About LoadTakedown
LoadTakedown is a visual load-takedown tool for early-stage structural design. Import PDF plans, trace walls and floors, and get tributary areas and vertical loads in minutes.
It removes the repetitive, error-prone work of spreadsheet-based load takedown by letting you work directly on the plans, align levels, and see tributary areas and wall loads update live as you draw.
The emphasis is on clarity, speed, and transparency. Helping engineers understand and develop structural arrangements and verify load paths before moving to detailed analysis.
What You Can Do Today
LoadTakedown lets you build a clear structural picture directly from your drawings:
Import and scale multi-page PDF plans for each building level
Align multiple levels to maintain consistent geometry through the structure
Extract geometry from PDFs to instantly identify walls and structural lines
Sketch and edit walls, floors, columns, and beams directly on the drawing
Apply floor loads with one-way spanning, UDL, and bay load options
Visually verify support conditions using colour-coded tributary regions
Automatically calculate vertical wall loads from all supported floors
Inspect detailed load breakdowns at each wall, broken down by level and contributing area
View your full structure in 3D with load results overlaid
Export professional PDF calculation reports with marked-up plans and structured results
Annotate plans with markup tools: lines, rectangles, circles, text, and freehand drawing
All results update live as geometry changes, making it easy to test layouts, visualise load paths, and catch mistakes early.
How LoadTakedown Thinks About Loads
LoadTakedown deliberately uses simple, explicit assumptions appropriate for feasibility and concept design.
Simple one-way spanning floors - loads span in the specified direction only
Per-level load reporting - loads from each floor are resolved independently to their supporting walls, with clear breakdowns per level
Clear load breakdownsNo hidden averaging, smoothing, or vertical spread. Every load contribution is shown and traceable.
This approach keeps outputs predictable, auditable, and easy to sense-check.
Typical Use Cases
Early-stage structural feasibility studies
Visualising and testing layout arrangements
Comparing design options quickly
Checking wall load magnitudes before detailed analysis
Producing auditable calculation reports for scheme design
Teaching or explaining load paths visually
Sanity-checking manual or FEA-based calculations
What's Coming Next
Development is active and focused on expanding capability and maintaining ease of use. Planned improvements include:
Cloud project storage and sharing
Additional floor span and support conditions
Expanded structural elements and load types
Vertical load transfer between stacked elements across levels
IFC/BIM export
The goal is to grow LoadTakedown into a reliable, engineer-first load-takedown workspace, not a one-off calculator.
Important Notes
This software is under active development by a small team
Feedback and bug reports are strongly encouraged. Use the feedback form.
Always apply professional judgement to results.
See licences & terms for intended use and limitations.