Articles by Michael Gu
Steel estimating services, and what happens when you ask an AI company to be one
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AISC steel shapes explained: W, HSS, C, L, WT, and how to read them off a drawing
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Steel connection types explained: shear tabs, moment connections, gusset plates, and what they cost you in the shop
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AI construction estimating software is built for GCs. Here's what steel estimators actually need.
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Knowledge Base by Michael Gu
Browse the knowledge baseTakeoff vs estimate: what's the difference?
A takeoff is the count: every column, beam, joist, brace, connection, and misc item pulled off the drawings, with piece counts and tonnage. An estimate is what you do with that count, applying material prices, labor rates, coatings, freight, and margin to reach a bid number. In structural steel the takeoff is usually the slower half.
MWhat is a column schedule?
A column schedule is the table on the structural sheets listing every column with its section size at each tier, splice elevations, and base plate, keyed either by grid intersection or by marks like C1. Column takeoff starts there, because columns change size as they rise. When a set has none, the estimator builds one before counting.
MWhat are IFC drawings?
IFC drawings are the set issued for construction, the design team's release that the project can be built from, superseding earlier issues of the sheets it covers. The same letters also name Industry Foundation Classes, the open BIM file format, so context decides which is meant. Steel is often bid earlier, on 30 or 60 percent or issued-for-bid sets.
MWhat is a structural steel quantity takeoff?
A structural steel quantity takeoff, often just called a steel takeoff, is the count and measurement of every steel member in a drawing set, recorded by shape, size, length, and weight per foot. It produces the piece count, the tonnage, and the takeoff sheet or BOM that a steel bid is priced from.
MHow do you calculate steel tonnage from a takeoff?
Multiply each line's quantity by its length in feet and by the shape's weight per foot to get pounds, sum every line, and divide by 2,000 for US tons. W, C, S, and WT callouts carry the weight per foot; HSS, pipe, angle, and plate weights come from the AISC shapes table.
MCan you do a steel takeoff in Bluebeam?
Yes, with limits. A Bluebeam steel takeoff means counting members and measuring lengths on the PDF with Revu's count and measurement tools, then exporting the markups list to a spreadsheet for weights. Revu does not know steel shapes, read a column schedule, or total tonnage, so the spreadsheet does the steel part.
MIs there AI-based steel takeoff software?
Yes. AI steel takeoff software uses machine learning to detect steel members on framing plans and read the callouts, schedules, and details around them, returning a draft takeoff instead of a blank sheet. Ferra, SketchDeck LIFT, Steel Genie, Beam AI, and Exayard are examples as of September 2026. Accuracy tracks drawing quality, and every output needs an estimator's review.
MWhat does a structural steel takeoff example look like?
A structural steel takeoff example is a line-item sheet: one row per member group with shape, size, quantity, length, weight per foot, and total weight, grouped by level and sheet, with connection material, plates, and anchor rods listed below the framing subtotal. Totals roll up to tons. A worked two-story frame follows.
MAESS
AESS is architecturally exposed structural steel: steel left visible in the finished building and fabricated to the appearance requirements of AISC 303 Section 10, categories AESS 1 through 4 plus custom category C. The steel is the same; the labor is not, and unpriced AESS scope is one of the fastest ways to lose money on a bid.
MShear studs
Shear studs are headed steel pins welded to a beam's top flange, usually through the metal deck, so the concrete slab and the beam act as one composite member. The count rides the beam callout, such as W18x35 (26), and it belongs in the takeoff: missed studs across a floor are real money.
MKip
A kip is 1,000 pounds of force, a contraction of kilopound, equal to 4.448 kilonewtons. Structural drawings state beam end reactions, axial loads, and moments in kips and kip-feet. Estimators read them as a pricing signal: big reactions mean heavy connections, and heavy connections mean shop hours.
MRevision cloud
A revision cloud is the scalloped bubble a drafter draws around a changed area of a drawing, paired with a numbered revision triangle and an entry in the title block's revision history. It marks what someone chose to call out, not everything that changed, so estimators treat clouds as a starting checklist rather than the change list.
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Product updates by Michael Gu
See the full changelog- New
The schedule becomes the column library.
Ferra can now read a column schedule, build every reusable column type automatically, and surface the section, plates, bolts and footing attached to each mark, with the source beside every suggestion. Stacked columns follow the schedule splice by splice, and a new Confirm Scale step, takeoff accuracy fixes and a richer Bluebeam export round out the release.
Read the full update - New
Rapid Estimate gets real. Columns, by hand.
Rapid Estimate grows into a true conceptual-pricing tool with adjustable material rates, columns can now be traced by hand straight off a schedule sheet, foundation-only columns get real lengths and weights, and metric units run through the entire takeoff.
Read the full update