Estimating Material Take Offs in Home Designer

QUESTION

Where do the materials on the materials list come from in Home Designer?

ANSWER

In Home Designer 2026 and newer, as well as in Home Designer Pro versions, the materials list will provide a materials take off list for your model. In this article, you will learn some of the places where materials are configured, and how to create a materials list for quantity and cost estimation.

The materials list will only be as accurate as the model you have created. The more accurate and detailed your model, the more accurate the estimation will be.

In the example below, we will generate a basic quantity estimation based on a single four-walled room with 20 foot walls on each side.

 

To examine wall materials and structure

1. Use the Select Objects  tool to select one of the exterior walls, then click on the Open Object  edit button to display the Wall Specification dialog.
   
   
   
2. On the Wall Types panel, click the Define button next to the Wall Type drop-down menu.
   
   
   
   
   
3. In the Wall Type Definitions dialog that opens, you can see that the wall is broken down into layers.
   
   
   
   
   • Each layer will have a Thickness, which will affect how the material is reported in your Materials List.
     
     
   • The Framing checkbox will tell the software to create framing with the selected material. Here you can adjust the Stud Width, Stud Spacing, and Top/Bottom Plate settings.
     
     
   • The Air Gap checkbox when selected will prevent the select layer from displaying in 3D views or being calculated in your Materials List.
   
   

   Note: For more information on modifying wall types, please see the Related Articles section below.

   
   
4. Click Cancel to return to the Wall Specification. 
   
   
   
5. Now, select the Components panel and notice that the wall layers we just saw are listed here as well, along with some additional information such as ID, Size, Description, etc.
   
   The information on this panel is what is reported to the materials list. This information is supplied by what is already specified in the dialog, but you can also manually edit this information to your liking. 
   
   
   
   

   You can modify most all of the Value fields listed on the Components panel. To learn more about this dialog panel, select the Help button at the bottom.

   
   
6. Click Cancel to close the dialog without making any changes.
   
   

Now let's look more closely at framing.

To examine framing materials

1. Select Build> Framing> Build Framing  to display the Build Framing dialog.
   
   
   
2. In the Build Framing dialog click Automatic Framing Defaults to open the Automatic Framing Defaults dialog.
   
   In Home Designer 2024 and prior, skip to Step 3.
   
   
   
   
   
3. In the Automatic Framing Defaults dialog: 
   
   
   
   
   • On the Foundation, 1st, 2nd, etc panels you can adjust how both your floors and ceiling are built. You can adjust the Spacing, control the Rim Joists, and make edits to your Floor Structure and Ceiling Structure.
     
     
   • On the Wall panel you can adjust the defaults for your Studs, your Wall Connections, your wall Plates, how your Blocking will generate, your Girts, and the Miter Ends of Angled Walls. Remember that you can also edit your wall framing through your Wall Type, as mentioned above.
     
     
   • On the Openings panel you can adjust your Header Sizes, your Bay/Box/Bow Window Trimmers, how headers report to the Materials Lists, and how your headers show in Plan Views.
     
     
   • on the Roof panel you can adjust how your roof will frame. This includes the size for your different roof framing components and their Spacing. You can also make these changes in a Roof Plane Specification for finer control.
     
     
   • On the Trusses panel you can adjust your Roof Truss Defaults, Roof Girder Truss Defaults*, and Floor Truss Defaults.
     
     *Available in Home Designer 2026 and newer
   
   

   For more information about the various options on these panels, click the Help button to open the software's documentation. For more information on generating framing in Home Designer, please see the Related Articles section below.

   
   

After you have examined wall materials and framing, take a look at room materials.

To examine room materials

1. Use the Select Objects  tool to select the room enclosed by the exterior, then click on the Open Object  edit button to display the Room Specification dialog.
   
   
   
2. On the Structure panel:
   
   
   
   
   • Click the Edit button next to Ceiling Structure to open the Ceiling Structure Definition dialog and define the layers of materials that form the ceiling platform.
     
     
   • Click the Edit button next to Ceiling Finish to open the Ceiling Finish Definition dialog and define the layers of materials that form the finished ceiling surface.
     
     
   • Click the Edit button next to Floor Finish to open the Floor Finish Definition dialog and define the layers of materials that form the floor surface.
     
     
   • Click the Edit button next to Floor Structure to open the Floor Structure Definition dialog and define the layers of materials that form the floor platform.
     
     

     Note: These properties can also be specified for the entire plan, for each individual floor level, or for specific room types by accessing the Default Settings.

      
     
   
   
3. Click on the Materials panel to specify your desired materials for the moldings and wall coverings that are applied for the room, if applicable.
   
   
   
4. Much like with walls, you can select the Components panel while in this dialog to see what will be reported to the materials list based upon what has been defined for the room.
   
   

These are only some of the important materials. Other designs will likely include roofing, windows, doors, cabinets, and other objects. For this simple design, however, you've seen where the materials can be set, so now it's time to do a quantity estimation.

To generate a material's list

1. Select Tools> Materials List> Calculate Materials For All Floors .
   
   

   Note: There are additional tools to create materials lists of more specific areas of your plan. If you want to learn more, see Video 2293: Materials Lists.

   
   
2. Scroll to the bottom of the materials list, and locate the Interior Trim section, where you can see that there is 76 feet of base molding required.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Also take a look at the Wall Board, where you can see that you require 22 4' x 8' sheets of 1/2 inch Drywall for the walls.
   
   You can also see another entry for 12 4' x 8' x 5/8 inch sheets used for the ceiling.
   
   
   
   
   
4. If you scroll back up, you can examine other categories, such as the Siding category.
   
   
   
   

To close the materials list, select File> Close View. You will be prompted to save it. Using saved materials lists, you can create quantity and cost estimations for various stages of your project, or you can create estimates for small subsections of the design for remodeling purposes. Specify a name, then click Save to close the materials list. To access this list in the future go to Tools> Materials List> Materials List Management .