Storypole Modeling Structural 3D modeling for concrete and masonry shells
Why Model It Who It's For Pricing Quality Review Material Lists RFIs FAQ Get It Modeled
Structural 3D modeling · CMU and concrete shells

Protect your investment.
Build it in 3D first.

Structural BIM modeling for concrete and masonry shells — waterfront and custom homes, and commercial and multifamily buildings up to 10 storeys, in Florida and along the Gulf and Atlantic coast. We build shells in 3D from plan sets because we catch hundreds of issues a month — every block, bar, column and beam placed, and the design proven to build as intended before anyone is on the job site. Ensuring a quality build and accurate costs is insurance on your investment. Any issue the model turns up comes back as a confidential RFI, ready to send, and your material lists and costs are precise and known up front — so the surprises that lose money on a shell are resolved before the job starts. Get a cost estimate to build this shell.

See what we’ve caught Send plans Get Build Cost
A three-story concrete and masonry shell modeled in 3D, with block, columns, beams and reinforcing shown by color
Project455 Marlin Key Dr
Issues found11
Block counted6,353
Who it is for

Who we build models for

Shell contractors, general contractors, developers, architects and engineers — and the lenders, investors, risk managers and insurers whose money rides on them. The model is the same. What it is worth depends on where you sit.

Shell contractorIt wins you the job

Turn up to the general contractor with a model and a list of eleven problems in his drawings while the other three bidders turn up with a number on a page. You are not bidding the same job they are, and he can see it.

And it stops your own mistakes — block ordered to a count, lintels the right length before the opening is built, a beam formed to the elevation the model says. Most of what costs you money on a shell is you building it exactly as drawn and finding out on the job site.

Saves you money
  • Block, grout and steel ordered to a count — no over-ordering, no mid-job reorders with a crew standing idle.
  • Mistakes found in 3D instead of torn out and rebuilt on the job site.
Grows your revenue
  • Win more bids: you arrive with a model and a findings list while the others arrive with a number.
  • Bid tighter because the quantities are known, so the margin you priced is the margin you keep.
$414,579
A three-story shell bid. The model is under half a percent of it.
General contractorYou know before you award it

You are the one who eats the change order when the shell goes wrong. Model the package before you award it and you find out what is in the drawings while you still have leverage. An RFI in week one is a conversation. The same problem in month four is a claim.

Saves you money
  • Shell change orders caught in week one, while you still have leverage, instead of paid in month four.
  • Fewer schedule slips from crews waiting on answers from the engineer.
Grows your revenue
  • Offer owners a 3D-verified shell — a reason to pick you over the next builder.
  • Cleaner, faster shells mean more jobs a year with the same team.
Week 1
Rather than month four, with a crew standing on the slab.
Owner or developerYou are the one paying for the rework

On a custom waterfront build every change order lands on you, and it lands late, when you have no leverage left. The cost to build the 3D model is the best insurance cost in the budget.

Saves you money
  • Rework and change orders are what blow a custom-home budget — found before a block is laid.
  • A shell cost known up front, so the loan is sized right and there is no cash call halfway through.
Grows your revenue
  • No stopped job waiting on a redesign — you move in, sell or lease sooner.
  • A documented constructability check in the file when you sell or refinance.
Before
Not after, when the only options left cost money.
Architect or engineerValue-added services

Confirm it in 3D before you issue it. We build the shell in 3D from your drawings before they go out, and hand the findings only to you, with the sheet reference on every line. Anything that needs a decision gets made at your desk, in your time — instead of arriving later as an RFI from the field, a change order, or a phone call from a crew that has stopped. Fewer questions during construction, and a documented constructability check in your file.

Offer it as your own service. A 3D coordination check before issue is something an owner will pay for and a competitor is probably not offering. Bundle it into the fee or price it as an option; either way your client sees the set was proven, not just drawn. We stay invisible — no branding, no contact with your client — and a standing rate is there if you want the volume.

Saves you money
  • Fewer RFIs and field calls during construction — unbilled hours you get back.
  • Less exposure to claims over drawings that will not build as drawn.
Grows your revenue
  • A pre-issue 3D coordination check you can sell as your own service.
  • Something in your fee proposal the next firm is not offering.
Yours only
Findings go to you, under NDA. Nothing is shared with any contractor, ever.
Lenders, investors, risk managers and insurers

For the people whose money is on the line

They do not build the shell — they lend on it, invest in it, sign off on it or insure it. We hand them what a cost book cannot: every block, bar, column and beam in the shell, counted from the drawings by someone with no stake in the builder’s number.

LendersFund it knowing the shell is priced right

Construction banks, credit unions, hard money and private lenders. A model before closing tells you whether the builder’s budget covers what is actually in the drawings — and the material lists give your draw inspector counted quantities to check each draw against.

See the full pitch for lenders →

Saves you money
  • Avoid funding an underpriced shell that runs out of money — the most expensive loan to fix.
  • Keep the contingency for real surprises, not change orders the drawings already contained.
Grows your revenue
  • Lend with confidence on coastal and custom builds other lenders pass on.
  • Faster, cleaner draws are a reason for good builders to keep borrowing from you.
Before closing
The appraisal says what it is worth. The model says whether it can be built for the money.
InvestorsCheck the build before your capital goes in

Spec and build-to-rent investors, equity partners, family offices and syndicators. Every change order on the shell comes out of the investor’s return — we find them in 3D, before anyone pays to build them.

See the full pitch for investors →

Saves you money
  • Stop change orders coming out of your return — conflicts are resolved on paper, not on site.
  • Fewer delays and less interest and carrying cost while crews wait on answers.
Grows your revenue
  • Rent or sell sooner on a shell that goes up as drawn.
  • Raise capital with a 3D-verified build and counted quantities.
Your return
Counted quantities to negotiate with, and fewer surprises to pay for.
Risk managersCounted quantities behind the number you sign off

Plan and cost review firms, owner’s reps, cost consultants and cost segregation firms. Every block, bar, column and beam in the shell, counted from the drawings — white label if you want it.

See the full pitch for risk managers →

Saves you money
  • Hours come off every review because the counts are already done.
  • Less exposure when a budget you approved turns out to be short.
Grows your revenue
  • Sell lenders a premium, quantity-verified review.
  • Take on more reviews with the same staff.
Line by line
Shell budgets checked against counted quantities, not a cost-per-square-foot range.
Insurance companiesValue it and settle it from counted structure

Carriers, underwriters, builder’s risk programs, adjusters, public adjusters, appraisers and umpires. On the hurricane coast the structure is the biggest number in the policy and the biggest argument in the claim — we count it from the drawings on file.

See the full pitch for insurance companies →

Saves you money
  • Claims close faster, from counted quantities instead of days of measuring.
  • Fewer disputes, re-inspections and appraisal fights.
Grows your revenue
  • Insure to value from counted structure instead of a square-foot table.
  • More claims per estimator when a storm doubles the workload.
Counted
Insure to value, and settle claims from what was built.
Lenders, investors, risk managers & insurers →
Our process

One model goes in. Five things come out.

A model is not a picture of the building. It is the building, built once, somewhere that catching an error costs you nothing. It costs more to find out when it is already built than it does to find out in 3D.

Our process
1Goes in
The Model
Your shell built in 3D — every block, rebar, column and beam placed.
  • Yours for the length of the job.
  • Your superintendent and your subs open it on a tablet, on the job site.
  • The instrument everything below comes off.
Why a model and not a takeoff →
2Comes out
Confidential Build Quality Review
The named document: what will not build or will prevent an accurate estimate, and why.
  • The sheet reference on every line.
  • Yours to hand on to the GC or the engineer of record, if and when you choose to.
  • Included with the model.
See what we find →
3Comes out
RFIs
Any finding written up as a numbered question.
  • Its sheet references, the question, and what it holds up.
  • Ready to send under your own name.
  • $99 each — you choose which ones to raise.
See a real RFI →
4Comes out
Material Lists
Four order documents, phased by level.
  • Block by level and type, with cell fill and mortar.
  • Rebar, every bar placed, with the bend schedule.
  • Concrete by pour and lintels by opening.
How the lists are built →
5Comes out · optional
Cost Estimate
A price built on the count, not a measurement.
  • We price it — +$0.15 / SF on top of the model.
  • Our rate card and production figures against the count.
  • Nobody guessed the quantities.
See the pricing →
6Comes out · optional
Reports
Two internal documents, built off the estimate.
  • Shell Cost Report — the cost document.
  • Shell Cost Analysis — which numbers control the job.
  • $99 each, and optional.
What is in them →
The Confidential Build Quality Review

What will not build, and why

Once the shell exists in 3D we run a quality review against it. That review is what you are buying: a named document, sheet reference on every line, saying what will not build and why. Yours to hand on if and when you choose to — several contractors have used it to win the job.

Does not line up

Sheets that disagree

A wall dimensioned one way on the architectural and another on the structural. Elevations that do not reconcile level by level. Parts that do not meet when built to the sheets.

On the job site: trusses fabricated to a bearing that does not exist, reordered on a six-week lead.
Nothing under it

Loads with nowhere to go

A beam drawn to a column that is not on the plan below. A column that never reaches a footing. A lintel with no bearing shown either side.

On the job site: a footing dug after the slab is down.
Never said

What the drawings cannot answer

Steel that will not tie in the space it is drawn in. A schedule that stops at level two. A dimension that is not there.

On the job site: somebody fills it in with a guess.
What the review is not. We are not the engineer of record and the model does not replace sealed drawings. The review says what we found and where; the design professional decides what it means.
$99 each · you choose which

RFIs come from Quality Reviews

A finding tells you something needs answering. An RFI is the document that gets it answered by somebody with a seal — numbered, dated, with the sheet reference on it, in the form your engineer already expects. We’ll write the RFI for you for $99. Most sets turn up more questions than any builder wants to put in front of an engineer, and choosing is part of the job.

13 pages, PDF. The document shown on the right.
How it works
WRITEWe write the question, not the answer What we found, which sheets disagree, what we need told to proceed. We do not propose the fix and we do not decide it — that is the engineer's call and his seal.
SENDYou send it under your own name Word and PDF, your job number, your RFI numbering. It goes from you to the architect or engineer. Nothing says a modeler wrote it.
ANSWERThe answer comes back to you It is your job and your RFI — we do not log them, chase them or manage the answers. If an answer changes the building and you want the model brought up to it, we quote that revision against what actually changed.

A typical house turns up eight to twenty findings. The first one answered before the crew is on the job site has already paid for the model.

First page of a Framing & Shell request for information: who it is from, the project, the engineer of record it is directed to, dates, how to reply, and the summary of the five column items

Page one of a real one — five items on one set of column notes, with a reply box for each. Numbered, dated, sheet references on every item.

Material lists

Precise material lists you can count on

A takeoff is somebody reading a drawing and writing down what he thinks is there. A model does not think. Every block, bar, lintel and cubic yard on these lists exists as a solid in the model, in a known place, at a known size — so the list is not an opinion about the drawings, it is a count of the building.

Rework

No reorders, no rework

A bearing elevation that does not reconcile gets discovered when the truss package arrives and will not sit down — and you pay for the trusses a second time, on a lead time you do not control. Same with lintels cut to an opening that moved and rebar bent to a detail that changed. Rework is where shell jobs lose their margin. The model finds it while the fix is still a dimension on a screen.

Waste

Nothing left on the pallet

Measuring off a drawing has to add extra, because the man doing it is guessing and would rather guess high than shut your crew down. At the end of the job that extra is sitting in your yard, and most suppliers will not take it back. A count does not need the extra. You order what the building takes and the difference stays in your pocket.

Quantity reports — by level, by phase
TYPE 1CMU block By level and by block type. Sizes, bond, solids, knockouts, cell fill set, reinforced count, mortar bags.
TYPE 2Reinforcing, with the bend schedule By level, size and shape. Grade, quantity, length, every dimension on the bend, and the weight.
TYPE 3Foundation, slabs, columns and beams Contact area and volume by phase. Pads and strips broken out separately.
TYPE 4Precast lintels By opening, by level, in a form the supplier can order from.
Order documents, not summaries. Excel and PDF — we will match your supplier's own order form if you send us one.
The four quantity reports the model produces, shown stacked: masonry takeoff by phase, rebar bend schedule by level and size, concrete pads and strips, and a precast lintel order
The four reports, as they arrive.
What makes it a count
PIECEEvery piece knows what it is A block knows it is 8″ standard or a knockout bond beam. A bar knows its grade, size and every dimension of its bend. A lintel knows the opening it spans.
COUNTTaken off the geometry, not measured The quantities are what is physically in the model, which means two people running it get the same number and so does the yard.
FIELDYour superintendent and your subs can open it The man laying the block sees the same model you priced, on his own tablet, standing on the job site.
Close view of the model: reinforcing bars threaded through block cells and a bond beam, each bar size shown in a different color
Every bar is placed, not allowed for. That is where the bend schedule comes from.
What it costs

Service pricing

We model it

The model

$0.50 / SF
Residential · $2,000 minimum · $2,000 to $3,750 across 4,000–7,500 SF
The structural shell built in 3D and counted off the geometry. Structural only — block, concrete, rebar, lintels, beams and columns.
  • Four material lists in the form a yard takes an order. This is what you order the job off.
  • The Confidential Build Quality Review — what will not build and why, sheet references on every line.
  • The model itself, for you, your superintendent and your subs, for the length of the job.
Commercial & multifamily

Commercial

From $0.30 / SF
$4,000 minimum · quoted against the drawings
Apartments, condos, hotels, retail, office, schools and storage — block and concrete shells up to 10 storeys. Structural only.
  • The same four material lists, by level, in the form a yard takes an order.
  • The Confidential Build Quality Review on every sheet of the structural set.
  • A fixed price and a start date before anything begins — send the set and we quote it the same week.
  • Estimate, reports and RFIs quoted with the model.
And the price

Cost Estimate

+$0.15 / SF
On top of a residential model · $675 at 4,500 SF
We price the job off the count the model produced.
  • Our rate card and production figures against your count.
  • The shell cost, the extras, what we assumed, and where the drawings were thin.
  • Sold with the model, not on its own — without a model there is nothing to price.
  • Our rate card is well developed and backed up by the gold standard in estimating databases.
Go deeper

Reports and RFIs

$99 each
Per report, or per RFI · take any or none
Two internal documents and the one that goes out.
  • Shell Cost Report Cost by level, every priced line, margin and selling price — off the model count, not a takeoff.
  • Shell Cost Analysis Report A granular breakdown and cost analysis. Insight into what is driving the cost of your shell — and what is not value-added.
  • RFI The finding written as a question the engineer answers with a tick box — sheet references and reply box on every item.
What is in the reports — built off the estimate, which is built off the count
COSTShell Cost Report · five pages The price build-up from cost through extras to selling price with the margin check on its face; cost by level; every priced line with its material rate, its labor rate and the extension; and the model quantities behind it with the order +5% already figured. For you and your estimator — it shows margin on the page.
RISKShell Cost Analysis Report · ten sections Which numbers actually control the job — on a recent $935,000 shell, three inputs carried 34% of the cost. Your rates against published ranges with the source on every row, what each gap is worth in dollars, and what your margin really becomes if the cost misses by 5%.
RFIRFIs, written up · $99 apiece Any finding in the Confidential Build Quality Review as a numbered RFI with its sheet references and the question, ready to send to the architect or engineer of record under your own name. You pick which are worth raising.

Fifty cents a foot with a $2,000 floor on a house, from thirty cents a foot with a $4,000 floor on a commercial building — because a small job still has to be built properly and the first day of work does not get cheaper. Quoted as a flat number before anything starts, off your actual floor area, and it does not move unless the drawings do.

Start here

Send a plan set

Drop your drawings here PDF, DWG or DXF · nothing to sign up for · they come straight to us

Tell us about the job and we will come back with a price and a date, usually the same day. Nothing starts and nothing is charged until you say go.

Goes to info@storypolemodeling.com

Send this first and reply to the note that comes back with the plan set attached — or just call, which is quicker when the job is unusual.

Rather talk it through

A plan set that does not fit a form, or a job you already suspect has problems in it — a phone call settles both faster than anything you could type.

You will be talking to somebody who has laid block and run crews, not a queue.

727-657-4678
Common questions

The things people ask before they send drawings

What is a structural 3D shell model?

It is your shell built as a real three-dimensional object before anybody pours a footing. Every block, every bar, every column, beam and lintel put where the drawings say it goes. Because the parts are real solids in real positions, the quantities get counted instead of measured, and anything that does not fit shows up straight away.

Is this a BIM model? What software do you use?

Yes. It is a structural BIM model built in Tekla Structures — every block, bar, column, beam and lintel as a real object with a size and a position. That is what lets us count material off it and find what will not build. We model the structural shell only: block, concrete, rebar, lintels, beams and columns. Not architecture, not mechanical, not electrical.

Do you model commercial and multifamily buildings?

Yes. Apartments, condos, hotels, retail, office, schools and storage in block and concrete, up to about 10 storeys. Commercial is quoted against the drawings — from 30¢ a square foot with a $4,000 minimum — with a fixed price and a start date before any work begins.

How much does a model cost?

Most houses land between $2,000 and $3,750. That is 50¢ a square foot with a $2,000 minimum, so anything up to 4,000 SF is $2,000 and a 7,500 SF house is $3,750. Anything over 7,500 SF, and every commercial building, is quoted against the drawings — commercial starts at 30¢ a square foot with a $4,000 minimum. The price is flat and you have it before any work starts. We model the structural shell only.

Everything else is optional and priced on its own: we can put a price on the job for +15¢ a square foot, write a finding up as an RFI for $99, and either report is $99. The model, the material lists and the Confidential Build Quality Review are the price above — nothing in that list is an upsell you need.

What do I actually get back?

Included in the price: four material lists — block by level and type, rebar with the bend schedule, concrete by pour, and precast lintels by opening — plus the model itself and the Confidential Build Quality Review saying what will not build and why.

Charged separately: a finding written up as a numbered RFI is $99 each, and the Shell Cost Report and Shell Cost Analysis Report are $99 each. You take those only if you want them — the model and the Review stand on their own.

What is a Confidential Build Quality Review?

A written document listing everything the model turned up that will not build as drawn, with the sheet reference on every line. Columns that do not reach a foundation. Elevations that do not match between sheets. Reinforcing that will not fit the space. Openings with no bearing. It is yours to hand to your general contractor or the engineer of record, if and when you choose to.

Do you write the RFIs for me?

Yes. Any finding in the Confidential Build Quality Review can be written up as a numbered RFI with its sheet references, ready to send to the architect or engineer of record. RFIs are $99 each and you pick which findings are worth raising — most sets have more questions in them than are worth asking. We write the question, never the answer: the engineer of record decides what it means.

How is this different from a takeoff service?

A takeoff is somebody reading a drawing and writing down what he thinks is there, so it has to include extra material to cover the guessing. A count off a model does not. You also get the Confidential Build Quality Review and the RFIs, which a takeoff service cannot give you, because they never built the thing.

Do you estimate the cost of the job too?

Yes, for 15¢ a square foot on top of the model. We put our rate card and our production figures against the count. It goes with a model and is not sold on its own, because without a model there is nothing to price.

How long does it take?

Usually the same week for a house. You get a flat price and a date back the same day you send the plan set. We do not take rush work — a model done in a hurry is worth less than no model at all.

Are you the engineer of record?

No, and the model does not replace sealed drawings. We report what does not fit or does not close. The design professional decides what it means and his answer is the one that counts.

What file formats do you need, and what do you send back?

Send PDF, DWG or DXF. The structural sheets matter most — S-1 through the schedules. You get the material lists as Excel and PDF, the RFIs as Word and PDF, and the model in a viewer your superintendent and subs can open on a tablet.

Do you work outside Florida?

Yes. The drawings come to us and the work comes back to you, so where the job is does not change anything. We are in Tampa Bay and most of our work is Florida block and concrete, which is the construction we know best.