I love the idea you guys are doing. I also think your name should have takeoff in it.
As a side point - sometimes the shady lumberyards do bid too low on purpose to win business. Then later have the contractor submit a change order. This often hurts their reputation unless the contractor is in on it to win a bid. The supplier doesn’t tend to lose money though as the bid is for the quantity of materials.
You could turn this into a selling point. As in, helping a contractor or competing supplier verify the takeoff.
Hey Patrick, this is rare, it does happen, but usually (almost always) it's that something was missed in the takeoff, the updated plan wasn't submitted to the yard, or the drawings were missing elements.
I agree with your point, having a second, impartial source is important to confirm the ballpark.
As a side point - sometimes the shady lumberyards do bid too low on purpose to win business. Then later have the contractor submit a change order. This often hurts their reputation unless the contractor is in on it to win a bid. The supplier doesn’t tend to lose money though as the bid is for the quantity of materials.
You could turn this into a selling point. As in, helping a contractor or competing supplier verify the takeoff.