📏 Material takeoff
Describe the job. Get the exact materials.
Tell Orchamind what you're building in plain words and it works out the materials and quantities — then drops them straight into your estimate. Two specialties built in: fencing and countertop slabs with real leftover-remnant nesting.
Two calculators contractors actually need
No spreadsheets, no guessing pack sizes. Describe the work and Orchamind returns a clean bill of materials — smart enough to know a vineyard fence from a privacy fence, and to nest countertops onto slabs like a fabricator.
🚧 Fence bill of materials
Say how much fence, how tall, and what it's for. Orchamind picks the right fence type and returns everything you need to buy.
- Wire / field / vineyard, wood / board, or chain-link — chosen from your description
- Metal T-posts, wood corner & brace posts, with correct spacing
- Wire rolls, rails, or boards by the right quantity
- Gates, concrete, clips, brace wire, and hardware
You say: "150 ft of 5 ft wire fence around a vineyard, one gate."
You get: wood corner posts, T-posts, wire rolls, H-braces, concrete, clips, and the gate — counted.
🪨 Countertop slabs + remnants
Give your slab size and every countertop piece. Orchamind nests them onto slabs and tells you how many you need — and what's left over.
- Real 2D nesting: pieces placed like puzzle pieces, with rotation and blade kerf
- Exact slab count for the job, with a layout diagram
- Reusable leftover remnants listed with real dimensions and square footage
- Flags any piece too big for one slab (needs a seam)
You say: slab 49.5×120; island 96×42, main run 120×25.5, L-return 60×25.5, bar 72×16.
You get: the slab count, the layout, and every remnant you could reuse elsewhere.
Material calculator FAQs
How does Orchamind calculate fence materials?
You describe the fence in plain words. Orchamind identifies the type (wire/field/vineyard, wood/board, or chain-link), then calculates T-posts, wood corner and brace posts, wire or rails or boards, gates, concrete, and hardware with proper spacing — a complete bill of materials you can add to your estimate.
How many countertop slabs will I need?
Give your slab size and the size of every countertop piece. Orchamind runs a real 2D nesting layout — placing each piece onto slabs with rotation and blade kerf — and tells you exactly how many slabs the job needs.
Does it show leftover remnants?
Yes. It lists the usable leftover remnant rectangles with real dimensions and square footage, so you can see whether a piece is big enough to reuse on another job.
Is the slab layout a fabricator cut sheet?
It's a rectangular-nesting estimate that includes blade kerf — accurate for planning slab counts and remnants, but not a vein-matched CNC cut sheet. Verify with your fabricator before ordering stone.
Measure your next job in seconds
Open the demo, describe a fence or a set of countertops, and watch the materials add themselves to your estimate.
Can Orchamind write estimates and proposals?
Yes. Describe a job in plain words and the AI writes an itemized estimate. Orchamind can also generate Good-Better-Best proposal options, which help contractors win more work by letting the client choose which option, not whether to buy.
How is Orchamind different from ServiceTitan or Buildertrend?
ServiceTitan and Buildertrend add AI onto legacy software and are priced for larger companies. Orchamind is AI-native and built for small-to-midsize contractors — the AI writes the estimate, dispatches the crew, and updates the client for you — and your first month is free — a 30-day free trial.
What can I do by voice in Orchamind?
Nearly everything. You can log hours (“Mike worked 8 hours at Sonoma Vista”), assign or move crew, update job progress, get a daily briefing, and ask questions about your jobs — all hands-free from the truck or the job site.
What features does Orchamind include?
Orchamind includes AI estimates and Good-Better-Best proposals, a dispatch board, scheduling, a GPS time clock, crew and certification tracking, AI safety toolbox talks, a client portal with AI client updates, invoicing and job costing, a website lead-capture widget, and a daily AI briefing with risk alerts — all operable by voice.
Do I need to be good with technology?
Not at all. If you can send a text message, you can run Orchamind. You can type or simply talk to it — say "log 8 hours for Mike at the Johnson job" and it handles the rest. It was built specifically for trades people, not tech people.
What kinds of businesses use it?
Any business that runs jobs with a field team: general contractors, electricians, plumbers, HVAC, roofers, painters, landscapers, pool builders, cleaning and janitorial, pest control, solar, property maintenance, moving companies, and more. It's set up with your industry's language.
Is my data private and secure?
Yes. Each company gets its own private, secure system with individual logins. Owners and managers see financials and budgets; crew members only see the jobs they're assigned to. Passwords are encrypted and never stored in plain text.
Can my crew see my budgets and margins?
Only if you let them. Access is role-based: you decide who sees money and who doesn't. Crew members see their assigned jobs and log their hours — never your financials.
Does it know building codes and permits?
Yes. The AI knows general California building-code and permitting basics — when permits are typically needed, the standard inspection sequence, CALGreen and Title 24 requirements, and Southern California specifics for Los Angeles, Orange County, and the wider region. It always reminds you to confirm exact requirements with your local building department, since codes are local and change. It helps you avoid the costly mistake of covering up work before an inspection.
Can it do payroll and reports?
Yes. With one click you get total hours per worker for the pay period — ready for payroll — plus job-cost reports showing budget versus spent on every job. Everything exports to Excel or PDF, so you can hand it straight to your bookkeeper. You can filter by this week, a pay period, or custom dates.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes — phone, tablet, and desktop. Most owners run it from their phone in the field, and the whole team stays in sync on the same live information.
How do I get started?
Reach out to Siamak Kalhor Consulting for a personalized walkthrough. We set the system up for your business — your jobs, your crew, your branding — and show you exactly how to use it.
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