SAN FRANCISCO, July 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bobyard, the AI-native takeoff and estimating platform built for construction trades, today announced the launch of Bobyard Plumbing Takeoff, expanding its trade-specific AI platform into commercial plumbing estimating workflows.
Plumbing is one of the largest and most essential specialty trades in construction, with the U.S. plumbing industry projected to reach $191.4 billion in 2026 and include roughly 129,000 businesses nationwide, according to IBISWorld. At the same time, the construction industry continues to face a major labor shortage, putting more pressure on contractors to do more with their existing teams.
For commercial plumbing contractors, that pressure extends into preconstruction, where estimators spend hours reviewing P-Series drawings, tracing pipe runs, checking risers and isometric drawings, counting fixtures and components, and organizing takeoffs by floor, system, pipe size, and material.
Bobyard Plumbing Takeoff automates the repetitive, time-consuming aspects of that workflow directly from plumbing drawings, enabling contractors to reduce manual takeoff time, prepare more bids and improve estimating consistency without adding headcount.
“Plumbing estimating is highly technical, detail-heavy work. Contractors are not just counting fixtures; they are tracing systems, measuring pipe, and ensuring every fitting and valve is accounted for,” said Michael Ding, Founder and CEO of Bobyard. “We built Plumbing Takeoff to help commercial plumbing estimators move faster through the manual parts of the job while staying in control of the scope, quantities, and the final estimate.”
Contractors can preview the new product at https://www.bobyard.com/trade/plumbing.
KEY FACTS
Bobyard Plumbing Takeoff is designed for commercial plumbing contractors and estimators working on new construction projects, including multifamily, commercial, healthcare, education, hospitality and mixed-use developments.
Initial capabilities include:
- Pipe measurement: Detects plumbing pipe runs and calculates segment lengths.
- Pipe sizing: Organizes pipe quantities by size.
- Fitting detection: Identifies common fittings such as elbows, tees and wyes.
- Riser takeoff: Counts risers from floor plans, riser diagrams and isometric drawings.
- Symbol counts: Automatically counts valves, traps, caps, fixtures and other specialty items.
- Text-based counts: Searches tags such as WC-1 or FD-1 and turns them into counts.
- System organization: Supports takeoffs by common plumbing systems, including domestic cold water, domestic hot water, sanitary, vent, storm drain, gas and waste.
Contractors using Bobyard across trades report an average 65% reduction in takeoff time and the ability to submit 3 to 5 times more bids per estimator.
BUILT FOR PLUMBING WORKFLOWS
For plumbing company owners, estimating capacity is often a bottleneck to expansion. Teams can only bid on as much work as their estimators can process, and large commercial drawing sets can consume days of valuable time before contractors even know whether the job is worth pursuing.
Bobyard helps plumbing contractors automate repetitive measurement and counting tasks, allowing teams to dedicate more time to reviewing scope, pricing work, coordinating with general contractors, and pursuing the right jobs. Bobyard’s plumbing AI models are trained specifically for plumbing. The platform reads P-series plumbing drawings to detect pipe runs, count components, identify risers and help estimators organize quantities by system, size, material, floor and scope.
The plumbing launch follows Bobyard’s recent expansion into Electrical and Finishing trades, including flooring, drywall, paint, insulation, doors, and windows. Together, these launches signal the next chapter in Bobyard’s mission to build AI infrastructure for every construction trade.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can AI perform plumbing takeoffs automatically?
Yes. Bobyard detects plumbing pipe runs, calculates pipe lengths, counts risers and identifies plumbing symbols directly from construction drawings. Estimators can review and adjust the results before using them in an estimate.
What drawings does Bobyard Plumbing Takeoff support?
Bobyard is built for P-Series workflows, including floor plans, riser diagrams, isometrics, schematic drawings, plumbing schedules and detail drawings.
What trades does Bobyard support today?
Bobyard currently supports estimating workflows across landscaping, electrical, finishes and plumbing, with additional mechanical and trade-specific workflows in development.
About Bobyard
Bobyard is the AI infrastructure for construction trades. Founded in 2023 by Michael Ding, a Stanford-trained engineer, the San Francisco-based company builds custom AI models for every trade in construction, helping contractors automate blueprint interpretation, takeoffs and estimating workflows so they can bid more work without adding headcount.
For more information, visit bobyard.com and follow Bobyard on LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
MEDIA CONTACT:
press@bobyard.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4d7e6495-e7ed-4ba2-ab3d-5d079c5c83eb
