How to Convert Floor Plans to a Material List

Purchasing the materials yourself to build a structure, whether a house, shed or office building, may save you time and money instead of having a contractor purchase materials for you. Even if you are hiring a contractor to complete the build, they may add additional fees onto the materials that you can save by purchasing them yourself. There are software programs that you can purchase, or web-based programs that you can use online directly from a website, that allow you to calculate your materials from your floor plan measurements. Using a software program to calculate your measurements will offer an accurate materials list that you can use when purchasing your materials for the build.

Floor plans are used to calculate the necessary materials needed to build.

Step 1

Enter the measurements from your floor plan into the designated boxes of the software. The software will ask for detailed measurements for every item, such as floors, interior walls, exterior walls, windows, doors, siding, roof, stairs and beams. Depending on the size of your build, this may take several hours or only a few minutes.

Step 2

Add any additional items that your build includes.

Step 3

Review the entries that you submitted into the software. Ensure that you have not made any mistakes while entering your information.

Step 4

Select the option to create a materials list from your floor plan.

Step 5

Inspect the materials list, and then print out a copy using your printer.