Complete all of your mechanical estimates in one place

Countfire is for mechanical estimators, quantity surveyors and estimating managers at mechanical and M&E contractors, from specialist subcontractors to national businesses. Mechanical contractors including SES and Mitie use Countfire in their estimating.

It is fully cloud-based, with estimating teams using it all over the world. That also makes it practical for teams who split estimates between offices or work on the same tender at once, using multiplayer estimate mode.

If your tenders involve counting mechanical symbols floor by floor and measuring pipe and duct runs by hand, Countfire takes on the repetitive work so you can focus on the pricing decisions.

The workflow runs from drawing set to submitted estimate:

1. Upload your drawings. Add the project's PDF drawings, from single floors to full multi-building sets.
2. Count and measure. Automated takeoff counts mechanical symbols across all drawings, while linear measurement tools handle pipework, ductwork and other runs. Accuracy checks flag anything uncounted.
3. Handle revisions without starting again. When revised drawings arrive, copy items across, adapt the takeoff and show exactly what has been added in your report.
4. Build the estimate. Quantities flow into the estimate, where you can price items, reuse rates from previous projects and split out or exclude areas in the pricing breakdown.
5. Export and submit. Produce a client-ready Excel estimate, with a digital record of every version saved to the cloud.

Countfire handles the mix of counted items and measured runs that make up a mechanical estimate. Anything drawn as a symbol can be counted automatically, and anything drawn as a run can be measured.

HVAC and ventilation

Count grilles, diffusers, fan coil units, AC units, extract fans and other ventilation components across every drawing in one pass, then measure the ductwork runs that connect them. Splitting quantities by area makes it easy to price floor by floor or zone by zone.

Pipework

Measure heating, chilled water and other pipework runs with the linear measurement tool, drawing straight lines or bends to follow the route on the drawing. Each run is itemised, so your estimate shows exactly where every metre came from.

Ductwork

Trace supply, extract and fresh air ductwork routes digitally instead of with a scale rule. Measurements are recorded against the drawing, giving you a defensible breakdown when quantities are queried.

Plant and equipment

Take off boilers, chillers, AHUs, pumps and other plant items across the project, with every counted item traceable back to its location on the drawing.

Mechanical takeoff is slow because it combines two manual jobs: counting symbols and measuring runs. Countfire automates the counting entirely and turns measuring into a fast digital task, with every quantity itemised as you go.

Where the time comes back:

• Whole-project takeoff. Symbols are counted across every drawing at once, not one drawing at a time.
• Revisions without rework. Copy items from previous versions, adapt the drawing and report only what has changed, rather than re-doing the takeoff.
• Pricing that remembers. Reuse rates from previous estimates for your regularly priced items.
• One workflow. Quantities flow straight from the drawing into a client-ready Excel estimate, removing a common source of errors.
• Team estimating. Multiplayer estimate mode lets several estimators work the same tender at once, useful when the deadline is tight.

Craig Reid at Dextra Group saw his team go from around 10 drawings a week to 40 with four estimators. Less time counting and measuring means more tenders out the door.