Debate: Is BIM software worth the headache for small roofing crews?

I run a 4-man crew in Akron and we mostly do residential tear-offs and re-roofs. Last year I tried jumping into BIM with a free trial of Trimble. Spent a whole week learning it and modeling one complex hip roof. The takeoff estimates were spot on, but I lost half a week of billable hours to just learning the thing. My lead guy says we can keep doing it by hand and be fine. But I see bigger outfits using it and wondering if we're falling behind. What do you all think for small operations? Worth the learning curve or a money pit for guys like us?

2 comments

2 Comments

hill.troy4d ago

@julia_jones72 nailed it with the "only use it for the tricky roofs" part. That's what I started doing with a 6-man crew in Cleveland. Picked it up slow, just pulled it out for the one-off complex jobs where I'd waste time re-measuring anyway. Payoff came quick on those, then I got comfortable enough to use it more often.

julia_jones724d ago

Did you factor in how many times you'd actually use BIM across a whole year though? For a 4 man crew doing mostly residential tear offs, that's a lot of upfront time for something you might only touch a few times a year. I'd bet your lead guy is right for the bulk of your jobs, but it could pay off on the occasional complex one. Maybe pick it up slowly, only use it for the tricky roofs, and keep doing the rest by hand.