Waterproofing Estimating and Takeoff Services

We quantify waterproofing by system and by condition — below-grade, plaza deck, wet area and above-grade — with terminations, transitions, penetrations and drainage counted individually rather than allowed for, and deliver an editable Excel workbook with the marked-up plan set.

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What We Take Off

Waterproofing is not an area trade pretending to be one. The field membrane over an open wall or deck is the cheapest and fastest part of the work; everything that costs money and everything that fails is at an edge — a termination, a penetration, a transition between two systems, or a corner where three planes meet. An estimate that measures area and applies a percentage for detail has priced the easy half.

Below-grade waterproofingfoundation walls and slabs by area, separating positive-side and negative-side systems, sheet membrane, fluid-applied, bentonite and crystalline, since each is a different material and a different application sequence

Blindside waterproofingwhere the system is installed against shoring before the wall is poured, quantified separately because it cannot be inspected or repaired afterwards and the detailing requirements reflect that

Under-slab vapour and waterproofingby area including laps, with the termination at the slab edge and at every penetration detailed rather than assumed

Plaza and podium deck waterproofingthe full assembly by area including membrane, protection, drainage, insulation and wearing course, priced as a system rather than as a membrane with extras

Below-grade drainagedrainage board and composite by area, subdrain and footing drain by linear foot, with filter fabric, gravel and discharge

Protection courseboard or sheet by area where the specification requires it, which is a real material frequently left out entirely

Wet area waterproofingbathrooms, showers, kitchens, laundries and mechanical rooms by area, with curbs, thresholds, drains and their flashing detailed individually

Above-grade and horizontal traffic coatingsparking deck, balcony and walkway systems by area with the number of coats and the specified wear layer stated

Air and vapour barrierswhere they fall in this package, by area including laps, with the transitions to roof and foundation identified as their own detail

Terminationsreglet, termination bar, counterflashing and sealant at every top edge, counted by linear foot, because a membrane that is not terminated is not waterproof

Transitionsevery junction where one system meets another, at foundation to wall, wall to roof, deck to wall and system to system, counted individually as detailed conditions

Penetrationspipes, conduit, sleeves, anchors, tiebacks, supports and every other item passing the membrane, counted by type and size with the collar or boot each requires

Corners, inside and outsidecounted and detailed, since preformed corners and reinforcing at three-plane junctions are a specified item rather than a fold in the sheet

Expansion and control jointsby linear foot and type, as engineered assemblies with their own cover and backer, not a strip of membrane over a gap

Crack and joint preparationrouting, filling, and detail strips over cracks, cold joints and construction joints in the substrate

Substrate preparationsurface profile, patching, priming and moisture condition, which on fluid-applied systems decide whether the membrane bonds at all

Testing and inspectionflood testing, electronic leak detection and any specified third-party observation, which are scheduled activities with real duration

Remedial and existing conditionsinvestigation, removal of failed systems, substrate repair and tie-in to retained waterproofing on renovation work

How Waterproofing Quantities Are Measured

Every quantity below is reported in the unit the scope is actually bought and bid in — not converted into a single convenient unit that hides where the cost sits.

Field membraneSF including lapsGross with laps, not net area. Laps are real material and on a sheet system they are not a trivial percentage.

TerminationsLF by conditionReglet, termination bar and counterflashing counted individually. A membrane with no termination is not a waterproofing system.

TransitionsLF and EA by conditionEvery junction between two systems, detailed individually. This is where failures happen and where percentages fail.

PenetrationsEA by type and sizeEach pipe, conduit, sleeve, anchor and tieback with the boot or collar it requires. Counted, never allowed for.

CornersEA inside and outsidePreformed corners and three-plane reinforcing are specified items, not a fold in the sheet.

Drainage boardSFSeparate from membrane, with the subdrain measured by linear foot and its discharge carried explicitly.

Protection courseSFIts own material and its own installation, and one of the most commonly omitted specified items in the package.

Plaza deck assemblySF by layerMembrane, protection, drainage, insulation and wearing course counted as separate layers because they are separate materials.

Traffic coatingSF by coatEach coat counted, with the wear layer stated. A two-coat and a four-coat system over the same deck are different jobs.

Expansion jointsLF by typeEngineered assemblies with cover and backer, priced as such.

Crack preparationLFRouting, filling and detail strip over cracks and cold joints, measured against the substrate condition.

Flood testingEA by areaA scheduled activity with fill, hold, inspect and drain time, not a line to be absorbed.

Who This Is For

General contractors carrying this trade directly, or checking a subcontractor's number before it goes into the bid.

Subcontractors pricing their own scope in this division.

Developers and owners validating a number they've already been given.

Material suppliers and distributors verifying a customer's order.

What You Receive

An itemized Excel takeoff, organized by division
A marked-up plan set — every quantity traces back to a location on the drawings
Labor, material and equipment split out separately
Waste and overage factors shown as visible line items
An assumptions and exclusions schedule

Marked-up waterproofing plan crop

What Moves the Number on Waterproofing

Detail count, not area. The field of a wall or deck is the fastest square footage in this trade. Terminations, transitions, corners and penetrations carry the labor and carry the entire risk, and their quantity is a function of the building's geometry and its services rather than its area. A congested podium deck can spend most of its waterproofing budget on the perimeter and the penetrations.

Accessibility after installation. Blindside waterproofing against shoring, membrane under a slab, and anything buried behind backfill or under a wearing course cannot be inspected or repaired once covered. The specification responds with heavier detailing, more inspection and sometimes electronic leak detection, and the cost of that is not comparable to an exposed application.

System type. Sheet, fluid-applied, bentonite and crystalline systems differ in material cost, in application rate, in substrate tolerance and in what weather they can be installed in. Fluid-applied in particular depends on substrate moisture and temperature, which makes it a schedule-sensitive item as well as a cost one.

Substrate condition and preparation. On a bonded system, the membrane is only as good as what it is stuck to. Surface profile, patching, crack routing, curing time and moisture content all have to be right, and preparation on a poor substrate can exceed the membrane cost. Where the documents do not establish the substrate, we state the assumption.

Sequencing and trade interface. Waterproofing sits between other trades and frequently cannot proceed until one finishes and must complete before the next begins. Standby, remobilisation and work in short windows around other trades are real costs on a constrained programme, and on plaza decks the interface with landscape, paving and mechanical is where scope disputes originate.

Testing and warranty requirements. Flood testing, electronic leak detection and third-party inspection are scheduled activities with duration, and a manufacturer warranty typically constrains details, materials and sometimes the installer. Pricing a system without its testing and warranty obligations produces a number for a different scope.

Weather and temperature. Most waterproofing systems have temperature and moisture limits for installation. Cold-weather work brings heating, enclosure and extended cure times, and wet conditions stop bonded applications entirely. On a winter programme this is a schedule and cost item rather than a footnote.

What We Need From You

A complete set is ideal, but rarely what exists. Send what you have — we will tell you at quote stage what can be quantified firm and what has to be an allowance.

Foundation plans, sections and details showing the below-grade system and its extent
Waterproofing details — terminations, transitions, corners, penetrations and joints — the governing documents for this trade
Plaza, podium and deck sections showing the full assembly layer by layer
Specification section for Division 07 waterproofing, including warranty and testing requirements
Architectural plans identifying wet areas requiring membrane
Structural drawings for slab and wall construction joints and for anchor and tieback locations
Mechanical, electrical and plumbing plans, for penetration counts through waterproofed surfaces
Geotechnical report, for groundwater level and hydrostatic condition
For remedial work: investigation findings and the condition of the existing system

How It Works

1 Send your plans — PDF, DWG, DOC, images or ZIP, up to 100MB per file.
2 Get your quote — a flat price for the scope with a delivery date, confirmed in writing.
3 Approve — nothing starts until you confirm.
4 We take it off — quantities from the drawings and schedules.
5 Delivery — workbook, marked-up set, assumptions schedule.

How Pricing and Turnaround Work

Every project is priced individually from your drawings. Send the plan set and you get a flat quote for the scope before any work starts — no hourly billing, no open-ended engagement.

Turnaround depends on the size of the package and how many trades are in scope — which is why you get a firm delivery date with your quote rather than a generic promise.

Tools and Standards

Takeoffs are produced in Bluebeam, PlanSwift, Trimble, STACK, organized against CSI MasterFormat divisions — this scope is specified under Division 07 — Thermal and Moisture Protection (07 10 00 Dampproofing and Waterproofing).

Quantities and assemblies are read against the published standards that govern this trade, because the standard is what decides whether two apparently identical items are actually the same line item:

ASTM D5385 — hydrostatic pressure resistance of waterproofing membranes
ASTM C836 — high-solids cold liquid-applied elastomeric waterproofing membrane
ASTM C1127 — use of high-solids content cold liquid-applied elastomeric waterproofing membrane with separate wearing course
ASTM D6135 — self-adhering modified bituminous sheet for below-grade waterproofing
ASTM E1105 / ASTM D5957 — water penetration testing and flood testing of waterproofing
ANSI A118.10 — load-bearing bonded waterproof membranes for thin-set tile installations
NRCA and manufacturer detail standards, which on warranted systems govern the terminations

Pricing is built on RSMeans cost data localized to your project's market, then reconciled against current supplier quotes and our own completed project costs. Every estimate states its pricing basis and the date it was priced.

Why Waterproofing Is Estimated Wrong

Detail carried as a percentage of area. The most consistent error in this trade and the most consequential. Terminations, transitions, corners and penetrations are individually detailed conditions whose count depends on the building, not its area. A percentage is systematically wrong on any building with a congested perimeter or a lot of services, and those are exactly the buildings where waterproofing fails.

Penetrations not counted. Every pipe, conduit, sleeve, anchor and tieback through a waterproofed surface needs a detail, and on a podium deck or a tied-back basement wall there can be hundreds. They are shown on structural and MEP drawings rather than on the waterproofing details, so an estimator working from one discipline will not see them.

Protection course omitted. A specified item, a real material with real installation labor, and one of the most commonly missing lines in a waterproofing estimate. It is also the item whose absence causes membrane damage during backfill, so leaving it out understates the estimate and increases the risk at the same time.

Plaza deck priced as a membrane. A plaza or podium assembly is membrane plus protection plus drainage plus insulation plus wearing course, each a separate material with separate installation. Pricing the membrane and allowing for the rest understates the package substantially, because the membrane is usually the cheapest layer in it.

Substrate preparation assumed ideal. Bonded systems need a specific surface profile, moisture content and crack condition. On an existing or poorly finished substrate, routing, patching and priming can exceed the membrane cost. Assuming a perfect substrate is assuming away the most variable item in the package.

Testing and standby not priced. Flood testing has fill, hold, inspect and drain time. Third-party inspection has scheduling. Waterproofing between two other trades has standby and remobilisation. None of these appear as a quantity on a drawing and all of them are real duration on a real programme.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you quantify waterproofing?

Field membrane by area including laps, then every detailed condition counted individually — terminations by linear foot, transitions by condition, corners inside and out, and each penetration by type and size with the boot or collar it needs. We do not apply a percentage for detail, because detail is where the cost and the entire risk sit.

Do you include drainage and protection course?

Yes, both as their own line items. Drainage board by area with subdrain by linear foot and its discharge, and protection course by area wherever the specification calls for it. Protection course is one of the most commonly omitted specified items in this package, and its absence is also what gets the membrane damaged during backfill.

How do you price plaza and podium decks?

As a full assembly, layer by layer — membrane, protection, drainage, insulation and wearing course — rather than as a membrane with allowances. The membrane is usually the cheapest layer in that stack, so pricing it and allowing for the rest understates the package badly.

Do you count penetrations through waterproofed surfaces?

Yes, every one. They are drawn on structural and MEP sheets rather than on the waterproofing details, so we cross-reference those disciplines. On a tied-back basement wall or a serviced podium deck there can be hundreds, and each needs a detail.

Do you price testing and inspection?

Yes. Flood testing has fill, hold, inspect and drain duration, electronic leak detection is a scheduled activity, and third-party observation has to be coordinated. Where the specification requires them they are carried as their own items with the duration stated.

Do you estimate remedial waterproofing?

Yes, and it is priced from what the documents and any investigation actually establish. Removal of failed systems, substrate repair and tie-in to retained waterproofing drive these numbers, and where the existing condition is unknown we state the assumption rather than pricing an ideal substrate.

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