What is a Coverage Rate?

Coverage Rate is an equivalence factor that is only used during takeoff calculations and measurements. Coverage Rate determines the quantity of the Unit of Measure that will be covered by a quantity of the Purchase Unit when performing a takeoff. In other words, Coverage Rate determines how much a Unit of Measure will equal a certain amount of the Purchase Unit.

For example: to calculate the amount of drywall needed for a room, you will need to measure the total square footage of the walls and ceilings that will need drywall. However, drywall is usually sold in individual sheets—typically 4 ft. x 8 ft. or 4 ft. x 12 ft. Setting a Coverage Rate for the drywall's Costbook Item will determine how many square feet are covered by one sheet. This will be used in the takeoff calculation to calculate how many dry wall sheets are required for the measured area. So, when performing an area takeoff for drywall, 32 sq. ft. would be covered by one 4 ft. x 8 ft. drywall sheet.

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