“I have been using Cadestimator for approximately 6 months and have been very pleased with the increased speed and accuracy I have experienced. Cadestimator
also enables me to tackle a wider variety of projects than I could previously.
Cadestimator has two main advantages over any other estimating system I have seen. First, it enables
very quick and accurate measurements to be taken without having to use an expensive and cumbersome digitizer. Secondly, because the plans are actually brought into the program and all the
measurements are graphically keyed to the plan, a visual record is created of what material was figured for what part of the plan. Previously the only way I could keep this information would be
to make extensive notes on the plan. This left me with the task of trying to keep track of hundreds of plans. Now all of that information is literally at my fingertips.
Cadestimator is very powerful and flexible with an amazing assortment of tools and functions. I have found it to be
useful for estimating everything from a small outbuilding or addition to a large multi-family project. For a small, simple, project rudimentary plans can be drawn within Cadestimator and used
as a basis for estimating. While on larger projects repeated assemblies can be compiled in numerous ways, thereby cutting down on the amount of time spent taking measurements without
sacrificing accuracy.
Once the estimate is done, the information can be reported in a number of useful ways from
simple material lists with no pricing to professional bids including cover pages.
Because Cadestimator is
so powerful and can be used in so many ways, after 6 months I feel I have only scratched the surface. At the same time, it isn’t difficult to get started. Digital Properties offers
the best customer support for a software program I have ever experienced. Thanks to the Cadestimator tutorials and to the great support, I was able to get up and running on the program very
quickly. Overall, I have been very happy with Cadestimator and definitely feel it has made me more productive. I would recommend that anyone who spends a significant amount of time doing
estimates from construction drawings take a look at Cadestimator and see how it can help them.
|