For residential builders, winning work starts with an accurate material and labour takeoff. A miscounted sheet of ply or an underestimated framing hour can erase your margin before the slab is poured. CountBricks re-engineers the traditional manual takeoff with live voice commands, instant AI measurement, and up-to-the-minute cost data, so you can create bulletproof quotes while you talk to your client.
• Prevent budget blowouts by matching real quantities to real supplier prices
• Lock in reliable subcontractor schedules based on precise task durations
• Produce professional, client-ready quotes in minutes, not days
Old-school workflows rely on paper plans, highlighters, and spreadsheets. Each manual step introduces risk, especially on complex pitched roofs, split-level floor plates, or renovation tie-ins. CountBricks overlays blueprint takeoffs with automated voice prompts, allowing you to:
• Measure any plan element with a spoken command (“CountBricks, measure rafter length on Roof A”)
• Auto-convert m², lm, or item counts directly into live material prices
• Attach labour crew rate libraries so the platform calculates turnkey cost automatically
1. Upload plans to your secure CountBricks dashboard or open them directly from cloud storage.
2. Speak or type your project scope: “Single-storey, 198 m² weatherboard build, 25° pitch.” CountBricks creates a project template instantly.
3. Start the live voice session. As you navigate the plan, tell CountBricks what you need: “Takeoff external wall framing, 90 x 45 MGP10.” The AI traces walls, calculates lineal metre requirements, and applies wastage you’ve pre-set in your profile.
4. Confirm material substitutions on the fly. “Swap Harditex for Linea weatherboard on elevations north and west.” Quantities and costs update in real time.
5. Allocate labour. “Add carpentry crew, standard rate, 14 hours per 100 m² wall framing.” The task schedule populates and auto-links to your Gantt.
6. Generate the draft estimate. CountBricks pulls current supplier pricing feeds and reveals total cost, margin, and sell price.
7. Click “Create Quote Document.” Branded PDFs, detailed scope breakdowns, and optional client selections are produced in seconds, ready for e-signature.
• Save takeoff presets for common plan types such as hip-and-gable or skillion roofs.
• Record custom voice shortcuts like “Standard Slab” to insert steel, mesh, concrete, pump hire, and finishing in one command.
• Use zone tagging (kitchen, ensuite, deck) so variation pricing is effortless later.
• Sync CountBricks.com/services supplier integrations to lock in price guarantees.
• Export the task schedule directly to CountBricks mobile app so site crews see quantities in real time.
Accurate quantities are only half the story. The second half is matching them to live costs that reflect your purchasing power. CountBricks queries local merchant APIs every hour, ensuring the price you quote today still makes sense when the first delivery arrives. Custom mark-up tables ensure each category—materials, labour, plant—earns its required margin. If the system detects that updated timber pricing erodes profit, it flags the item before you send the quote.
• Double-counted lineal framing: The AI alerts you when overlapping walls are measured twice.
• Missing fasteners: Pre-configured assembly kits automatically add nails, plates, and brackets.
• Ignored pitch factor: For pitched roofs, CountBricks calculates true surface area using angle geometry, not flat projections.
• Labour creep: Task timers compare planned hours to similar past jobs in your CountBricks portfolio.
Once the quote is accepted, a single click converts your estimate to a progress invoice schedule. Payment claims reference the original quantities, ensuring variations are crystal-clear for clients and certifiers. With CountBricks Pay, clients can settle invoices straight from the PDF, accelerating your cashflow cycle.
Ready to experience voice-driven takeoffs? Book a live demo at CountBricks.com/consultation or start a free trial from your dashboard. In under one hour you can price your next project, impress your client, and protect your profit.
A Wellington builder recently trialled CountBricks on a 245 m² hip-and-gable renovation. The project required accurate rafter lengths, soffit areas, and metal tile counts—tasks that normally soak up half a day. Here’s how the session unfolded:
1. Voice upload: “CountBricks, load Smith Residence roof plan.”
2. Live measurement: “Calculate pitched area, 25°.” The AI returned 186 m², including the ridge allowance.
3. Material assignment: “Apply ColorSteel tile profile, 3% wastage.” Sheets, barge flashings, and fixings populated automatically.
4. Labour overlay: “Add roofing crew, two installers, NZ$68 per hour, productivity 12 m²/hr.”
5. Instant costing: Supplier feeds pushed current sheet pricing—down NZ$0.85/m² since last week—giving the builder a competitive edge.
6. Quote generation: A branded PDF with scope, inclusions, and payment schedule was emailed to the homeowner before the meeting ended.
• Time saved: 3.5 hours of manual tracing replaced by a 12-minute voice session
• Accuracy gain: Quantity variance against onsite measure fell below 1%
• Win rate: Client signed the quote the same day, citing “professional presentation and clear scope”
• Keep your voice commands short and specific—CountBricks recognises trade terminology out of the box.
• Use the wastage slider in project settings to match supplier pack sizes and minimise off-cuts.
• Tag every roof element (ridge, valley, hip) so variations caused by design tweaks are recalculated instantly.
Ready to replicate these results? Explore the full feature set at CountBricks.com/services and schedule a personalised walk-through with our construction technologists. Your next profitable takeoff is one conversation away.
