Getting started as a builder
What a contractor, framer or developer gets from LumberSet, and how to begin.
As a builder you upload drawings and get the same reviewed takeoff a lumber yard gets. Instead of pricing it from a catalog, you get what you need to budget and to bid.
What you get
- A complete material list, measured from the drawings and checked by a LumberSet estimator.
- A budget estimate at typical prices, so you can budget before anyone has quoted.
- RFQs: send the takeoff to the yards you choose and see their quotes side by side.
- Exports as a spreadsheet and a PDF.
Begin here
- Sign up as a builder and name your company.
- Create a project for the job and upload the PDF drawings.
- Wait for the takeoff. You get an email when it is released.
- Open the takeoff. Check it against the drawings, especially anything marked low confidence.
- Look at the budget estimate on the takeoff for a first number, then send an RFQ to get real quotes.
What it costs
Your first takeoff is free. After that you pay per takeoff when it is released to you. Sending RFQs, exporting and correcting the takeoff cost nothing extra. See "Billing: what you pay and when".
Good to know
A budget estimate is never a quote. Only a yard can quote you. See "Budget estimates and why they are not quotes".