Integrated Concrete Takeoff & CSI Estimating System
Cut Concrete & Formwork Estimating Time — Without Missing Critical Quantities
Excel Concrete Takeoff & CSI Estimating System — Imperial & Metric
Built for Real High-Rise Concrete Work — From 45 Years of Hands-On Experience
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WHO THIS IS FOR
Concrete and formwork estimating is not general construction estimating. This system was built specifically for:
• General contractors who self-perform concrete and formwork on high-rise condos and rental towers
• Developers tracking concrete costs and reviewing subcontractor bids on their own projects
• Formwork contractors pricing high-rise concrete packages for submission to GCs or owners
• Construction managers overseeing multi-storey concrete programs
Specifically designed for high-rise condo and rental apartment construction — repetitive floor slabs, core walls, elevator and stair shafts, columns, beams, and the formwork systems that go with them.
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WHAT IS INCLUDED
Your purchase includes one Excel workbook with five sheets:
• Imperial Takeoff Sheet — enter dimensions in feet and inches, calculates CY and SFCA, metric equivalents shown automatically on every line
• Metric Takeoff Sheet — enter dimensions in metres and millimetres, calculates M3 and M2, Imperial equivalents shown automatically on every line
• CSI MasterFormat Estimate Sheet — full cost estimate by division with Equipment, Material, Labour, and Subcontract columns, Man Hours tracking, Go To navigation buttons, Summary page, and Efficiency Report
• Master Sheet — full CSI MasterFormat division reference
• Title Page — project setup
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MACRO BUTTONS FOR EVERY ELEMENT TYPE
Both takeoff sheets have a full row of macro buttons — one for every concrete element type. Each button is a separate pricing category because each one prices differently in your CSI Estimate.
SLABS
• Slab On Grade (SOG) — on fill, no suspended soffit, lowest forming cost
• Slab Fly Form — suspended, flying form tables, high equipment but low labour per cycle
• Slab Loose Sheet — suspended, plywood and shores, higher labour than flyform
• Slab Bands — thickened strips between columns, different forming profile and labour rate
• Drop Capitals — thickened zones at column heads, labour-intensive, frequently missed
WALLS
• Foundation Walls — below-grade, tie systems, waterstop, highest wall unit cost
• Elevator Walls — core walls, gang or jump formed, own cycle rate
• Stair Walls — stair shaft enclosure, more irregular than elevator core
• Upstand — short walls above slab, parapets and curbs, high labour per M3
• Walls Loose Sheet — irregular or one-off walls, higher labour than system forms
• Walls under 4' — disproportionately expensive per SFCA, always needs its own unit price
COLUMNS, FOOTINGS & BEAMS
• Columns — square or rectangular, priced per pour with cycle time and re-use factor
• Round Columns — tube or radius forms, different material and method from square
• Strip Footings — continuous under walls, priced per lineal metre or foot
• Pad Footings — isolated under columns, per individual pad
• Grade Beams — at grade connecting footings, often against soil
• Beams — suspended, soffit and two sides, higher labour per M3 than flat slab
STAIRS & OTHER
• Stairs — full stair calculator: riser count, height, tread depth, width, slab thickness → concrete volume and forming area automatically, in both M3 and CY
• Edge Forming — slab edge contact area only, no concrete volume
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AUTOMATIC DUAL-UNIT CONVERSIONS — EVERY LINE, EVERY TOTAL
• Imperial sheet: enter feet and inches — see CY and M3, SFCA and M2 side by side on every row
• Metric sheet: enter metres — see M3 and CY, M2 and SF side by side on every row
• Applies to every individual line item and all totals rows
In Canada, concrete is ordered and invoiced in cubic metres even on Imperial projects. The M3 column on the Imperial sheet means you verify your concrete orders directly from your takeoff — no separate conversion, no extra steps.
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SORT, FILTER AND TRANSFER TO CSI ESTIMATE
• Filter Column C to a single element type — e.g., Elevator Walls
• Click Sorted Total — totals only the visible filtered rows in both units
• Copy the quantity into the Elevator Walls line of your CSI Estimate with its own unit price
• Clear the filter — repeat for Foundation Walls, Stair Walls, Slab Fly Form, SOG, Columns, Stairs
• Each element type to its own priced CSI line — each with its own unit price
Sort by floor to separate tower work from parkade work, or extract quantities for any floor range.
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CSI MASTERFORMAT ESTIMATE SHEET
• All 16 CSI divisions with Go To navigation buttons for instant access
• Separate Equipment, Material, Labour, and Subcontract columns per line item
• Man Hours column for productivity tracking
• Summary page — updates automatically as values are entered
• Efficiency Report — compare estimated vs actual costs during construction
• Overhead and profit markup at the bottom
• The format GCs, developers, and owners expect
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PREVENTS COSTLY ESTIMATING MISTAKES
Generic templates lead to underestimated labour, missed forming areas, incorrect stair quantities, and mixed element types that corrupt unit pricing. This system eliminates those gaps — every element type has its own macro button, its own line in the takeoff, and its own transfer to the CSI Estimate. On a single mid-size project it can easily pay for itself.
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BUILT BY A HIGH-RISE CONCRETE PROFESSIONAL
Developed from 45 years of managing and estimating reinforced concrete high-rise projects across British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario.
I have sat across the table from GCs, developers, and owners reviewing concrete estimates. I know what they look for and what makes a bid credible.
This is not a generic template. It is a practical estimating system built by someone who has priced and built the work — on real high-rise projects, with real crews, for nearly five decades.
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WHAT'S INCLUDED
• Excel workbook (.xlsm) — all five sheets with formulas, macros, and formatting intact
• Imperial and Metric takeoff sheets with full macro button sets and dual-unit conversions
• CSI MasterFormat Estimate sheet with Go To navigation, Summary, and Efficiency Report
• PDF User Guide — complete instruction manual
• Works with Microsoft Excel on Windows. Macros must be enabled on first open.