The weights are already in the tools
Measure a beam with a tool that knows what a W12x26 weighs, and the tonnage lands on the takeoff while you draw. Somebody has to check those shapes against the tables first, and keep checking as the tables change. That is what a chest is.
What you are buying
A chest is a file of prepared tools — measurement tools with the right units, the right rounding and, where it matters, the unit weight already attached. Excalibur View ships with none of them. You can build your own, and plenty of estimators have spent years doing exactly that.
Every chest also has a set for RFIs, holds and scope questions, so a question gets marked on the sheet where it came up.
Six chests, $149 each, or $499 for all six. Priced per company, not per seat. A chest is a file, and charging a shop twice because two estimators opened the same one is the sort of thing that makes people hate software.
Paying downloads the file straight away. Load it with File → Load Tool Chest. The same command opens a chest you already have from Revu. What comes across.
The six chests
Structural Steel and Misc Metals
Wide flange, S, M and HP shapes, channels and MC channels, WT, ST and MT tees, angles and double angles, rectangular, square and round HSS, pipe, flat, round and square bar, plate, floor plate, sheet and bar grating. All 2,485 shapes carry their unit weight, so a length becomes pounds without a trip to the tables.
Past the shapes, it has joists and deck, connections down to the bolts and welds, and misc metals: stairs, rails and ladders, embeds, lintels, bollards and dunnage.
It also holds a set called Columns — count and height, which mirrors the shapes as a count-and-height variant for when you are pricing columns rather than measuring them. Counting every tool in the file, those mirrors included, gives 3,439.
Concrete and Earthwork
Footings, walls, slabs and flatwork by area and volume, formwork, rebar and mesh, embeds and anchor bolts, joints and finishes, and placement. On the earthwork side: site prep, cut and fill, trenching, aggregate base and paving, erosion control, deep foundations, and haul with swell and shrink.
General Contractor
General conditions, demolition, concrete and masonry, doors with their frames and hardware, windows, storefront and curtain wall, partitions and drywall, ceilings, flooring, paint, roofing and flashing, insulation, millwork and casework, and specialties. It also has a set of field-issue tools for the punch walk.
Plumbing
Domestic water, sanitary and vent, storm, gas and medical gas, and fire protection piping by material and size. Fittings and valves, fixtures, carriers and drains, equipment, and hangers and insulation.
Electrical
Conduit and wire by size, cable tray, boxes and devices, lighting by type mark, panels and gear, grounding, fire alarm, and low voltage and security.
Mechanical
Rectangular and spiral duct by gauge and size with weights attached, duct fittings, dampers and accessories, air devices, terminal units, equipment, HVAC piping with its fittings and control valves, insulation, and hangers.
All six
Ninety-five sets across the six trades, for $499 rather than $149 apiece. One company license, however many estimators you have.
Worth saying plainly
The chest format is open. Nothing stops a chest being passed from one shop to another, and nothing stops you building your own from scratch and never paying us anything. We are not going to pretend otherwise or put a lock on it that would only inconvenience the people who did pay.
What you are paying for is the checking. Every shape verified against the tables, and kept verified when the tables move. If that is not worth $149 to you, build your own — the program works the same either way, and it ships with no chest at all.