Turn PDF plans into wall, attic, ceiling, roof-deck, and crawlspace insulation quantities — priced by surface at R-value-driven rates, with climate-zone-aware defaults and an editable breakdown.
Exterior walls, attics, vaulted ceilings, roof decks, rim joists, and the crawl or basement boundary — each surface at its own R-value.
ROOM TAKEOFF
Vega extracts the building envelope from floor plans, reads insulation requirements from wall sections and notes, calculates surface quantities, seeds R-value targets, and builds editable material and labor estimates.
Upload the plans
Start with the floor plans, foundation plan, and any reflected ceiling plans. Vega extracts rooms, exterior and interior walls, doors, windows, and the foundation boundary — the geometry behind every insulation quantity.
Read the thermal spec
Vega reads wall sections, insulation schedules, energy-code sheets, and general notes to find R-values, climate zone, conditioned-attic callouts, vapor barrier, baffles, and attic access — the spec the geometry alone cannot show.
Measure the envelope
Each surface is measured or calculated from the shared building envelope: exterior walls net of openings, the top-storey attic footprint, pitch-adjusted vaulted ceilings, rim joists, and the crawl or basement boundary.
Set the R targets
Plan-stated R-values take priority. Where the plans are silent, DOE climate-zone recommendations seed editable defaults for the attic, walls, floor, and crawlspace walls — four independent targets, each driving its own line.
Build the estimate
Vega prices each surface at its own R-value — batt, blown, or spray foam — splits material and labor, applies regional and union adjustments, and carries the reviewed quantities into a client proposal.
Geometry comes from the shared building envelope. Insulation requirements are AI-assisted from plan notes and schedules — the estimator reviews and edits everything in the breakdown.
Insulation goes on the building thermal envelope — not interior partitions. Vega measures or calculates each surface from the shared building geometry: exterior walls net of openings, the top-storey attic, pitch-adjusted vaulted ceilings, rim joists, and the crawl or basement boundary.
Interior partitions carry no insulation unless the sound-batt scope is on. Every quantity is editable in the breakdown.
Vega uses DOE-recommended R-values by IECC climate zone to seed editable defaults for the attic, walls, floor, and crawlspace walls. Plan-stated requirements take priority; climate-zone-aware defaults help fill the gaps.
Plan-stated R takes priority
When the plans state an R-value on a wall section, schedule, or energy-code sheet, that fact about this building outranks the climate-zone default. Vega reads it and uses it.
Recommendations, not code compliance
These are DOE recommendations, not a code calculation for any jurisdiction. Vega does not verify IECC compliance, generate ResCheck or COMcheck, or check local energy-code requirements. Confirm R-values against your local code.
Insulation estimating is not square feet × one unit price. Every line states its R, the installed rate is a function of R, and the wall cavity physically bounds what a batt can achieve. Vega prices what fits and warns rather than billing an R the wall cannot hold.
2x4 wall
R-153.5″ · Standard or high-density batt
2x6 wall
R-215.5″ · R-21 requires high-density batt
Rafter bay
R-30~9.75″ usable · 11.25″ bay minus 1.5″ vent gap
Open attic floor
R-60+Unlimited · Free depth — blow to any R
THE PRICING FORMULA
Changing an attic from R-38 to R-60 moves the price — because more glass goes into it. A flat $/SF would make every R dial cosmetic.
When the cavity cannot hold the target R, Vega prices the largest real batt that fits and warns — rather than silently billing an impossible spec.
R targets are editable per surface: attic, wall, floor, and crawlspace wall are four independent values. Common targets include R-13, R-15, R-19, R-21, R-30, R-38, R-49, and R-60.
Vega calculates exterior wall insulation area from the building envelope and deducts window and exterior door openings — a window has no cavity to fill. The wall height, stud size, and opening deductions are all editable.
What Vega measures
What the estimator controls
Vega distinguishes between a vented attic (blow the floor), a conditioned attic (foam the roof deck), and a hybrid (both on different parts of the house) — rather than applying one flat area everywhere.
Vented attic
Blow the attic floor. Area = top-storey plate. Blown insulation at R-driven depth.
Conditioned attic
Foam the roof deck. Area = plate × pitch multiplier (bigger). Closed-cell spray foam at a thickness dial.
Hybrid
Both, on different parts of the house. The two never overlap — the plate is split, never doubled.
Vaulted and cathedral ceilings are pitch-adjusted (the hypotenuse over the footprint). The rafter bay depth minus the vent gap bounds the achievable batt R.
For a vented crawlspace, Vega insulates the floor above. For an encapsulated crawlspace, Vega insulates the perimeter walls instead. The thermal boundary is one surface — either the floor or the wall, never both.
Vented crawl — insulate the floor above
The crawl is outside the envelope. Insulate the crawl ceiling (the floor above) at the floor R target. The ground poly is laid either way — it is a vapor barrier, not insulation.
Encapsulated crawl — insulate the walls
The crawl is inside the envelope. Insulate the perimeter walls at the crawlspace-wall R target. The crawl method is an editable dial in the breakdown.
Basement walls and rim or band joists are priced as their own lines. Vega does not estimate under-slab insulation, slab-edge insulation, or floors over garages.
The same surface-based workflow supports fiberglass batt, high-density batt, blown cellulose and fiberglass, open-cell and closed-cell spray foam, optional sound batts, and limited foundation rigid board.
Batt insulation
Fiberglass batt in a product ladder — R-13/R-15 in a 2x4, R-19/R-21 high-density in a 2x6. High-density auto-selected when the R target requires it.
Blown insulation
Blown cellulose and blown fiberglass for attic floors and loose-fill ceilings. Depth calculated from the R target — free-depth surfaces carry the highest R in the house.
Spray foam
Open-cell and closed-cell spray foam. Closed-cell at the roof deck (conditioned attic) or in wall cavities. Thickness drives the R; R-per-inch is material-specific.
Foundation rigid board
Limited XPS rigid board for foundation walls — 4″ Type IV XPS R-10, continuous. User-entered area; not a broad rigid-insulation estimator.
Vega prices insulation by the square foot of each surface at an R-driven rate. It does not calculate purchase quantities such as batt packages, bags, board-feet, or kits.
Vega prices the vapor barrier, attic baffles, and the seal package at openings and penetrations. Whole-house air sealing is a separate retrofit scope, off by default. Housewrap and the weather-resistive barrier belong to the Exteriors trade.
Vapor barrier / poly sheeting
Poly sheeting at walls and crawl ground cover. An editable assumption — both real bids carry it, neither prices it separately.
Seal package at openings
Foam at doors, windows, and penetrations. Priced per opening — small, bounded, and on by default. Not a whole-house air-sealing scope.
Whole-house air sealing (opt-in)
A retrofit scope priced per square foot of floor area. Off by default — only turn it on if a whole-house air-sealing scope is genuinely in your bid.
An insulation estimate is only as good as the R-values and surface assignments behind it. Vega shows the building envelope on the canvas, and every insulation decision — material, R-value, climate zone, attic strategy, crawl method, rates, and labor — is editable in the breakdown.
See the building envelope on the plan
Walls, rooms, doors, windows, and the foundation boundary are visible on the canvas — the geometry behind every insulation quantity.
Set R targets per surface
Attic, wall, floor, and crawlspace-wall R are four independent editable values. Plan-stated values take priority; climate-zone defaults fill the gaps.
Choose the attic strategy
Vented, conditioned, or hybrid. The deck-foam thickness and the hybrid conditioned share are both editable dials.
Set the crawl method
Vented crawl (insulate the floor above) or encapsulated crawl (insulate the perimeter walls). One thermal boundary, never both.
Assign material per surface
Batt, blown fiberglass, blown cellulose, open-cell foam, or closed-cell foam for walls. Material selection drives the R-per-inch and the rate.
Edit every quantity, rate, and R
Override wall area, opening deductions, R targets, rates, labor shares, the regional index, the union bump, and the access premium. Add custom items. Reset to defaults anytime.
Attic R
—
Zone default
Wall R
—
Per surface
Climate
—
IECC zone
Illustrative breakdown — quantities and prices shown as placeholders, not actual Vega output.
Vega carries reviewed insulation quantities into a priced material and labor estimate — each surface split into material and labor, with regional, union, and access adjustments. Every rate and assumption is editable.
Priced by surface
Labor adjustments
Regional adjustment affects installation labor only — batt and blown insulation material is a nationally-traded commodity. Vega does not provide live, real-time, or ZIP-code pricing.
Vega trade workflows help separate overlapping construction scope — so insulation, framing, drywall, exteriors, roofing, waterproofing, fireproofing, and ceiling systems each own their part of the building.
Insulation
Framing
Drywall
Exteriors
Roofing
Waterproofing
Fireproofing
Ceiling Systems
Insulation fills the cavities Framing owns. Drywall covers them. Exteriors clads the outside. The boundaries keep the same wall from being billed twice.
INSULATION SUBCONTRACTORS
Focus on the surfaces, R-values, and materials — and carry them into a trade-specific bid without rebuilding the takeoff from scratch.
GENERAL CONTRACTORS & BUILDERS
Estimate insulation alongside framing, drywall, exteriors, and roofing — one building, one project, one proposal.
Residential is the strongest project fit. Commercial and multifamily are supported with limitations — Vega does not estimate metal-building, cold-storage, or industrial insulation.
Insulation estimating software helps contractors turn construction plans into insulation quantities — wall, attic, ceiling, roof-deck, crawlspace, and rim-joist surface areas at their own R-values — and then into material and labor pricing and a reviewable estimate. Vega is built around that workflow for insulation subcontractors, general contractors, and estimators.
Yes. Vega extracts the building envelope — walls, rooms, doors, windows, and the foundation boundary — from floor plan PDFs, reads insulation requirements from wall sections, schedules, and notes, and builds an editable insulation estimate. This is an AI-assisted, estimator-controlled workflow — not a one-click automatic takeoff. You review and edit the geometry and the insulation decisions before pricing.
Yes. Vega measures exterior wall area from the building envelope and deducts window and exterior door openings — a window has no cavity to fill. Net wall area = gross wall area minus opening area. The wall height, stud size, and opening deductions are all editable in the breakdown.
Yes. Vega calculates the attic floor as the top-storey footprint — not the sum of every floor area, which would bill a two-storey house for two attics. Vaulted rooms are subtracted because their rafter plane is insulated separately. The attic can be vented (blow the floor), conditioned (foam the roof deck), or hybrid (both on different parts of the house).
Yes. Vega detects vaulted and cathedral ceilings from room geometry and calculates their area with a pitch multiplier — a sloped ceiling is the hypotenuse over its footprint, bigger than the flat floor below it. The rafter bay depth (minus the vent gap) bounds the achievable batt R, and Vega prices the largest real batt that fits rather than billing an R the cavity cannot hold.
Yes. Vega supports open-cell and closed-cell spray foam with R-per-inch logic and a thickness dial. Closed-cell foam at the roof deck is the conditioned-attic strategy; foam in wall cavities is an alternative to batt. Vega prices spray foam by the square foot of surface at an R-driven rate. It does not calculate board-feet, gallons, kits, drums, or yield — it is an estimating tool, not a spray-foam purchase calculator.
Yes. Vega supports blown cellulose and blown fiberglass for attic floors and loose-fill ceilings. The depth is calculated from the R target (depth = R ÷ R-per-inch), which is why an open attic floor can carry the highest R in the house. Vega does not calculate bag counts, coverage per bag, or settled-depth adjustments — it estimates surface quantities and prices them.
Yes — R-value is the top-level dial. Every insulation line states its R, and the installed rate is a function of R (rate = base + per-R × R), not a flat square-foot price. Changing an R target moves the price. Wall cavity depth constrains the achievable batt R, and Vega prices what fits and warns rather than billing an R the wall cannot hold.
Vega uses DOE-recommended R-values by IECC climate zone to seed editable defaults for the attic, walls, floor, and crawlspace walls. It can read a plan-stated climate zone, fall back to the project state, or accept a manual entry. Plan-stated R-values and user edits always take priority over the climate-zone defaults. These are recommendations, not code compliance — Vega does not verify IECC compliance, generate ResCheck or COMcheck, or check jurisdictional energy-code requirements.
No. The climate-zone-derived R targets are DOE recommendations, not a code calculation for any jurisdiction. Vega does not generate ResCheck, COMcheck, or Title 24 documentation, and it does not verify compliance with any energy code. Confirm R-value requirements against the DOE climate zone map and your local energy code.
Yes. Every quantity, R target, material, rate, labor share, scope, and assumption is editable in the breakdown. You can override wall area, opening deductions, attic strategy, crawl method, stud size, climate zone, the regional labor index, the union bump, and the difficult-access premium. You can add custom items and include or exclude any line. Reset to defaults anytime.
No. Vega calculates insulation surface quantities — square feet of wall, attic, ceiling, roof deck, crawlspace, and rim joist at their own R-values. It does not convert to purchase quantities such as batt packages, rolls, bags, rigid-board sheets, spray-foam board-feet, or kits. The estimate is priced by the square foot of each insulated surface.
Yes. Vega splits each installed rate into a material line and a labor line, applies a regional labor index (labor only — batt and blown material is a nationally-traded commodity), a union or non-union multiplier, and an optional difficult-access premium to labor. Every labor share, rate, and adjustment is editable.
Yes. For a vented crawlspace, Vega insulates the floor above (the crawl ceiling). For an encapsulated crawlspace, Vega insulates the perimeter walls instead. The thermal boundary is one surface — either the floor or the wall, never both — and the crawl method is an editable dial. Basement walls and rim joists are priced as their own lines.
See how Vega turns floor plans into wall, attic, ceiling, roof-deck, and crawlspace insulation quantities — priced by surface at R-value-driven rates, with climate-zone-aware defaults.