Estimating Sloped Ceilings

NOTE-- Our new Goldenseal construction estimating software replaced MacNail back in 2000. There are still quite a few MacNail users, so we keep the manuals online for their use! Goldenseal is an integrated program that also includes accounting, job costing and project management features.

Sloped Ceiling Estimates

The MacNail construction estimating software assumes that all walls will extend to the full ceiling height. For sloped ceilings, the best bet is to measure the ceiling height based on the tallest ceiling height. This will overestimate the sheetrock and insulation area slightly, but usually the savings in materials is offset by the extra labor of working with sloped ceilings.

When measuring the eave height for the job Dimensions use the difference between the average ceiling height and the height at which the outside wall meets the roof at the eaves. In the case of a Cape Cod design, this will result in a negative number.