AI for Drywall Takeoff from PDFs: Count Studs, Track, Boards & Joints

Streamline your drywall estimating with AI-powered takeoff software. Civils.ai automatically reads PDF drawings to count studs, tracks, boards, and joints — delivering fast, accurate quantity takeoffs in minutes. Perfect for contractors and quantity surveyors looking to save time and boost bid accuracy.
Oct. 23, 2025
Julianna Xoe Widlund
Julianna
Widlund, P.E

AI-Assisted Drywall Takeoffs for Faster, Clearer Bids

Civils.ai helps estimators prepare drywall quantities from drawings and schedules—speeding up bid preparation while keeping humans in control.

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Bidding drywall packages is often a race against time. You’re juggling PDFs, cross-checking schedules, and trying to present clear numbers with a solid audit trail. Civils.ai assists with this workload by preparing a draft takeoff from your documents, so your team can focus on review, adjustments, and final pricing.

Why Estimators Use AI Assistance

Save precious time

Reduce hours spent searching through drawings and schedules so you can concentrate on pricing and strategy.

Keep numbers traceable

Draft outputs point back to the source documents, making reviews and clarifications easier with your team and clients.

Stay flexible

Addenda and changes happen. It’s simpler to update and re-issue a takeoff when the groundwork is already prepared for you.

Quick demo
Getting started in minutes

Upload PDFs and run a simple prompt. A draft takeoff is prepared and you are notified when processing is completed.

Tip: Use clear prompts like “Prepare a drywall takeoff by wall type and floor; include door/window deductions if shown.”

How It Works (Simple and Human-Centred)

  1. Upload your PDFs — Add the plan drawings and any drywall-related schedules or notes you want considered.
  2. Write your prompt — Tell Civils.ai what you need (for example: “Prepare a drywall takeoff by wall type and floor, include door/window deductions if shown.”).
  3. Click “Run” — The platform begins preparing a draft takeoff based on your uploaded drawings and schedules.
  4. QA review & adjust — Your QA team reviews the draft, fixes any issues, and confirms assumptions before release.
  5. Share with confidence — Release the reviewed drawing set and quantities to your stakeholders with clear references back to the source PDFs.
1 Upload 2D CAD drawing PDFs and choose Extract CAD data workflow
Upload PDFs

Drag & drop your drawing or document PDFs and select Extract CAD data. Works with scanned, historic and multi-sheet drawings.

2 Describe the quantities to extract in natural language and run
Type out your prompt

Type what you need in natural language (e.g. “measure and categorise floor areas by type and count and measure windows & doors”). Hit Run and the AI performs the takeoff and our QA team reviews the results.

3 Review results, references and export to Excel
Get results, review & export
Review the results against your annotated drawing.
Download your results as:
Excel & Annotated PDF
Important: Civils.ai does not replace professional judgment. It assists with preparing bids; final quantities are reviewed and approved by qualified people.

What the Draft Takeoff Can Cover

The goal is a clean starting point for pricing—prepared from your drawings and schedules—so your team spends more time refining and less time starting from scratch.

Typical items

  • Wall lengths and areas by type (as shown in plans/schedules)
  • Door and window deductions when listed in the documents
  • Basic materials breakdown to support pricing discussions

Clarity about heights

Any height information is taken from the plan drawings and specifications you provide. The system does not interpret or “understand” heights beyond what is shown in your documents.

What to Expect (and What Not To)

Overview

What you can expect

  • A prepared draft takeoff to help your bid
  • Clear references back to the drawings and schedules
  • Faster internal reviews and fewer back-and-forths

Limitations to note

  • Not a 100% automated takeoff—human review is essential
  • Heights are taken strictly from your plans/specs; no height inference
  • Sloped ceilings and soffits are not supported
Measure wall runs
Measure wall runs from CAD drawings
  • Interior
  • Exterior
  • Stud
  • Masonry
  • Gypsum
  • Railings
  • Fences
Sample output:
Annotated PDF Output Excel

FAQ

Is this suitable for busy bid periods?

Yes. It prepares a draft quickly so your team can review, adjust, and price with confidence instead of starting from a blank page.

Can we trust the numbers?

Use the draft as a starting point. Your QA team checks and fixes anything that needs attention before releasing numbers to stakeholders.

Where do the quantities come from?

From the PDFs you upload—plan drawings and schedules. Everything stays traceable to the source pages for easy review.

What about complex shapes?

We don’t handle sloped ceilings or soffits. For standard walls and deductions shown in the documents, the tool prepares a draft your team can finalize.

Prepare Stronger Drywall Bids with Civils.ai

Upload your drawings and schedules, write a quick prompt, click run—then let your QA team review and release a clear, traceable takeoff.

Book a Demo Get Started

Civils.ai is an assistive tool for bid preparation. Final quantities and assumptions should be reviewed and approved by qualified professionals.

Interested in learning about how you can use AI in your Civil Engineering workflow?
Learn more