How to Read Structural Drawings for a Division 03 Takeoff

Concrete quantities live across three drawing types: plans give footprint, sections give depth, and schedules give reinforcement.

Read the schedule first. Footing and column schedules resolve most ambiguity before you touch the plan, and they tell you which details actually govern.

Then measure in the order the structure is built: footings, piers, walls, slabs. Following the construction sequence keeps you from double-counting slab edges and thickened sections.