• Sand calculator for a bedding layer, a base or a mix: cubic yards from the area and depth, and how many yards of sand in a ton, worked on a 30 by 20 ft pad

  A sand calculator: length by width by depth in feet.

• Drywall calculator for walls and ceilings: sheets, mud and tape, worked on a 12 by 14 room

  A drywall calculator: wall and ceiling area divided by the sheet's area, plus waste, gives sheets. A 12 by 14 ft room with 8 ft walls needs 19 to 20.

• Framing calculator for a stud wall: studs at 16 on center, plates, headers and the lumber list they add up to, worked on a 12 foot wall

  A framing calculator: studs at 16 in on center are the wall length in feet times 0.75 plus 1, plus corners and openings. A 12 ft wall is 10 in the run.

• Sheathing calculator: how many sheets of plywood do i need for a wall or a roof, from the area and the sheet size, worked on a 24 by 9 ft wall

  A sheathing calculator: wall or roof area divided by 32 for a 4 by 8 sheet, plus waste. A 24 by 9 ft wall needs 7 sheets before waste, 8 with 10%.

• Board foot calculator: thickness by width by length over 144, worked on 2x6, 2x10 and 1x8 stock, and the lumber order it prices

  A board foot calculator: thickness times width in inches times length in feet, divided by 12. A 2x6 at 12 ft is 12 board feet; a 1x8 at 10 ft is 6.67.

• Stair stringer calculator: the riser count from the total rise, the riser height and tread run, the stringer length and its lumber, worked on a 9 ft floor-to-floor stair

  A stair stringer calculator: total rise divided by the target riser gives risers, rounded; rise over that count is the exact riser. 108 in is 15 at 7.2.

• Block wall calculator: the number of concrete blocks from the wall's area, the mortar and grout they need, and the footing under them, worked on a 40 by 8 ft wall

  A block wall calculator: wall area in square feet times 1.125 gives 8 by 16 in blocks. A 40 by 8 ft wall is 360 blocks plus waste, with mortar and grout.

• Concrete mix ratios for a site batch: cement to sand to stone by volume, the water that goes with them, the yield a batch gives and the batches a pour needs, worked on 1:2:3

  Concrete mix ratios for a site batch: 1:2:3 is 1 cement, 2 sand, 3 stone by volume; a batch on 1 bag yields about 4.5 cu ft, so a yard is 6 batches.

• Concrete cost calculator: the yards for a pour times the supplier's price per yard, worked on an 18 by 18 ft pad at 6 in and $150 a yard

  A concrete cost calculator: yards from the pad plus waste, times your supplier's price. An 18 by 18 ft pad at 6 in is 6.6 yards, $990 at $150 a yard.

• Foundation cost calculator for the contractor's foundation estimate: footings, stem walls or a slab as yards at the supplier's price plus forms, worked on a 30 by 40 ft footprint

  A foundation cost calculator for the contractor: footings, walls or slab as yards at the supplier's price, plus forms.

• Contractor calculator for the four sums a small contractor runs: quantities, a material takeoff, labor at your rates and the estimate they add up to, all from your own figures

  A contractor calculator for the 4 sums a small contractor runs: quantities, a material takeoff, labor at your rates, and the estimate they add up to. Free.

• Free estimating software for contractors: what free has to show, line by line

  Free estimating software judged by 1 test: the estimate from your own cost per square foot with site work, contingency and markup shown. Worked to $449.

• Construction quote template: what a construction quote has to show, and the lines the estimator prints for the owner

  A construction quote template: scope, 4 money lines, total, exclusions, validity and terms. Quote vs estimate: a price offered against a figure.

• Construction invoice template for a small contractor: billing a draw against the schedule of values with retainage held, or billing time and materials at the contractor's rates, with the lines each invoice has to carry, worked on a $450,000 contract

  A construction invoice template for a draw or time and materials: contract sum, work to date, billed before, this period, retainage, due: $71,550 worked.

• What is retainage: the share of each draw the owner holds back until the work is complete, how it is worked on the pay application, and when it is released, worked on a $450,000 contract at 10%

  What is retainage: the share of each draw the owner holds until completion, 10% on the example, so a $79,500 period bills $71,550 and $7,950 is held.

• Subcontractor software: the record a general contractor keeps of each sub's contract sum, schedule of values, draws and retainage, judged by the draw arithmetic, worked on a $90,000 sub

  Subcontractor software judged by the record it keeps: each sub's contract sum, schedule of values, draws, retainage held and balance. A $90,000 sub worked.

• Subcontractor schedule of values: the sub's lines with a value each, how it rolls into the general contractor's, and the draw billed against it, worked on a $90,000 framing subcontract

  A subcontractor schedule of values: the sub's lines with a value each, billed by share complete with retainage held. A $90,000 sub at 57.5% bills $14,175.

• Construction cost tracking against the estimate: estimate, committed, spent and left per line, so an overrun shows where it landed, worked on a $449,075 job

  Construction cost tracking against the estimate: 4 columns per line, estimate, committed, spent and left, so an overrun shows where it landed. $449.

• Cost management in construction projects, for a small contractor: the estimate as budget, commitments and spend per line, draws billed and the margin, worked on a $449,075 job

  Cost management in construction for a small contractor: the estimate as budget, commitments and spend per line, draws billed, margin read each time. $449.

• Concrete construction software for a small concrete contractor: the calculator for the pour, the estimate from the contractor's own rates, and the draw against the schedule of values with retainage held, worked on an 18 by 18 ft pad and a $450,000 contract

  Concrete construction software judged by 3 sums: yards for the pour (6.6 on an 18 by 18 ft pad), the estimate at your rates, the draw with retainage held.

• Construction forms software for a small contractor: the estimate, the quote, the schedule of values, the pay application and the change order as forms whose numbers agree, and what the software has to compute on each

  Construction forms software judged by the 5 forms that carry money: estimate, quote, schedule of values, pay application, change order.

• Stud calculator: how many studs in a 12 foot wall, a 20 foot wall and any wall at 16 or 24 on center, before corners and openings

  A stud calculator for a framed wall: wall length in feet times 0.75 plus 1 at 16 on center, times 0.5 plus 1 at 24, plus corners, openings and waste.

• 2x6 calculator for an exterior wall or a deck: the studs and plates a wall takes, the board feet a length holds, and what a lift of 2x6 weighs

  A 2x6 calculator: studs and plates for a 2x6 wall at 16 or 24 on center, board feet per piece (1 per foot of length), and the weight of a lift by species.

• Carpenter calculator online free of charge: the framing, stair and board-foot sums a carpenter runs at the site, worked on one house

  A carpenter calculator for the four sums a carpenter runs on site: studs per wall, sheets per wall, risers and treads per stair, board feet per order.

• Stairs calculator: the riser count, tread depth and total run from the total rise, and the stair run calculator for the landing that has to fit

  A stairs calculator from the total rise: risers, exact riser height, treads, total run and headroom, worked on a 9 ft floor to floor.

• Concrete pad calculator: yards for a pad from its size and thickness, and the concrete pad cost calculator at your supplier's price, worked on an 18 by 18 ft pad

  A concrete pad calculator: length by width by thickness in feet over 27, plus waste. An 18 by 18 ft pad at 6 in is 6 yards, 6.6 with waste.

• Concrete price calculator: what sets the supplier's price per yard, the charges added to it, and the delivered price of a pour, worked on 6.6 yards

  A concrete price calculator that starts from what the supplier's price per yard is made of: mix, delivery, short load, waiting time, pump.

• Construction proposal template: the scope narrative, the price, the schedule and the terms a proposal carries that a quote does not, worked on a $449,075 job

  A construction proposal template for a small contractor: scope in the owner's words, exclusions, the price and how it was built, the schedule.

• Quote vs estimate: a quote is a price the contractor offers to hold, an estimate is a figure the contractor expects to be near, and the paperwork differs for each

  Quote vs estimate in construction: a quote is a price offered and held, an estimate is a figure expected to be close. What each document says.

• Residential construction draw schedule template: the stages a house is paid in, the share each draw bills, and the inspection that releases it, worked on a $449,075 build

  A residential construction draw schedule template: six stages from foundation to completion, the share of the contract each bills, retainage held.

• Construction budget management software judged by the four columns it keeps per line, budget, committed, spent and left, and the draw it bills from them

  Construction budget management software judged by one test: four columns per line, budget, committed, spent, left.

• Subcontractor tracking software: the documents, dates and dollars a general contractor tracks per sub, and the day each one lapses, worked on a $90,000 framing sub

  Subcontractor tracking software judged by what it tracks per sub: insurance certificate and its expiry, W-9, license, lien waivers per draw, contract sum.

• Construction software for subcontractors: the sub's own record of the contract, the schedule of values sent up, the draw billed and the retainage owed back, worked on a $90,000 subcontract

  Construction software for subcontractors, from the sub's side: the contract with the GC, the schedule of values sent up.

• Subcontractor management for a small general contractor: selecting, contracting, scheduling, paying and closing out a sub, and the record each step leaves

  Subcontractor management as five steps: select, contract, schedule, pay, close out. What each step decides, the document it produces.

• Free subcontractor management software: what a spreadsheet and a free tier cover, the three things they stop at, and the test to run before paying per user

  Free subcontractor management software: a spreadsheet covers documents and dates; free tiers cover contacts and files. Where free stops.

• Construction project cost tracking across the life of a job: cost codes, the weekly rhythm, the forecast at completion and the report the owner reads, worked on a $449,075 build

  Construction project cost tracking for the whole job: cost codes per phase, a weekly update, committed before spent, forecast at completion.

• Construction cost tracker: the sheet a small contractor keeps by hand, its seven columns, the formulas in them and the weekly update, worked on a $449,075 job

  A construction cost tracker as a sheet: one row per estimate line, seven columns, three formulas.

• Construction cost control, as distinct from tracking: the actions that hold a budget, cost control in construction projects as commit-before-spend, change orders and the contingency rule

  Construction cost control is the actions, not the columns: commit before spend, price every change before it is built, draw contingency by a rule.

• AI estimating software for a small contractor: what it can read off the drawings, what only your own rates can supply, and the one test that applies to it as to any estimator

  AI estimating software judged like any other.

• Free residential construction estimating software: the house estimate from cost per square foot, the allowances and selections that move it, and what a free tool has to show

  Free residential construction estimating software judged on the house: cost per square foot by finish level, the allowances for selections, site work.

• Free construction cost estimate calculator download: the worked estimate as a CSV and a PDF from the estimator on this site, what the file holds, and how to use it

  The free construction cost estimate calculator download on this site.

• Freeware construction software: installed programs that cost nothing, what they do well, the three risks to check before a job depends on one, and the same test as any tool

  Freeware construction software, meaning installed programs at no charge: what they do well, the three risks (updates, export.

• Site work estimating for a small contractor: clearing, excavation, the utility runs, the drive and the drainage as lines with quantities, and why it is never a share of the house

  Site work estimating line by line: clearing and grubbing, excavation and haul, utility trenches, the driveway, grading and drainage.

• Material take off calculator: how to estimate building materials from the drawings line by line, the units each material is bought in, and the waste that goes on each, worked on one house

  A material take off calculator that turns drawings into a bought list: each material in the unit it is sold in, with its waste.

• Construction labor calculator: crew hours from the quantities and a production rate, the burdened hourly cost, and the labor line the estimate carries, worked on a framing crew

  A construction labor calculator: quantity divided by the crew's production rate gives hours, hours times the burdened rate gives the line.

• Online construction calculator: which of the calculators on this site does which job, what each needs typed in, and what none of them can know about your site

  An online construction calculator for each job on this site: concrete, gravel, sand, block, framing, sheathing, drywall, stairs, board feet, cost.

• Drywall finishing cost calculator: the finish level, the coats of mud and the sanding it implies, the hours per sheet and the line, worked on a 12 by 14 room

  A drywall finishing cost calculator: the finish level sets the coats, the coats set the mud and the hours, hours times your rate is the line.

• Drywall installation cost calculator: the sheets from the area, the hours to hang them by wall and ceiling, the fasteners, and the hanging line at your rates, worked on a 12 by 14 room

  A drywall installation cost calculator for hanging: sheets from the area with waste, hours per sheet for walls and for ceilings, fasteners by the sheet.

• Drywall mud calculator: joint compound from the sheet count for the taping coat, the fill coats and a skim, in buckets, with the tape that goes with it, worked on a 12 by 14 room

  A drywall mud calculator: joint compound per sheet for the taping and fill coats, a skim coat by the whole area, converted to buckets.

• Wall area calculator: the perimeter times the height, the openings taken out, gables and sloped ceilings added, in square feet, and the four trades that start from the number

  A wall area calculator: perimeter times height, less the doors and windows, plus gables and sloped walls, in square feet. Worked on a 12 by 14 room.

• How many sheets of plywood do i need calculator for a subfloor, a deck, a wall and a roof: the area over 32, the layout that changes the count, and the waste

  A how many sheets of plywood do i need calculator for a subfloor, a deck, a wall and a roof: area divided by the sheet's 32 square feet.

• How many boards do i need calculator for a deck, a fence or a wall: the board count from the coverage width and the gap, and the lumber cost calculator that prices them

  A how many boards do i need calculator: the run divided by the board's coverage width including the gap gives the count, the length gives the pieces.

• How many bags of concrete in a yard: 27 cubic feet divided by the yield printed on the bag, worked for the common bag sizes, and where bags stop making sense

  How many bags of concrete in a yard: a yard is 27 cubic feet, and the count is 27 divided by the yield printed on the bag. Worked for the common sizes.

• What is a yard of concrete: 27 cubic feet, what it covers at each thickness, how many yards of concrete a slab takes, and how the yard is bought and delivered

  What is a yard of concrete: a cubic yard, 27 cubic feet, the unit concrete is sold in. What it covers at 4 and 6 inches, how a slab's yards are worked.

• How big is a yard of gravel: 27 cubic feet, what it covers at each depth, what it weighs at the supplier's density, and how many yards a truck carries

  How big is a yard of gravel: 27 cubic feet, covering 108 square feet at 3 inches or 81 at 4.

• Concrete foundation cost calculator: the footings, walls and slab as yards, the rebar by the foot, the forms and the pump, priced as the concrete package on a 30 by 40 ft footprint

  A concrete foundation cost calculator for the concrete package alone: footings, stem walls and slab as yards at the supplier's price, rebar by the foot.