TIL the hard way that digital takeoff tools aren't all the same

I had to choose between Bluebeam and PlanSwift for a 120-unit apartment bid last month, went with PlanSwift because it was cheaper, and ended up missing a whole wing of the building because the scaling tool glitched. Now the GC is asking for re-bid numbers and I'm scrambling to fix it - has anyone else had scaling issues wreck a bid?

2 comments

2 Comments

price.alice16d ago

Gotta disagree with you here... scaling glitches happen with every tool if you don't double check your calibration before you start counting. I've used both Bluebeam and PlanSwift for years and had issues with each one when I got lazy about setting the scale right. Missing a whole wing sounds more like a workflow oversight than a tool failure honestly. We all make those expensive mistakes but blaming the software is kind of missing the point of what we're supposed to learn from it.

jakewhite15d ago

Learn from my mistake and double check your calibration on at least 3 different spots on the plans before you even start counting. I did the same thing on a big roof bid last year with Bluebeam and missed half the flashing because the scale was off on a single page. Now I take 2 minutes to verify the scale against a known dimension like a door or window, and it saves me hours of rework. That glitch cost me a full weekend of work plus the embarrassment of explaining it to the GC, so trust me it's worth the extra step.