Steel takeoff for metals suppliers. Deck, rails and misc metals, measured.
Steel takeoff for metals suppliers turns a fabricator's or erector's plans into what a service center quotes: deck by area and profile, pour stop and closures by the foot, railings broken into pipe, bar, plates and anchors, and misc metals counted piece by piece. Further down: the steel and misc metals recipes as a calculator, a table of what a metals order holds, our view on railings, and the recipes to download.
Try the order-list calculatorClients include
Can a steel supplier get a material list from structural plans?
Yes. Ruh identifies members by mark and size, measures deck by area and railings and edges by the foot, and counts misc metals piece by piece, then turns each into material: deck with its fasteners, pour stop with closures, rail pipe and pickets with base plates and anchors. Weights come only from documented section data. Seventeen structural and misc metals recipes come with it, all editable, and the first takeoff is free.
- structural and misc metals recipes to start from
- 17
- material lines across the steel recipes
- 57
- one structural set, taken off free
- 1st takeoff free
What does a foot of pour stop take?
One foot of 16 gauge bent plate, one foot of closure strip and one powder-actuated fastener in the app's starting recipe, with 5 percent waste on the plate and closure. Enter deck area or rail and edge footage to see each recipe's list, unpriced.
1. Pick a starting recipe
Metal roof deck, 1-1/2 in type B, 22 ga, galvanized, fastened 36/4, per SF
Order list for 18,000 square feet of Metal roof deck, 1-1/2 in type B. A sample input: change it to the quantity on your set.
| Material | Per SF | Quantity | Waste | With waste |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metal roof deck 1-1/2 in type B 22 ga G60 (by deck supplier quote)Priced by your quote | 1 SF | 18,000 SF | 5% | 18,900 SF, incl. 5% waste |
Powder-actuated deck fastener with washerHow it is built36/4 pattern: 4 fasteners per 36 in width at each support, supports at 5 ft. 4 / (3 × 5) = 0.267 per SF, taken as 0.27 | 0.27 EA, whole units | 4,860 EA | None | 4,860 EA |
Side-lap screw #10 self-drillingHow it is builtSide laps at 12 in o.c., one lap per 3 ft of width: 1 / 3 = 0.333 per SF, taken as 0.34 | 0.34 EA, whole units | 6,120 EA | None | 6,120 EA |
Each line is the measured quantity times the recipe’s factor. Lines the recipe marks as whole units, such as sheets, boxes and hangers, are rounded up before waste, the way the app rounds them. Round the with-waste figure up to whole pieces when you build the order.
What this cannot tell you: member weights the drawings do not document, or connections they do not detail. Weights come only from documented section data, missing connections are flagged rather than invented, and deck is measured by area and priced from your own quote.
What does a metals order carry?
Area, length and discrete pieces, each from a different sheet. The rows place every part on the set and show what it becomes.
| Part of the order | Where it is on the set | How it is taken off | What it becomes on the order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floor and roof deck | Framing plans and the deck schedule | Square feet by profile and gauge | Deck by your quote, fasteners, side-lap screws and closures |
| Pour stop and edges | Framing plans and slab edge details | Linear feet by slab depth | Bent plate, closure strip and fasteners |
| Structural members | Framing plans and the member schedule | Counted by mark, length from geometry | Members by size and length, weight from documented section data |
| Railings and guardrails | Plans and stair sections | Linear feet by rail type | Pipe, pickets or mid rails, posts, base plates and anchors |
| Stairs and ladders | Stair and ladder details | Counted per flight or ladder | Stringers, pans, rails and anchors |
| Lintels and embeds | Schedules and details | Counted per piece | Angles, plates and headed studs |
Typical practice, not a standard. Sections, connections and finishes are set by each job's structural drawings.
What do suppliers get wrong about railing quotes?
Our opinion: Railings get quoted by the foot, and the foot hides most of the steel. A picket guardrail in the app's starting recipe carries three feet of pipe and ten and a half feet of square bar for every foot of rail, plus a base plate every four feet and an anchor per foot. A quote that prices the pipe and forgets the pickets has quoted less than a quarter of the steel by length. Measure rail by type and the bar comes with it.
What it does and does not do
What it does today
- ✓Identifies members by mark and size and measures deck, edges and rails from drawing PDFs
- ✓Derives weights only from documented section data
- ✓Flags connections the set does not detail instead of inventing them
- ✓Prices from your own price list first, with the source on every line
- ✓Exports as PDF, CSV or JSON
What it does not do
- Detailing or shop drawings
- Connection design
- Purchase orders
- Reading a reply or a quote back into the list
- Links to your ERP or point-of-sale system
Your first steel takeoff is free.
Choose a structural or misc metals set already on your desk and expect a free takeoff. The recipes are a CSV on this page.
In a customer’s own words
“Ruh helped us win a job during the demo, so we saw value before we even became a client.”
Ben MorlinJ&S Excavation- takeoffs delivered to 29 contractors across 15 trades
- 45
- US, Canada and the UK, Jun to Oct 2026
- starting recipes in this supply line, yours to edit
- 17
- 57 material lines between them
- for every output, the material list included
- PDF, CSV
- and JSON for your own systems
Questions steel and metals suppliers ask
Answers on weights and rails for metals suppliers.
What is steel takeoff for metals suppliers?
Steel takeoff for metals suppliers is identifying the members, measuring the deck, edges and railings, and counting the misc metals on a set of plans so a supplier can quote the material. Ruh does the takeoff and the first pricing from your list, and the quote stays with you.
How are member weights figured?
Does it break railings into their parts?
Which structural drawings should we send?
Send a set. Check the rails.
Send a structural set and line the free metals list up against your own takeoff.
