Uploading drawings: what makes a good PDF
The files that read well, the sheets to include, and what to do with a revised set.
LumberSet reads PDF drawings. The better the PDF, the better the takeoff.
What to upload
- PDF files only. Each file can be up to 250 MB.
- Upload the set the builder or architect sent you, as it is. You can upload several files for one set.
- Include the sheets that describe the framing: floor plans, foundation plan, floor framing plans, roof framing plan, sections, details, schedules and general notes.
What reads best
- Drawings exported straight from CAD read best. Text and dimensions stay sharp.
- Scans work when they are straight and sharp. Faint scans are enhanced before reading, but a clean scan still reads better than a photo of a print.
- Keep the scale and the dimension strings on the sheets. LumberSet reads dimensions from the sheet, so a sheet with no dimensions gives a takeoff with more assumptions.
While it runs
Files go straight from your browser to private storage. Reading takes a few minutes for a normal house. You can leave the page. You get an email when the takeoff is ready.
A revised set
Before a takeoff has been released, upload revised drawings as a new plan set on the same project. After a takeoff has been released, open the project and choose New change order instead, so the revision is priced at the change order fee. A plain upload after release is a new full takeoff and is charged as one. See "Change orders".
When reading fails
If the file cannot be read, you get an email that says so and nothing is charged. The usual causes are a password protected PDF or a file that is not really a PDF.