What Is a Material Takeoff (MTO)?
A material takeoff extracts the raw material quantities from the drawings — steel, concrete, blocks and the rest — ready for procurement or pricing.
Definition
An MTO is the list of materials needed for execution, taken off the drawings and specifications: tonnes of reinforcement by diameter, cubic metres of concrete by grade, numbers of blocks, metres of cable and pipe. It serves procurement and logistics planning as much as it serves pricing.
How it differs from a BOQ
A BOQ measures composite work items that include both the material and its installation (“supply and pour concrete…”), while an MTO measures the raw materials on their own. BOQ item rates are built up from the MTO together with productivity rates and prices.
Waste
A standard waste allowance is added to the net quantities, and it varies by material and method: cutting and bending steel, broken blocks, tile laid to a pattern. Ignoring waste means material shortages and stoppages; overstating it means dead capital sitting on site.
Worked example
A wall 40 m long and 2.4 m high in 20 cm blocks: net = 40 × 2.4 × 12.5 ≈ 1,200 blocks, and with 6% waste ≈ 1,272 blocks. The Etimadco block calculator does this in seconds, mortar included.
FAQ
What are the common waste percentages?
As a guide: ready-mix concrete 2–4%, reinforcement 3–7%, blocks 4–8%, tiles 7–10% (higher for diagonal laying), paint 5–10% depending on the surface.
Can take-off be automated from the drawings?
BIM tools automate it from a 3D model; without a model the automation is only partial — Etimadco gives you indicative items and quantities from the design inputs and leaves the final sign-off to the engineer.
Put this to work with Quantity Takeoff
Structured quantity takeoff turning drawings into price-ready quantities
Explore Quantity Takeoff