Quick answerA wall and siding takeoff starts with gross wall area per elevation (length times height), subtracts the square footage of every window, door, and garage door, then adds trim and accessory linear footage separately from the field material. Gable ends are figured as triangles, not rectangles. A delivered wall measurement report from the site sponsor, Sketch My Roof, runs $45 to $65 depending on format for jobs under 30 squares, with 48 hour delivery.

What a wall and siding takeoff has to produce

A usable takeoff separates three things that get priced differently in Xactimate® and Symbility®: field material (the siding panels or lap boards covering the wall), trim and accessory (starter strip, corner posts, J-channel, fascia, soffit), and openings (windows, doors, garage doors, vents) that reduce the field material quantity but sometimes add their own trim line.

The deliverable should be broken out by elevation, typically front, rear, left, right, and any gable ends or dormers treated as their own faces. That breakdown matters because siding color, product, and damage often differ by elevation, and the estimate should price each one on its own line.

The formula

For a rectangular wall section: gross wall area equals wall length times wall height. For a gable end or any triangular wall section: area equals one half times base times height, where height is the rise from the top plate to the ridge, not the roof slope length.

Net siding area, the quantity actually priced as field material, equals gross wall area minus the combined square footage of every opening on that elevation. Trim quantities are measured separately as linear footage: perimeter of each opening for casing, wall length at the base for starter strip, corner height times number of corners for corner posts, and eave and rake length for fascia and soffit.

Worked example: elevation by elevation

A simple rectangular home, 40 feet by 24 feet, with 9 foot walls and two 24 foot wide gable ends rising 6 feet to the ridge, takes off like this. Openings are totaled per elevation from field or plan measurements.

ElevationGross area (sq ft)Openings (sq ft)Net siding area (sq ft)
Front (40 ft x 9 ft)36060300
Rear (40 ft x 9 ft)36040320
Left (24 ft x 9 ft)21620196
Right (24 ft x 9 ft)21615201
Gable ends, both (2 x 1/2 x 24 x 6)1440144
Total1,2961351,161

1,161 net square feet equals 11.61 squares before a waste factor is applied. Waste percentage is a line item decision, not part of the raw takeoff; document it separately in the estimate.

Openings and trim: what to measure and why

  • Every window and door footprint, width times height

    Underclaiming even a few 3 foot by 5 foot windows across four elevations adds up to a full square of overstated field material.

  • Garage door width times height

    Garage door openings are large enough that missing one throws off the net quantity by 100 square feet or more on a typical elevation.

  • Corner post count and height

    Corner posts price per linear foot, not per elevation, so count outside and inside corners separately.

  • Starter strip and J-channel linear footage at the base of each elevation

    These are consumed even where no siding damage exists, because they run the full base of the wall.

  • Frieze board, fascia, and soffit at eaves and rakes

    These trim components are often priced on the roofing side of the estimate but belong to the wall system on hip and gable ends; flag them so they are not duplicated or dropped.

  • Gable vent and utility penetration deductions

    Small deductions individually, but they are frequently the item a desk review catches when the net area does not reconcile to the photos.

Ordering a wall measurement report instead of taking it off by hand

For jobs where a field visit is impractical or the estimate needs a documented elevation breakdown fast, a wall report can be ordered by property address. Published pricing from Sketch My Roof, the site sponsor, runs $45 to $65 depending on format for structures under 30 squares, with 48 hour delivery.

The report is ordered the same way a roof report is: enter the address, choose the format the estimate platform reads, and submit. See Sketch My Roof roof measurement reports for the walls order page and current format list.

Job sizePublished price rangeTurnaroundFormats
Under 30 squares of wall area$45 to $65 depending on format48 hoursPDF, ESX, and XML available; confirm current formats on the order page

Wall report pricing varies by format on the sponsor's order page; the figures above are the published range, not a single flat rate.

Getting the report into the estimate

An ESX file imports into Xactimate® via the Sketch import option; menus vary by version, so verify the exact path in your build against the vendor's help documentation. An XML file imports into Symbility® through the equivalent import function in that platform; again, confirm the current menu location in CoreLogic's own documentation before relying on a specific click path.

Once imported, reconcile the elevation totals against your own opening count before finalizing quantities. A delivered report speeds up the takeoff; it does not remove the adjuster's job of checking that the net area matches what the photos show.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I subtract windows and doors from every wall takeoff?
Yes. Net siding area is gross wall area minus the square footage of every opening on that elevation. Skipping this step is the most common cause of an overstated field material quantity.
How do I measure a gable end wall?
As a triangle: one half times the base width times the rise to the ridge, not the roof slope length. Treat it as its own elevation, separate from the rectangular wall below it.
Are fascia and soffit part of the wall takeoff or the roof takeoff?
They are frequently priced as trim under the wall or exterior line items even though they sit at the roof edge. Flag them clearly on the takeoff so they are counted once, not duplicated between the roof and wall sections of the estimate.
What does a wall measurement report cost and how fast does it arrive?
Published pricing from the site sponsor is $45 to $65 depending on format for structures under 30 squares, with 48 hour delivery. Confirm the current format list and price on the walls order page.
Can a wall report be imported directly into Xactimate® or Symbility®?
Yes, in ESX or XML format respectively. Import through the Sketch import option in Xactimate® or the equivalent import function in Symbility®; exact menu paths vary by version, so verify against the vendor's current documentation.

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