Quantity Surveying: Chapter Four
Quantity Surveying: Chapter Four
Chapter Four
4. Quantity Surveying
4.1. Introduction
Quantity surveying is a term or processes used in the construction industry to take measurements
of civil works, prepare specifications, and estimate the cost of works either for each trade of work
or for the whole project.
Before starting any construction, one has to have a thorough knowledge about the volume of the
work and the probable cost that may be required for the complication of the project. Otherwise,
the construction will be stopped before its completion due to shortage of money or material. It is
therefore necessary to prepare the probable cost or estimate for the proposed work.
Once a construction project is completed or depending on the form of contract upon completion
of certain parts of the work, the contractor must be paid for appropriately completed works. This
would then require that the actual works done be somehow estimated or measured for payment
purposes.
On the other hand, to estimate how much a civil engineering project may cost, the actual quantities
of materials, labor, equipment etc. that is needed for the construction work must be calculated at
the beginning of the work. Such work of calculating the amount of materials and other incidentals
necessary for the realization of the work is called quantity surveying.
The term “surveying” means to inspect, study, review, investigate, asses, and hence “to measure”
therefore the term “quantity surveying” means “quantity measuring” as applied to civil engineering
projects.
Quantity surveying is the application of standard methods of measurement to quantify the amount
of various items in a construction project, for the undertaking of valuation, and certifying
payments.
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- Coordinate with designers if the design appears in error, if a better approach is discovered, or a
value engineering process is warranted.
4.3. Technical Specification and Methods of Measurement for Building Project
Measurement of civil works includes the billing of each trade of work either from
drawings or the building itself for defining the extent of works under each trade.
In order to avoid ambiguity in measuring quantities, there is now a recommended
principle of measurement in construction activities.
Many professional organizations publish recommendations on units of measurement,
degree of accuracy etc. this assists in setting a common parameter so that dispute is
avoided.
The standard book, which is used in Ethiopia, is Standard Technical Specification &
Method of Measurement for Construction of Buildings by BaTCoDA, March 1991.
Ethiopian Road Authority Standard Specification, 2002 is used for Road Construction.
Principles of Measurement
The following are list of the basic principles of quantity surveying, applicable to all items
of work.
Each work section of a bill shall contain a brief description of the nature and location of
work.
Work shall be measured net as fixed in position.
Measure the full work area and adjust deductions later.
Items which are to be measured by area shall state the thickness or such other
information as may be appropriate.
Items which are to be measured by length or depth shall state the cross-sectional size
and shape, girth or ranges of girths or such other information as may be appropriate.
Items which are to be measured by weight shall state the material thickness and unit
weight if appropriate (Ex. Duct work)
Piece of work shall be taken in numbers.
For items of pipe work it shall be stated whether the diameter is internal or external.
Mass voluminous and thick works shall be measured in volume (cubic meter)
Thin, shallow and surface work shall be measured in area (meter square) specifying the
thickness.
Long and thin work shall be measured in length (linear measure, running meter)
Bills are deemed to include labor, materials, goods and plant and all associated costs for
fixing, assembling, etc.
Units of Measurement
Depending on the prevailing system of measurement in any locality, quantities may be
measured in the FPS system or the metric system.
Here in Ethiopia, the most common unit of measurement is the International System of
Units, or the metric system of units in which the various items are measured as follows:
o For the measurement of length Meter (m)
o For the measurement of mass Kilogram (Kg)
o For the measurement of time Second (s)
o For the measurement of current Ampere (A)
o For the measurement of temperature Degree Kelvin (K)
o For the measurement of luminous intensity Candles (Cd)
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Note: - Working space for bulk excavation is 25 cm (not used for shallow masonry).
Depth of excavation less than 30 cm – measured per m2, depth > 30 cm per m3
c) Fill/ Embankment
Shall be measured in m3 of net volume to be filled.
Fill is required because the reduced level of every structural element above the structure
has to be covered.
Excavation and embankment should not be added at a time in computing their volume,
because their costs are different.
The major consideration under embankment is compaction.
Compaction is done usually at 20 cm lift thickness. The subdivisions under fill are:
▪ Back fill: - filling by using the excavated soil but by removing coarse particles.
▪ Borrow fill: - filling by using fill material from another place when there is shortage
of fill or when better quality material is required.
d) Disposal
Disposal - cleaning the building area including cart away.
d) Sundry Items
application of termite proof solution, providing hard coring, dust blinding, expansion
joints, etc are itemized as sundry items; measured in m2.
Excavation and embankment should not be added at a time in computing their volume,
because their costs are different.
The major consideration under embankment is compaction.
Compaction is done usually at 20 cm lift thickness.
II. Concrete works
a) Concrete
Cast in situ concrete – formed on site and requires formwork and reinforcement.
Cast in situ concrete shall be measured by volume except in ribbed slabs and grouting.
Prefabricated concrete –fabricated (manufactured) in a factory and brought to the site
and joined to make a building. It does not require formwork but needs a special care
when connecting the different elements.
Pre-tensioned (Post tensioned) Concrete –involves in bending up the concrete itself to
make it ready for the downward bending due to load
Concrete ancillaries - include windowsills, lintels, expansion joints, and permanent and
temporary embedded materials. It is measured in ml or enumerated.
❖ Grades of Concrete
▪ C5 - lean concrete, to protect the structural concrete from damage.
▪ C15 - for totally supported structural elements
▪ C20 - used for slabs; mix proportion is 1:2:4
▪ C25 - Commonly used grade of structural Concrete; mix proportion is 1:2:3
▪ C30 –Used for chemical stores and nuclear plants
b) Formwork
A temporary structural element, which supports slabs, beams in casting concrete. It shall be
designed and erected to safely support, vertical and lateral loads that might be applied until such
load can be supported by the concrete structure.
❖ Period of removal (minimum):
▪ Vertical formwork to columns, walls and beams: 16 hrs
▪ Soffits formwork to slab: 21 days
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Contractor Supervisor
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A separate sheet (Bar Schedule) is used to prepare reinforcement quantities as shown below.
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▪ Waste calculations,
▪ Deduction of items,
▪ Correction of dimensions (nullifying).
1. Drawings shall be fully understood and clearly detailed.
2. Works, which cannot be measured accurately, shall be expressed as provisional quantity
(PQ) and will result in provisional sum (PS) and lump sum (LS)
3. There shall be the understanding that measurements are taken to the nearest cm.
4. Built items shall generally include all possible entrants like labor, materials (including
storing, loading, unloading and handling), fixing, use of plant and equipment, wastage
of materials, equipment; which will result in a better process for establishing prices and
profit.
5. Prior knowledge of the regulations is necessary (For E.g. roofing is measured in
horizontal projection).
6. Measurements of civil works shall be carried out in such a way that it can be easily
checked and audited.
Types of taking Off
Mensuration – the calculation of geometric quantities such as length, area, and
volume, from dimensions and angles that are already known.
Girth (perimeter) computation –linear measurement. There are various methods of
taking off quantities for computation of girth.
In- to- in and out- to-out method –some wall lengths are taken out to out and others
in to in (offsets are added to out to out lengths) and same are deducted from in -to-in
lengths; used for any type of measurement irrespective of condition of symmetry.
Centre line method –suitable only when the cross sections of all walls are
symmetrical. In this method Centre line length is found and same is used for taking
off quantities (therefore only width and depth vary).
Crossing method –lengths and breadths of walls as shown in plan are taken for
working out various items and this method is useful only if the offsets of footings are
symmetrical.
A. Out – to - Out and In – to – In Method
▪ Long Wall (Out – to - Out ) = Inner Length + 2 Times Thickness of the Wall
▪ Short Wall (In – to – In ) = Inner Length - 2 Times Thickness of the Wall
B. Center Line Method
▪ All dimensions are taken center to center
C. Crossing Method
▪ Long Wall (Out – to - Out) = Inner Length + 2 Times Thickness of the Wall
▪ Short Wall (In – to – In) = Inner Length
4.5. Bill of Quantity
Bill of Quantities
The Bill of Quantities (BOQ) is defined as a list of brief descriptions and estimated quantities. The
quantities are defined as estimated because they are subject to admeasurements and are not expected to
be totally accurate due to the unknown factors which occur in civil engineering work. The objective of
preparing the Bill of Quantities is to assist estimators to produce an accurate tender efficiently and to
assist the post- contract administration to be carried out in an efficient and cost-effective manner. It
should be noted that the quality of the drawings plays a major part in achieving these aims by enabling
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the taker-off to produce an accurate bill and also by allowing the estimator to make sound engineering
judgments on methods of working. Figure 4.1 shows a sample of a bill of quantities.
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The bill of quantities, when completed, is traditionally presented in trade format; that is, in a given
order, for example:
- Civil works which includes: Earth works (leveling, excavation, backfilling, transportation
of excavated soil); Foundation works (plain and reinforced concrete, piling foundations);
Brick works (internal and external); Skelton reinforce concrete (columns, beams, slabs and
stairs); Water proofing; Staircases; Plastering, Flooring; Painting; Metal works (windows,
doors, accessories); etc.
- Sanitary works which includes: Water feeding systems; Internal and external plumbing works;
Finishes of plumbing works; etc.
- Electrical works which includes: Electrical cables; Wiring; Accessories; Internal connections;
etc.
- Mechanical works which includes: Air conditioning systems; Elevators; etc.
Measurement Practice
It is vitally important that measurement practice applied to buildings is both accurate and consistent.
There are a number of situations that require a quantity surveyor to measure and record dimensions
from both drawings as well as on site, depending on the stage of the project. In order to standardize
measurement rules and conventions, there are a number of standard codes and methods of measurement
that are available. These are outlined below.
There are various approaches to measurement for bills of quantities and these are as follows:
Excavation:
- Quantities are calculated based on the dimensions of the foundation in plans from the owner
perspective.
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- Contractors should consider the excess of material excavated to all for safe operations.
- Prices differ based on the soil type, deep of excavation, ground water level, site location,
shoring system, Equipment used, etc.
- Unit of measurement is cubic meter (volume).
- Consider the following example
- Consider another example (Figure 2.4). Plain concrete dimensions (1.2 × 2.0 × 0.2 m),
reinforced concrete footings dimensions (0.8 × 1.6 × 0.4 m); depth of excavation 1.2 m and
ground beams cross section is (0.25 × 0.4 m). Find the volume of the excavated material (see
Figure 2.4). Distance between centerlines is 5 m.
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Backfilling:
Site leveling:
- Measured in m2 (area) if thickness less than 30 cm.
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Contract, Specification and Quantity surveying Chapter 4
3 Brick works:
The rules and precautions that should be followed when measuring brick works are described in the
following figure
Internal Plaster:
- Engineering measurement by area (m2).
- All openings are deducted.
- All openings sides are added.
- Inclined slabs are calculated based on their horizontal projection.
External plaster:
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Contract, Specification and Quantity surveying Chapter 4
As with most measurement exercises it is good practice to start with a taking-off list containing all the
items that have to be included on a Substructure – taking-off list:
Lifting turf
Top soil/removing/preserving
Beds/formwork/damp-proof membrane
Forming cavities
Filling to cavities
Damp-proof courses
Site levels
Virgin sites will almost certainly be covered with a layer of vegetation that has to be removed prior to
excavation and stored separately or removed from site. Top soil cannot be used for backfilling as it
would, over time, cause damage to the substructure. The usual default depth for topsoil is 150 mm
although it could be more than this and a test pit may be dug to accurately determine the actual depth.
The following figure shows a 5 m grid of a survey of levels taken on a proposed site.
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Contract, Specification and Quantity surveying Chapter 4
The site is required to be reduced to a level of 35.62 and in order to calculate the volume of excavation
required the average level of the site must be determined. This can be quite easily done by calculating
the average level:
The following figure shows the ground floor plan of the building with the external and internal walls.
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Contract, Specification and Quantity surveying Chapter 4
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4.6.Exercises
1. Consider the following figure, it is required to prepare a quantity take-off for the following
types of work to be included on the bill of quantities:
a. Excavation.
b. Backfilling
c. Plain concrete footing
d. Reinforced concrete footings and smells and column necks till the ground level.
e. Insulation.
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