Vega measures exterior wall areas from PDF plans, deducts window and door openings, and turns your cladding assignments into editable material and labor estimates.
Cladding, soffit, fascia, gutters, exterior paint, stone accent, and tear-off — connected in one exterior estimating workflow.
ROOM TAKEOFF
Vega detects exterior wall geometry from floor plans, reads elevations for spec defaults, and lets the estimator assign the cladding system to every wall — then deducts openings and builds the material and labor estimate.
Upload the plans
Start with the plan set — the floor plans carry the exterior wall geometry, and the elevations carry the cladding, wall height, and gable callouts.
Exterior wall geometry
Vega detects exterior wall segments from the floor plans and measures wall length and area — the primary quantity source for the exterior estimate.
Elevation spec reading
Vega scans the elevations and related sheets to help identify predominant cladding, wall height, stories, gables, and stucco texture — pre-filling defaults, not measuring quantities.
Assign cladding per wall
The estimator assigns or corrects the cladding system for each exterior wall — siding, stucco, EIFS, or stone accent — using the plan canvas. AI seeds the starting point; you control the final assignment.
Openings & net area
Window and exterior-door openings are deducted from gross wall area to calculate net cladding area. Trim quantities are derived from corner and opening geometry.
Review & bid
Check the wall-area source, adjust any wall height or cladding, switch scopes on or off, edit material and labor pricing, and carry the exterior estimate into a proposal alongside the other trades.
Exterior wall quantities come from floor plans. Elevations are read for spec defaults — cladding, height, gables, texture — not for quantity measurement.
Exterior wall area is measured from floor-plan wall geometry — each wall segment's length multiplied by its height, summed across the plan set. Elevations are scanned for spec defaults. Openings are deducted from schedules. Trim and roof-edge quantities are derived from geometry.
Wall area is measured from floor plans — not elevations. Cladding is user-assigned per wall, with AI seeding the default from the elevation scan. Eight cladding systems supported.
Vega scans the elevations and related sheets to help identify specification and default information — but the estimator remains in control. Elevations help pre-fill assumptions; they are not the primary quantity-measurement source.
Predominant cladding
The elevation scan identifies the predominant cladding material and seeds the default for walls the estimator has not yet painted.
Wall / plate height
The scan reads the plate height off the elevations and seeds the per-wall height default — falling back to 9 ft when no height is found.
Stories & gables
The scan identifies the storey count and gable conditions, which feed the gable triangle area and the multi-story access premium.
Stucco finish texture
For stucco systems, the scan reads the finish texture — smooth, sand, or lace — which feeds the stucco texture multiplier.
Vega reads exterior elevations to help pre-fill cladding and wall assumptions. AI-assisted elevation reading helps reduce manual setup — it does not measure quantities.
AI helps set the starting point by seeding the default cladding from the elevation scan. The estimator assigns or corrects the cladding system for each exterior wall using the plan canvas.
Fiber Cement Lap
Hardie-style horizontal lap siding — the default cladding
Fiber Cement Shingle
Hardie-style individual shingles and shakes
Engineered Wood / LP
LP SmartSide-style engineered wood lap siding
Vinyl
Standard vinyl lap siding
Cedar
Natural wood cedar siding
3-Coat Stucco
Traditional three-coat Portland cement stucco
1-Coat Stucco
One-coat stucco system
EIFS
Exterior insulation and finish system (synthetic stucco)
AI helps set the starting point. You control the final cladding assignment. Stone veneer is supported only as an accent scope — full-wall stone belongs to the Masonry trade.
Vega uses window and exterior-door information to deduct opening area from gross exterior wall area — a strong capability that produces the net cladding area the material quantities are built on.
Opening deductions
Window and exterior-door openings are deducted from gross wall area to calculate net cladding area — the basis for siding and cladding material quantities.
Schedule-driven widths
Opening widths come from the window and door schedules measured off the floor plans. Heights default by type — a plan view has no height.
Trim from opening perimeter
Opening perimeter drives applicable trim quantities — J-channel, window trim, door trim, and garage-door trim — derived from the opening geometry.
Exteriors deducts window and door openings — it does not estimate the window or door units themselves. Window and door units are handled through Vega's dedicated Windows and Doors trades.
A real exterior crew bids more than one material. Vega connects six scopes in a single estimate — which is why the trade is called Exteriors, not Siding.
Cladding
Siding, stucco, and EIFS — fiber cement, engineered wood, vinyl, cedar, three-coat stucco, one-coat stucco, and EIFS systems.
Soffit & Fascia
Derived from roof-edge geometry — eave and rake lengths shared with Roofing so the trades never disagree on the roof edge.
Gutters & Downspouts
Gutter LF from eave runs; downspout count and length derived from gutter run and spacing.
Exterior Paint
Calculated against applicable net cladding area — armed when the cladding system requires field paint.
Stone Accent
Small accent areas only — chimney, wainscot, or entry feature. Full-wall stone belongs to the Masonry trade.
Tear-Off
Existing-cladding removal for renovation and re-siding projects — user-armed, not auto-detected.
Siding is one family within the cladding scope. Stucco, EIFS, gutters, soffit, fascia, exterior paint, stone accent, and tear-off are all priced by the same estimator — which is why Vega calls the trade Exteriors.
Siding is one of the cladding families Vega estimates. Generate siding area, net wall area, and material order quantities from measured exterior walls.
GROSS WALL SF
Exterior wall length × height, summed across the plan set — the starting point for every siding quantity.
OPENING DEDUCTIONS
Window and exterior-door openings subtracted from gross wall SF to produce the net wall SF the siding material is priced on.
NET WALL SF
The basis for siding material and labor — gross minus openings, split by cladding system from the canvas.
MATERIAL WASTE FACTOR
An editable material allowance — 10% for simple geometry, 15% for complex — applied to material, never labor.
ORDER SF
Net wall SF multiplied by the waste factor — the quantity the siding material line carries.
SQUARES
Order SF divided by 100 — the ordering unit every siding material is priced in.
Vega outputs SF, LF, squares, and counts. It does not calculate individual boards, pieces, courses, laps, cartons, or bundles.
The exterior estimate carries more than cladding — trim is derived from geometry, waste is an editable material allowance, and the weather-resistive barrier is included by default.
Material waste allowance
An editable material waste allowance — 10% for simple geometry, 15% for complex — applied to material quantities only, never to labor. User-overridable in the breakdown.
Trim from geometry
Outside corner posts derived from corner count and wall height. Opening trim and J-channel derived from opening perimeter. Rake and fascia quantities derived from roof edges.
House wrap / WRB
House wrap or weather-resistive barrier included by default over wood framing, priced on net wall SF. Metal lath and weep screed included for applicable stucco assemblies.
Waste is a fixed production allowance, not an optimization. Trim is derived from geometry, not detected as symbols. A rigid-foam option exists but is off by default — standalone continuous insulation belongs primarily to the Insulation trade.
Vega derives soffit, fascia, gutter, and downspout quantities from the same roof-edge geometry Roofing uses — so the two trades never disagree on the roof edge.
EXTERIORS OWNS
ROOFING OWNS
Gutters run the eaves only — never the rakes. The fascia board and soffit panel belong to Exteriors; the roof covering and drip edge belong to Roofing.
Exteriors owns exterior paint, stone accent, and tear-off — and respects the boundaries with the Masonry, Interior Paint, and Demolition trades.
Exterior paint
Exterior paint is part of the Exteriors estimator — calculated against applicable net cladding area and armed when the cladding system requires field paint. Interior painting and specialty coatings are separate trades.
Stone accent only
Stone veneer is supported as an accent scope only — chimney, wainscot, or entry feature. Full-wall stone, brick veneer, and CMU belong to the dedicated Masonry trade. A guard warns when stone exceeds accent proportions.
Tear-off for re-siding
Existing-cladding tear-off is included for renovation and re-siding projects — user-armed from the survey, not auto-detected. On a full building teardown, the Demolition trade bills the removal.
Every cladding system carries an installed price per square foot, split into material and labor. House wrap, trim, soffit and fascia, gutters, paint, and tear-off are all separate priced lines.
Priced lines in the estimate
Labor adjustments
Labor is based on an installed $/SF split into material and labor — not crew rates, production rates, or man-hours. Selected pricing assumptions are informed by historical bid data. Every price is editable through Cost Library overrides.
An exterior estimate is only as good as the wall area and cladding behind it. Vega shows whether the wall area was measured or assumed — and every wall height, cladding assignment, opening, and price is editable.
See the wall-area source
The estimate shows whether the wall area was measured from floor-plan wall geometry or derived from the perimeter fallback — so you know whether the cladding area is measured or assumed.
Edit wall heights
Every exterior wall segment carries its own height. Adjust the plate height, the storey count, or any individual wall — the cladding area and trim quantities recompute with every change.
Assign cladding per wall
Switch any wall between siding, stucco, EIFS, or stone accent using the canvas paint-bucket. Walls you leave unpainted take the default cladding seeded from the elevation scan.
Edit window and door schedules
Opening widths come from the schedules; opening heights default by type. Adjust any entry and the opening deduction, net cladding area, and trim quantities follow.
Toggle the six scopes
Cladding, soffit and fascia, gutters, exterior paint, stone accent, and tear-off are each a scope toggle. Turn off gutters and the eave run is not derived — it stops billing, not just hiding.
Trade boundaries respected
Stone accent stays in Exteriors; full-wall stone moves to Masonry. Roof covering stays in Roofing; fascia and gutters stay here. Window and door units are separate trades — Exteriors deducts the openings only.
Wall area
—
From floor plans
Net area
—
After openings
Cladding
—
Per-wall assigned
Illustrative breakdown — quantities and prices shown as placeholders, not actual Vega output.
AI assists with wall detection and exterior-spec interpretation. The estimator controls the cladding assignment, wall heights, scope, waste, pricing, labor, and adjustments. This is the truth boundary the estimate is built on.
AI ASSISTS WITH
YOU CONTROL
EXTERIOR & SIDING CONTRACTORS
Focus on the wall area, net cladding area, and the full six-scope takeoff — and carry it into a trade-specific bid without rebuilding the takeoff from scratch.
GENERAL CONTRACTORS
Estimate exteriors alongside roofing, framing, and demolition — one building footprint, one project, one proposal — instead of rebuilding each scope.
Exterior estimating software helps contractors turn construction plans into exterior wall quantities — wall area, opening deductions, net cladding area, trim, soffit and fascia, gutters, and exterior paint — and then into material and labor pricing and a reviewable estimate. Vega is built around that workflow for exterior contractors, siding subcontractors, and estimators.
Yes. Vega detects exterior wall geometry from the floor plans and measures wall area — exterior wall length multiplied by wall height, summed across the plan set. Window and exterior-door openings are deducted from gross wall area to calculate net cladding area. The result is a reviewable, editable exterior estimate.
No. Vega primarily measures exterior wall quantities from floor-plan wall geometry. Elevation sheets are used to help interpret exterior specifications such as predominant cladding, wall height, stories, gables, and stucco texture. The elevation scan pre-fills defaults — it does not measure wall area or any other quantity. Wall area comes from the floor plans.
Yes. Vega uses window and exterior-door information from the schedules to deduct opening area from gross exterior wall area. Window and door widths come from the schedule; heights default by type. The net cladding area — gross wall SF minus opening SF — is the basis for siding material quantities. Opening perimeter also drives applicable trim quantities like J-channel and opening trim.
Vega supports eight cladding systems: fiber cement lap, fiber cement shingle, engineered wood or LP-style siding, vinyl, cedar, three-coat stucco, one-coat stucco, and EIFS. Stone veneer is supported as an accent scope only — small areas like a chimney or wainscot. Full-wall stone, brick veneer, and CMU belong to the dedicated Masonry trade. The estimator assigns the cladding system to each exterior wall using the plan canvas.
Yes. Soffit and fascia lengths are derived from the shared roof-edge resolver — the same eave and rake lengths Roofing uses — so the two trades never disagree on the roof edge. Gutter LF is derived from the eave run only, never the rakes. Downspout count and length are derived from the gutter run and spacing. Roof covering, underlayment, and drip edge belong to Roofing; fascia, soffit, gutters, and downspouts belong to Exteriors.
Vega applies an editable material waste allowance based on exterior geometry — 10% for simple geometry and 15% for complex geometry, triggered by the building footprint compactness. The waste factor is user-overridable. Waste applies to material quantities only, never to labor — you order extra siding, but you do not pay a crew to install the offcuts. This is a fixed production allowance, not an optimization.
Yes. You can edit exterior wall geometry, wall heights, assign or change the cladding system per wall, edit masonry assignment, edit window and door schedule information, override the waste factor, edit material pricing, edit labor assumptions, include or exclude estimate lines, add custom lines, and perform manual takeoff corrections. Every quantity and price is editable, and the estimate recomputes with every change.
Yes. Each cladding system carries an installed price per square foot, split into material and labor. Material quantities include the waste allowance; labor is priced on the net area. Additional adjustments can include a multi-story access premium, union or non-union factor, stucco substrate and texture multipliers, a complexity dial, and contingency. House wrap, metal lath, weep screed, corner posts, opening trim, soffit and fascia, gutters and downspouts, exterior paint, and tear-off are all priced as separate lines. Every unit price and labor assumption is editable.
See how Vega turns floor plans into exterior wall area, net cladding area, a full six-scope takeoff, and a reviewable exterior estimate.