Overview
KonstructIQ builds an estimate in three stages. Knowing the stages makes everything else easier to follow:
Scope — what work is in the job, with quantities. Either the AI reads your plans and extracts it, or you describe the job and the AI drafts it.
Takeoff — where those quantities come from on the drawings. You can measure directly on your plans and the quantities update.
Estimate — the priced line items, built from the scope using your catalog and labor rates.
You review and adjust at every stage. The AI does the first pass; you stay in control of what the number ends up being.
Choosing how to start
When you click Estimate on your Home page (or Create with AI on a project's Estimate page), the Select Method screen asks how you want to define the scope.
Construction drawings (PDFs) or site photos: Upload Plans or Photos — AI reads every sheet, may ask you a couple of focusing questions, then extracts a scope with quantities and sheet references
No drawings — just a job you can describe: Describe Your Project — AI drafts a scope from your description (or from a sample project you pick)
Before choosing, set two things on this screen:
Catalogs — the pricing catalogs the AI is allowed to match items against. Items from the selected catalogs will be available to AI during estimate creation.
Project Class — Residential or Commercial. If your catalog holds labor rates for more than one project class, this tells the AI which rates to use.
The rest of the flow
From plans: Upload → Scanning Your Plans → answer any focusing questions → Building Your Scope of Work → Edit Scope → Create Estimate.
From a description: Describe Project → either Refine Scope (review the scope first — recommended) or Create Estimate (skip straight to pricing).
Once a scope exists, the project gets a Scope tab in the left navigation. That's your permanent home for the scope: the item table, the measurements, the source plans, and the buttons to re-open Edit Scope or Edit Takeoff.
Where to go next
Create an Estimate from Plans — the full AI plan-reading flow, including the focusing questions.
Create an Estimate from a Project Description — when you don't have drawings.
Reviewing Your AI Scope of Work — the scope table, tracing an item back to the drawing, and editing.
Confidence Scores and Verifying AI Quantities — what the percentages mean and what to check first.
Using the Takeoff Tool — measuring on your plans so quantities come from the drawing, not an assumption.
Quick Reference
Start an estimate: Home → Estimate, or project → Estimate → Create with AI.
Three stages: Scope → Takeoff → Estimate. You can go back to Scope or Takeoff at any time from the project's Scope tab.
Best practice: spend your time on the scope before you generate the estimate. Fixing scope up front is faster than editing dozens of priced line items afterwards.