How do you do a countertop takeoff from architectural drawings?

Name: Counterly
Brand: Counterly

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How to do a countertop takeoff from architectural drawings

A countertop takeoff from architectural drawings is done in four passes: identify every countertop run on the plan, read the depth of each run separately, subtract appliance and tall-unit breaks, then convert each run into a piece with a square footage and a finished-edge perimeter. The most common error is assuming every run is the same depth — seated peninsulas and islands are usually deeper, and a single wrong depth can move a job total by about 20%.

Step 1 — Find the runs

Work off the plan, not the elevation, for length. Elevations tell you cabinet codes and heights; the plan tells you the wall dimensions.

Step 2 — Read depth per run

In most residential work, base cabinet runs are typically 24" deep with about a 1.5" overhang, giving roughly 25.5"–26" of stone. Seated islands and peninsulas commonly run 36"–38". A buffet or serving run may be 18"–26". Never apply one depth to a whole kitchen.

Step 3 — Handle corners

Where two runs meet at an L, one run's length absorbs the other's depth. A 98" wall meeting a 26"-deep run yields 72" of countertop on the second leg, not 98".

Step 4 — Subtract breaks

A slide-in range typically breaks the run. A cooktop usually does not — it drops into continuous stone. A tall pantry or fridge cabinet ends the run entirely. Shops differ on range treatment; set the convention per shop.

Step 5 — Finished edge

Finished edge is the exposed perimeter of the piece, not the run length. For an L-shaped piece with legs a and b and depth d, the outline perimeter is 2(a + b + d) when the corner is merged into one piece.

Step 6 — Backsplash

Backsplash is quoted as its own line item — one continuous strip per wall, length equal to the wall minus tall units, running unbroken behind the range. Common heights in many markets are 4" loose splash and full-height to the wall cabinets.

Counterly reads the same architectural and kitchen layout drawings and performs these passes automatically — extracting runs, depths, islands, backsplash, and fixture breaks, then returning square footage, finished-edge footage, a slab nest, and a priced quote. Estimators still review the output; the software removes the re-measurement of every repeating unit type.

From the shop floor

We publish what estimators tell us about these pages, including the parts where the software was wrong. If you run takeoff in a shop and this page got something right — or got it wrong — send it to us and it goes here with your name on it, or without it if you prefer.

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