Measure work and use quantities in an estimate
Take an estimate quantity from building elements or from a measurement you save on the plan. The model can provide floor and wall areas. A saved measurement is useful for part of a facade, flashing or ground that has no matching building element.
Prepare the plan and access
You need a project with a plan and permission to change it if you want to save a measurement. Adding quantities to an estimate also needs Estimates: Changes and Price list and amounts: View. The account and project must allow saving.
Check the underlay scale and selected floor. If the drawing is wrong, a precise number can still describe the wrong scope. Review the plan check before pricing work.
View quantities from the model
Open Quantities & schedules in the project. It shows room areas, net wall area, facade area, slabs, volumes and installation lengths, with a breakdown by floor.
Room area is measured inside the walls. Net wall areas already subtract openings. Facade quantities use walls marked as external. Do not subtract windows and doors a second time from a quantity that already accounts for them. Model changes recalculate these schedules but do not overwrite a quantity already saved in an estimate.
Save your own measurement
- Open Drawing and select the floor.
- Under Measure, choose Save dimension for a length or Area for a surface.
- For length, click the start and end. For area, select the outline points and finish with a double-click. Esc cancels the measurement.
- Add a name, such as “Terrace — base layer”, a description and a colour.
- Choose Save measurement and wait for the plan to save.
Saved measurements are separate from model schedules. They do not increase totals in Quantities & schedules. Quick measure and Protractor check dimensions without saving them. A Note is text, not a quantity source.
Select a quantity in an estimate
When adding a service, choose From building (BIM) or Saved measurements at the quantity step. Model quantities need a quantity source configured for that service. The selected elements must provide the service's unit.
A saved length matches a linear-metre service; a saved area matches m². For m³, select an area and enter the layer thickness or height in metres. For example, 20 m² at 10 cm thick gives 20 × 0.1 = 2 m³. You cannot add that item without a thickness.
Do not use a saved length or area for pieces, hours or kilograms. Enter the quantity manually, or choose a suitable model rule when available. Kaldrix does not convert arbitrary units into one another.
You can also choose Measure on plan from the estimate, then Save and return to estimate. For m³, enter the thickness after returning.
Review quantities after changes
Open the estimate and check the differences. For an affected item, correct its scope, fetch the current quantity and save. In an accepted estimate, or without editing permission, you can view differences but cannot correct them.
If a number looks too large, check for duplicated scope, a wrong unit or a different wall measurement rule. Do not price an entire shared slab separately for every room. For m³, check metres: 5 cm is 0.05, not 5.
Exercise: area and volume
Measure a known part of a floor. Save its area, then add an m² service to a draft estimate. For an m³ service, use the same measurement with a thickness of 0.1 m.
Check the measurement name, units and multiplication. Confirm that the area was not added to model totals and the estimate covers only the intended work.
Continue learning
Review estimates, underlay scale and checking the plan.