Estimating software for decorating projects is readily available for businesses or large stores. These packages are good, but pricey.
But for ordinary home owners, it's not so easy. We've commissioned software called Decor Calc to help with estimating quantities for decorating projects.
What do you need to work out quantities?
Estimating quantities of materials from home decorating can of course be done by hand. All you need is a tape measure, a pen and paper, and possibly a calculator - especially if you're not very good at math!
Then you need to be able to measure accurately. By accurate we don't mean down to the nearest sixteenth of an inch or millimetre. We mean knowing that 66 inches is 5 ft 6 ins, and not 6 ft 6 ins, or that 4 metres and 58 cms is 4.58 and not 0.458 or 4.058. In other words, being able to correctly write down what's been read off the tape measure.
And in case you think we're being funny, years of experience has taught us that this is where most errors happen - transferring the measurements from the tape to paper (or computer). Estimating software is just like any other software - garbage in, garbage out!
Then you need to understand how to work out the quantities. So for paint you have to work out the areas involved, and then calculate how much paint you need from the coverage details printed on the can.
Same for tiles. It's basically a question of areas.
Wallpaper is a little more tricky. There are two ways of working out wallpaper, one by areas, and the other by cuts (how many cuts you can get per roll). Then there's pattern repeats, which complicate matters.
Curtains are more involved, especially if you want a cornice box or valance. And as with wallpaper there may be a pattern repeat. If you do these sorts of calculations every day it's not a problem, but most of us only need to work such quantities out every few years.
How will estimating software help?
The main advantage is doing the calculations. Once you input the correct sizes and material details, the software does all the hard work. When you do it by hand you have to make sure all your calculations are correct, and we mean all. Make one mistake and it can be costly.
Take the following example from our software Decor Calc. The wallpaper section uses the more complex 'cuts' method to calculate the quantity, but it produces more accurate results especially if pattern repeats are involved.
All that has to be done here is to input the correct values for the walls, and the wallpaper details. The results appear instantly. Change one of the values - the pattern repeat for example - and the changes are instant. You don't have to go through all the calculations manually again. With this estimating software it's also easy to compare different wallpapers once you have the room measurements in place.
Another example. Most professional decorators don't make any allowance for doors and windows when estimating for wallpaper. But if you have a large window, fireplace or wall fitment, you might just be able to save a cut or two. That gets quite complicated to work out. But with Decor Calc all you have to do is input the areas not to have wallpaper on them, and the software will:
a) decide if the area is big enough to bother with
b) if it is how many complete cuts could be saved.
Again, you don't have to go through complex calculations because that's what computers are good at.
Save time and money
You can make life easy for yourself by using estimating software. Decor Calc has been designed to be very easy to use. Just make sure you put the sizes in correctly.
There's a free demo you can download and see how it works. You can save all your room measurements for future use, and keep a record of which paint, wallpaper etc. you used in each room.
