QuickDIRT Windows Version is a simple, fast, and friendly earthwork
takeoff system based upon the popular MS/DOS QuickDIRT System that has
been evolving since 1987. Estimates
share common Strata and may have
multiple Drawings, each with their
own Scale and options.
Input to the system may be done using a digitizer to trace the information from a site drawing. The system also has an optional CAD DXF Import Module for direct import of site elevation data. As the Contour , Spot , Incline, and Soil Boring information is inserted, for Existing or Proposed Surfaces, the system stores the information in a Drawing File. Perimeter lines, Shear Lines, or Areas (max. of 24) may also be digitized to provide additional information used for the calculation. Drawing Scales may be in either Imperial (feet) or Metric (meters). Elevations are stored in hundredths of a foot or meter. Up to 24 subsurface Strata may be specified for entering elevations from Soil Boring information. Each Drawing may have the option to Feather the proposed elevations to the existing elevations at the perimeter of the Drawing.
The digitized data will be divided into horizontal (X) and vertical (Y) Cells. The Cell data is stored in memory for calculation and written to disk after each Drawing is calculated. When you move from one Drawing Windows to another, QuickDIRT Windows will automatically load the calculations for the active Drawing, when available.
After a Drawing has been calculated, you may View the results in either a grid or graphical manner. All View Windows may be printed as required. For Graph Views of Surfaces, Sections, Cut/Fill, or the Mass Diagram you may customize the presentation of the Graph, as required, using a right mouse click to open the customizing dialog box. All Graphs use a Density setting to specify the number of Cells per Graph point. The Surface Graphs allow you to review the Existing, Proposed, Net Cut/Fill, or Strata. The Section Graphs allow you to select a horizontal (Y Axis) or vertical (X Axis) Section to review. The Mass Diagram is a Graph that calculates the Average Haul Distance for each balanced Cut/Fill Area and the overall average for the site.
The Totals are presented cleanly and accurately; Cuts by Strata, Total Fill, and, if the Mass Diagram has been calculated, the Average Haul Distance. For each Area the Elevation (Existing or Proposed) may be "held down" to allow for stripping of the existing site or an allowance for paving or other fills on Proposed Elevations. For all Area Objects the area, perimeter, volume, and Cut/Fill bounded by the Area are provided.
In summary, QuickDIRT provides the most "bang for the buck" in site work estimating. The Graphics are beautiful and may be customized before printing, saving to a file, or pasting into another document. The printing is high quality, and the calculations are FAST!
An Estimate is a project that you want to prepare a bid for. Estimates may have multiple Drawings. Estimates may be added, opened, deleted, or updated using the File Menu. The Scale Type and the Strata names for all Drawings in the Estimate should be specified using the Estimate/Drawing Dialog, shown here.
Up to 99 Drawings may exist for an Estimate. Drawings may be added and deleted using the Estimate / Drawing Dialog, shown at the right. For each Drawing the Scale , X Axis Cells, Y Axis Cells and the Feather Option should be specified.
QuickDIRT Windows allows multiple Estimates/Drawings
to be open at the same time. To digitize a Drawing
Object start by selecting the Drawing followed
by the Edit Menu Insert Takeoff option. The Insert Object
Dialog, shown here, will allow you to digitize Drawing Objects
( Contour
, Spot
, Incline
, Shear
, Area
, Boring
, Perimeter
, and Label
) to describe the Elevations on either the Existing or Proposed Surfaces
for the Drawing.
As you Insert a Drawing Object using a
digitizer, the Mouse Cursor will change and a Red Crosshair will appear
on the Drawing Window showing 
you where the Drawing Object
will start or be located. For Drawing Objects
that are lines or areas, a dashed rubber
band line will indicate the next point on the line to be digitized.
When digitizing lines or areas you may go from point to point or trace the line
(see Sensitivity).
As each Digitizer Object is inserted, the Line
Style, Line Width,
and Line Color will be picked up from the Line Options Table to draw
the line on the Drawing.
When you Exit the Insert Takeoff Window the Drawing will automatically be saved to disk if the Auto Save After Insert Option is enabled.
In addition to the Main Menu Toolbar that is used to open, save, and print Estimates/Drawings, each Drawing has a small Toolbar: The Drawing Toolbar allows you to select the most used Menu Items of Inserting Takeoff, Recalculating a Drawing, Viewing Totals, Viewing Surfaces, Viewing Sections, Viewing Cut/Fill, Zooming In, and Zooming Out.
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QuickDIRT Windows, Version 3.0 has been designed for the direct import of drawing entities from DXF compatible CAD files. This optional module is available in the initial release (Version 3.00) of the product at additional cost.
CAD Import starts with the selection of a DXF File using standard Windows Drive, Folder, and File selection controls. After selection of a DXF File, the file will be opened and the Layers and Entities analyzed by the Import Module. All of the standard Autocad Group Names are recognized as well as any Entity that has the text POLYLINE or LINE in the Group Name. A Layer List will then be displayed that shows the Layer Name, followed by the contents found in each Layer. Only Layers that have valid Elevation data may be imported.
Next, Click the Asssign Button to reduce the Layer List to those Layers that have valid Elevation data. You should now assign the Layers to be imported to either the Existing Surface, the Proposed Surface, or to the Perimeter. You should only Import the Layers that are required! Importing excessing data will slow the system down without adding any accuracy to the calculations.
All QuickDIRT Drawings are stored in digitizer coordinates and therefore the DXF data must be scaled to fit on your digitizer. The Origin and Scale of the Imported data, allowing for a 10% margin around the data, will be calculated and should now be confirmed. You may use a larger Scale, if desired and revise the Origin, if desired. The Import Module will check to be sure that all of the selected data will fit the digitizer coordinates, based on the Origin and Scale specified. You may now import all of the Assigned Layers, optionally clearing the Drawing or skipping Spot, Polyline, or other Line Entities.
After Import the Drawing will be sized to fit in the Window and you should carefully review all imported Drawing Objects. Use the Edit Drawing Objects Menu selection to check for valid Elevations and to delete any undesired Objects. Also, you may use the Line Edit Mode to revise the points of any Contour Line Objects. You are now ready to use your digitizer to add whatever Drawing Objects that are required and to calculate the Drawing.
QuickDIRT Windows calculates the Cut by Strata , the Fill, and Totals for any Areas in the Drawing VERY QUICKLY! A typical Drawing, such as the one shown above, with a Perimeter, Borings, Areas, and two sub-surface Strata takes only a few seconds to calculate. The reason it is so fast is the use of 32 bit integer mathematics instead of floating point number calculations, as used by most earthwork takeoff programs. Spot and Boring Drawing Objects get special processing to build their respective surfaces from Incline lines formed by the non-overlapping connection of all possible combinations of Spot or Boring Elevations. A progress window, shown here, keeps you informed of the progress of the calculation. At the end of each calculation the results are saved to disk and a Drawing Totals Dialog is displayed showing the complete results of the calculation.
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QuickDIRT Windows has been designed to output estimating quantities to an Excel '97 compatible spreadsheet. With the Estimating Option you may build an Estimating Template for use with all estimates, organized the way you are used to estimating. Several sample Templates are included to provide you good examples of how you might wish to setup your own Template. The Template is designed to allow you to specify the percentage of Cut, by Strata , that may be used for backfill. Also the number of Equipment moves are accumulated and priced into the estimate. Using this Optional Module, Estimates may be printed, saved, and/or exported to other estimating systems including the QuickEST Estimating System by Constructive Computing. It is anticipated that the Estimating Option will be available in the Version 3.50 Release of QuickDIRT Windows.
QuickDIRT Windows has been designed to provide input for the Proposed surface from Road Sections and Road Centerline Profiles. Also available in this option is the feathering of the proposed grade to the existing grade within property line and slope limitations. It is anticipated that the Roads Option will be available in the Version 4.00 Release of QuickDIRT Windows.
One of the strongest features of QuickDIRT Windows is the powerful 3-D graphics engine used to view the Surface and Cut/Fill Windows. The Cut/Fill Window is a very powerful tool to analyze the results of a Drawing calculation showing the Net Fill(+) and Cut(-) on the Drawing . An example of a Cut/Fill Window is shown here. For any Surface or Cut/Fill Window you may use the Up/Down Arrow Keys to change the altitude that you are looking at the graph from or you may use the Left/Right Arrow Keys to rotate the graphic to view it from a different angle. During rotation of the graphic, a wire frame is displayed to speed the process. When you are through rotating the graphic, the complete display is restored. By right clicking on the graph a drop down menu will appear allowing you to customize the presentation or export the graphic directly to the printer, to a file, or to the Windows Clipboard to pass the graphic to other programs.
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The 2-D graphics in QuickDIRT Windows are equally impressive and are used to view Section and Mass Diagram Windows. Shown is a sample Section Window showing the Existing Surface, the Proposed Surface, and the Surfaces of the Shale/Rock below. Again, you may right click on the graphic and a drop down menu will appear allowing you to customize the presentation or export the graphic directly to the printer, to a file, or to the Windows Clipboard to pass the graphic to other programs. The Mass Diagram is used to calculate the accumulated Cut/Fill, for each X Axis plane of Cells, showing the Average Haul Distance for all balanced Cut/Fill conditions on the site.
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All of the graphics and spreadsheet windows used to present views of the Estimate / Drawing may be printed using the Print Option of the File Menu. The Printer Setup menu option will allow you to change printers and printer attributes, if necessary.
QuickDIRT Windows is an extremely accurate and easy to use earthwork takeoff system. It's the best way available for you to turn estimating days into minutes!
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An Area is a Drawing Object. An Area is defined by a line that does not cross itself and whose starting point is also the ending point. Up to 24 Areas may be specified in a Drawing and each Area Object must have a unique name. Areas are not necessarily associated with a specific Surface on the Drawing. The color and line type of an Area Line may be specified in the Line Setup Dialog selected from the Options Menu. The Area Table (Edit Menu) is used to view the calculated area and perimeter length for each Area. A Thickness may be specified for an Area and the Area Table will then calculate the Volume for the Area. Furthermore, the Area Table allows you to associate an Area with the Existing or Proposed Surface, if desired. If an Area is associated with the Existing Surface, and a Thickness is specified, the Existing Surface Elevations will be reduced (i.e. Stripping of Top Soil) before the cut and fill are calculated for the Drawing. Likewise, if an Area is associated with the Proposed Surface, and a Thickness is specified, the Proposed Surface Elevations will be reduced (i.e. Deducting for Paving) before the cut and fill and calculated for the Drawing.
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A Boring is a Drawing Object that specifies the location of the Soil Boring on the Drawing. A Boring is not associated with either the Existing or Proposed Surface, but obviously starts at the top of the Existing Surface. Each Boring Object must be given a unique Boring ID. The Strata for the Estimate define the different types of material encountered in the Soil Borings. Then using the Boring Table, from the Edit Menu, you would specify the Elevation at the top of each Strata for each Boring ID.
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A Cell is the surface unit used by QuickDIRT Windows to calculate a Drawing. The digitized data will be divided into horizontal (X) and vertical (Y) cells for calculation. The number of Cells used may be between 20 and 500 providing a Cell count (X times Y) of between 400 and 250,000 depending on the accuracy required. Normally a Cell count of X=100 and Y=100 (10,000 Cells) is adequate. The Cell data is stored in memory for calculation and written to disk after each Drawing is calculated. Four bytes are required for each Cell and the count of internal arrays required is three plus the number of Strata. Therefore a Drawing having X=100. Y=100, and two Strata for Shale and Rock would occupy 200,000 bytes of memory and disk space to store the results. The same Drawing having X=500 and Y=500 would require 6,000,000 bytes of memory and disk space.
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A Contour is a Drawing Object that is a line of constant Elevation. Contour Lines may be specified for the Existing or Proposed Surface. The color and line type of a Contour Line may be specified in the Line Setup Dialog selected from the Options Menu.
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Density refers to the percentage of Cells used when graphing Surfaces, Sections, the Mass Diagrams, and the Cut/Fill View. Percentages of 10%, 25%, 50%, and 100% are available and may be specified using the Paths/Options Menu Item under the Options Menu. We have found that a Density of 25% is a good compromise between speed and accuracy. High Densities provide very accurate and slow graphics.
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A Drawing is one page in a set of graphic documents that you wish to estimate. Each Drawing may have its own Scale Type, Scale, Cells, and specified the Feather Option. The file name used for a Drawing is the EstimateName_DrawingName. The file extension is used to identify the type of data for the Drawing with the graphic Drawing data using a QDD extension and the calculated elevations using a QDC extension.
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An Elevation is the height of a Drawing Object specified in Feet or Meters, based on the Scale Type that has been selected. Elevations may be specified in hundredths and may have a maximum value of 99,999.99.
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An Estimate is a logical set of Drawings that comprise a project that you wish to calculate the cut and fill quantities. Each Estimate specifies the Strata that will apply to all Drawings. An Estimate may have up to 99 Drawings associated with it. Each Estimate must have a unique name that is a valid disk filename. The Estimate information is saved in a disk file named EstimateName with a QDE Extension.
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This Drawing Option specifies if the Proposed elevations are to be feathered (sloped to) the Existing Elevations at the Perimeter of the Drawing during the Drawing Calculation.
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An Incline is a Drawing Object that is a line of sloping Elevation. When an Incline Line is added, the Elevation for both ends of the line must be specified. Incline Lines may be specified for the Existing or Proposed Surface. The color and line type of an Incline Line may be specified in the Line Setup Dialog selected from the Options Menu.
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A Label is a Text Object that may be placed on a Drawing. Labels appear to the right of the selected location on the Drawing. Each Drawing Object also has a Label associated with it. The Label for Contour, Incline, and Spot Objects is the Elevation of the Object. The Label for Area and Boring Objects specifies the unique ID for the Object. Labels may be easily edited in the Object List Dialog selected from the Edit Menu.
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Line Colors for the Contour, Incline, Area, and Perimeter Drawing Objects may be specified on the Line Dialog using the Options Menu.
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Line Styles for the Contour, Incline, Area, and Perimeter Drawing Objects may be specified on the Line Dialog using the Options Menu. For Line Styles other than Solid, a Line Width of one is required.
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Line Widths for the Contour, Incline, Area, and Perimeter Drawing Objects may be specified on the Line Dialog using the Options Menu. If you are using a Line Style other than Solid, then a Line Width of one is required.
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The Perimeter is a Drawing Object that specifies the boundry of the Drawing Calculation. If a Perimeter Object is not specified the low and high X Axis and Y Axis Elevations are assumed to be the Perimeter of the Drawing. A Perimeter Line applies to both the Existing and Proposed Surfaces. The color and line type of a Perimeter Line may be specified in the Line Setup Dialog selected from the Options Menu.
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The Scale specifies the engineering size reduction of the drawing. If the Scale Type was Imperial and the Scale was 50 then 1 Inch (on the drawing) would represent 50 Feet. For the Metric Scale Type and a Scale of 50 then 1Meter (on the Drawing) would represent 50 Meters.
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The Scale Type selects the unit of measure. Either Imperial (Feet and Cubic Feet) or Metric (Meters and Cubic Meters) may be selected.
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Sensitivity is a system option that defines the distance that the digitizer stylus must move when Tracing a line to create a new point on the line. The default Sensitivity is one tenth of an inch.
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A Shear is a Drawing Object that locates a line of sudden Elevation change on the Drawing. A Shear Line has no Elevation itself, but picks up the elevations specified on either side of it and calculates the sudden change of elevation along the Shear Line. Shear Lines may be specified for the Existing or Proposed Surface. The color and line type of a Shear Line may be specified in the Line Setup Dialog selected from the Options Menu.
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A Spot is a Drawing Object that defines an Elevation at a specific point on the Drawing. Spot Elevations may be specified for either the Existing or Proposed Surface. A Graphic Symbol is shown on the Drawing for each Spot Elevation. The Graphic Symbol is different for the Existing and Proposed Surfaces and the symbol is loaded from either the SPOTEXST or SPOTPROP bitmap files, respectively.
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The Strata of a drawing define the different layers of earth types for an estimate. The top Strata defaults to Dirt but may be changed to any name. Elevations refer to the top of the Strata. Therefore the Existing Elevations refer to the top of the Dirt Strata. If Soil Boring data is available, the names of the sub-surface Strata are normally obtained from the Boring Logs. If the soil types in the Boring Logs were Shale and Rock then you would use these names for the second and third Strata. For each Boring in the Boring Log you would add a Boring Object to the drawing, providing an ID for the Boring Object to uniquely identify it. Then, using the Boring Table, from the Edit Menu, you would specify the Elevation at the top of each Strata for each Boring ID.
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A Surface is a plane of Elevations. Both the Existing and Proposed Elevations form a Surface. Also, each of the sub-surface Strata define a Surface. After a Drawing has been calculated, Surfaces may be viewed using a Surface Window selected from the View Menu.
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A technique of digitizing where a line on a drawing is traced by depressing the digitizer stylus and moving the stylus along the line. If you are using a digitizer Puck then depress the One Button while moving the Puck cross hair along the line to be traced.
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