BRITISH COLUMBIA · HOME TURF

Construction takeoff services in British Columbia

SharpBid is based in Metro Vancouver and takes off work for BC subcontractors from Vancouver to Kelowna. Fifteen years of senior estimating on BC multifamily, mixed-use and commercial projects — wood-frame and concrete — means Step Code envelopes, six-storey wood-frame and coastal rainscreen assemblies are the normal case here, not a research exercise. From $450, next business day on single-trade sets, on time or 50% off.

From $450Next business dayFixed quote in 4 business hoursOn time or 50% off ✓
Send drawings — quote in 4 hrs Takeoff pricing Sample takeoff (.xlsx)
WORKFLOWHow it works from anywhere in BC

Drawings link in.
Workbook comes back.

Nothing about this needs you to be local, and nothing needs a meeting. You send a drawings link — Dropbox, Drive, WeTransfer, a GC plan room login, whatever you already use. A fixed price and a guaranteed delivery date come back within 4 business hours. We measure in On-Screen Takeoff and Bluebeam Revu, and the Excel workbook plus colour-coded marked-up plans land by the date on the quote. If they're late, you pay half.

Being in BC does change one thing, and it isn't proximity: it's what shows up on the drawings. A Metro Vancouver wall assembly usually has more layers than the same wall in a drier climate, and a six-storey wood-frame residential building carries a repetition pattern that rewards being measured properly once. Both of those are takeoff problems before they're construction problems.

CONTEXTBuilding types & code

Building types
we see most in BC

BC work concentrates in a few recognizable set types, and each one changes how a takeoff has to be organized.

SIX-STOREY WOOD-FRAME

The Metro Vancouver workhorse

Six-storey wood-frame residential is common across Metro Vancouver, and it is the set type where typical-floor repetition matters most. Measure a typical floor properly once, extend it visibly across the levels it applies to, and measure the levels that differ — the ground floor, the amenity level and any transfer level — on their own. That discipline is the difference between a fast takeoff and a wrong one.

MASS TIMBER

Encapsulated mass timber up to 12 storeys

Encapsulated mass timber construction is permitted in BC up to 12 storeys, and the encapsulation requirement lands squarely on the interior trades. Layers of board over structure, the ratings attached to them, and the junctions where encapsulation meets a partition or a ceiling all become quantities someone has to separate out.

STEP CODE

The BC Energy Step Code adds layers to count

Higher performance envelopes mean more components in the same wall — continuous exterior insulation, air barrier continuity, and detailing that reduces thermal bridging. For an envelope takeoff that is not a philosophical change, it is more layers over the same square footage, each with a different supplier and a different install rate. It's why our envelope takeoffs count every layer as its own line rather than pricing one wall area.

RAINSCREEN

Rainscreen is the default on the coast

Rainscreen wall assemblies are standard on the coast, and the cavity is real material: strapping or girts, clips, closures, vents and insect screen. None of it appears in a square-foot cladding number, and on a full elevation it's a meaningful share of the package. We take spacing off the details rather than a rule of thumb.

CONCRETE

Concrete towers and mixed-use podiums

Concrete mid-rise and high-rise residential brings typical-floor repetition, shaftwall at cores and risers, and head-of-wall deflection against a slab that will move. Mixed-use podium sets carry two different partition and finish schedules in one drawing set, with a transfer level between them.

CODE

BC Building Code, and Vancouver's own by-law

Most of the province works to the BC Building Code. The City of Vancouver has its own Building By-law, so a project inside the city and a project one municipality over can carry different requirements on an otherwise identical building. Where that changes an assembly we're measuring, it goes on the assumptions page rather than being smoothed over.

CITIESWhere BC clients are

Cities we
work with

Metro Vancouver is home base — Vancouver itself plus the surrounding municipalities where most of the province's multifamily and mixed-use volume sits. The Fraser Valley brings wood-frame residential and light industrial at a different pace and a different cost structure. Victoria and Vancouver Island work carries the same coastal envelope detailing with its own institutional and mid-rise mix. Kelowna and the Okanagan run a drier climate and a strong wood-frame residential pipeline. All of it is handled the same way — digitally, from Vancouver, to your deadline.

There are no separate city offices and no city-by-city pricing. The schedule on the takeoff pricing page is the schedule everywhere in BC.

TRADESAll nine, in a BC context

Trades we take off
for BC subs

  • Drywall & steel stud takeoffs

    Shaftwall at concrete cores, head-of-wall deflection, and the board layers that encapsulated mass timber brings with it.

  • Acoustic ceiling (ACT) takeoffs

    Corridor and amenity ceilings on repetitive residential floor plates, with the bulkhead interface named on both sides.

  • Flooring takeoffs

    Suites, corridors and amenity separated, with acoustic underlay by assembly and slab-on-grade moisture mitigation quantified.

  • Painting takeoffs

    Typical-floor repetition, parkade coatings priced apart, and exterior elevations split so access is honest.

  • Glazing takeoffs

    Window wall and punched openings by type mark, with the membrane tie-in at every rough opening flagged.

  • Roofing & envelope takeoffs

    The BC scope: rainscreen cavity components counted, Step Code layers separated, balcony waterproofing measured properly.

  • Misc metals takeoffs

    Balcony guards and exterior stairs on wood-frame, embeds coordinated to the pour on concrete.

  • Concrete & formwork takeoffs

    Wood-frame foundations, parkade slabs and site concrete from $500; high-rise cast-in-place quoted per project.

  • Framing takeoffs

    Six-storey wood-frame wall and sheathing areas by floor, with shear wall hardware quantified at the full-breakdown tier.

FAQBC questions

BC takeoff FAQs

Do you work outside Metro Vancouver?
Yes — the Fraser Valley, Victoria and Vancouver Island, Kelowna and the Okanagan, and anywhere else in BC. Everything is digital, so distance changes nothing about the price or the turnaround. Metro Vancouver is simply where the fifteen years of estimating experience was accumulated, which is why BC assemblies and bid culture don't need explaining.
What time zone do you work in?
Pacific — the same one you're in. A drawings link sent in the morning gets a fixed quote back the same working day, and delivery dates are set against your bid deadline, not ours.
Are quantities metric or imperial?
Whichever you bid in. Commercial and institutional sets in Canada are commonly metric while residential work is often imperial, and plenty of BC subs carry both. Tell us which you price with and the workbook arrives in those units, or with both columns if your suppliers and your crews don't agree.
Do you understand BC Energy Step Code envelope assemblies?
For takeoff purposes, yes — and the practical consequence is layers. Higher performance walls carry continuous exterior insulation, air barrier continuity and thermal bridging detail, which means more components over the same square footage. We count each layer against a named assembly rather than pricing one wall area. What we don't do is building science: thermal modelling and energy compliance are engineering scopes, not takeoffs.
Do you work on CCDC contracts?
Yes — CCDC contract forms are standard across Canadian construction and they're familiar territory. That said, a takeoff is a quantity document, not a contractual one. The assumptions and exclusions page is written so it can be attached to a bid and defended in a scope meeting.
How do I send drawings from a plan room?
Either download the set and send a link, or send us the plan room invitation directly — Dropbox, Google Drive, WeTransfer, BuildingConnected, BidCentral, SmartBid and GC-hosted plan rooms all work. If the set is only available as a login, give us access and we'll pull it ourselves. Confidentiality is standard: client drawings are never shared, which is also how yours are treated.
What does it cost?
Single-trade finish takeoffs and acoustic ceilings start at $450; concrete and formwork at $500; misc metals, roofing and envelope, and framing wall areas at $600; glazing at $900. Minimum engagement is $450 and retainers start at $1,500 a month. There is no BC surcharge and no travel cost, because there is no travel. Full schedule on the takeoff pricing page.
NEXTStart here

Send the drawings.
Fixed quote in 4 hours.

Drop a link through the quote form or email info@sharpbid.ca. A fixed price and a guaranteed delivery date come back within 4 business hours.

Get a fixed quote See all takeoff pricing About SharpBid

Other provinces

Takeoff services in Alberta Takeoff services in Ontario

…and anywhere else in Canada — everything is digital.