KiT

 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.

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The following tasks are covered in
quantity surveying:
1. Taking measurements of civil works (Taking
off quantities and preparing BOQ)
2. Preparation of approximate (preliminary) cost
estimate at the very early stage of the project
3. Preparation of detail cost estimate at different
stages.
4. Preparation of tender documents and
examining tenders.
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Cont’d…
6. Preparation of schedule of prices to negotiate
with qualified bidders. (labour rates, material
supply rates, equipment rental rates)
7. Determination of values of works (executed
works) and preparation of payment certificates
8. Preparation of final accounts on completion of
all of the works.
9. Valuation of property
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Measurement of Civil Works
 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.
Mensuration in Quantities:
 Mensuration is the term used by mathematicians
to describe the measurement of lengths, areas
and volumes of different figures.
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Girths
 One of the most frequently used techniques
when booking dimensions is 'girthing‘.
 Most buildings are based on a square or
rectangular plan shape and it is often
necessary to establish the perimeter of
individual rooms internally or externally.
 This length is required for foundations, walls
and associated items.
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 Cont’d…
 The length can be calculated by determining:
 The total internal length of the wall
 The total external length of the
wall
 The center line length of the wall

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Cont’d…
 Example 1: Determine the internal, external and
centerline girths for the room plan shown below.

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 Cont’d…
Example 2: Determine the different girths for the buildings layout shown below.

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 Measurement of Different Works
I. Substructure
 Any structure below the ground floor slab level
including the basement, retaining walls, ground
slab, grade beam, and foundation is called a
substructure. substructure work categorized as
follows:
1. Excavation and earthworks
2. Concrete works
3. Masonry works 10
 1. Excavation and Earthworks
A) Site clearance:
 Removal of materials (including trees, bushes and
the top 20 to 30 cm soil), any other obstruction
from the site.
 A working space of 1m is required on each side.
 Clearing site vegetation is measured in m 2 and
embraces bushes, scrub, undergrowth trees .
 Removal of trees is measured as enumerated
item. 11
 Cont’d…
B) Excavation (bulk excavation)
 Excavation to get reduced levels of every
structural element below the ground level is
called bulk excavation.
 Working space for bulk excavation is 25 cm (not
used for shallow masonry)
 Depth of excavation less than 30 cm – measured
per m 2 ,depth > 30 cm per m 3
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Cont’d…
C) Deep Excavation
 It is the actual excavation for the foundation
and is measured in m3.
D) 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.
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Cont’d…
 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.
E) Disposal - cleaning the building area including
cart away. measured with m3
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 2. Concrete Works
A)Concrete
Grades of Concrete
C5 - lean concrete, measured with m2
C15- for totally supported structural elements
C20- used for slabs; mix proportion is 1:2:4
C25- Commonly used structural Concrete; mix
proportion is 1:2:3
C30-Used for chemical stores and nuclear plants
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Cont’d…
B) Formwork – measured in m2
 Period of removal (minimum):

1. Vertical formwork to columns, walls and

beams: 16 hrs
2. Soffits formwork to slab: 21 days
3. props to cantilever slabs: 14 days
4. Soffits formwork to beams: 21 days
5. Props to cantilever beams: 14 days 16
Cont’d…
C) Reinforcement
The reinforcement bars are tied by ø6 mm mild steel
wire and measured in kg.
3. Masonry Works
 stone for below ground work shall be chiseled from
natural stone.
 Stone wall is measured by volume, whereas stone
pavement is measured by area, specifying
thickness.
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 II. Superstructure
1. Concrete works
a. Concrete - as discussed in substructure part
b. Formwork: Specify the type of material used and
where to use (zigba or steel) – m2
c. Reinforcement: Weight per unit length for Ф6 is
0.222 kg/m; for any other diameter d2, with
weight per unit length w2:
w2 = (d2*2/62) * 0.222
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 Cont’d…
2. Masonry works:
a) Stone masonry:-Measured by volume
b) Hollow and solid concrete blocks, measured by
area specifying the thickness.
 The standard thicknesses of HCBs are 10cm,
15cm, and 20cm.

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Cont’d…
c) Bricks masonry: measured by area specifying
the thickness.
 Bricks are fire resistant, watertight and can
also resist compressive action of up to 50 MPa.
 The thicknesses of brick masonry are 25 cm
(for double layer) and 12 cm (for single layer)

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 3. Measurement of Roof Structure
 The Unit of measurement for roof structure
naturally falls between enumerated items
(trusses) and linear meters, (rafters and purlins).
Measurement of Pitched Roof Coverings
 The area of roof coverings is unaffected by the
inclusion of hipped ends and valleys as long as
the roof pitch remains constant

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Cont’d…

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Cont’d…
 Rainwater gutters and down pipes
 Rainwater goods completes the work associated
with roof coverings.
 Gutters and down pipes are measured in linear
meters over all fittings. The description should
include reference to the type of pipe or gutter,
its nominal size, and the type, method and
spacing of fixings.
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Cont’d…
 Fittings, such as running outlets,
stopped ends, offsets and connecting
shoes, are enumerated and
measured extra over the pipe or
gutter on which they occur.

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 Measurement of Finishings
 The term Finishing includes operations associated
with the completion of the floors, walls and ceilings
of a building. These are screeding, plastering, wall
and floor tiling, wallpapering and painting.
 The order of measurement of finishing on each
floor will normally be:
 Ceiling
 Walls
 Floors
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General rules of measurement
 Work to attached beams is included with ceiling
finishes, whilst work to attached columns is
included with wall finishes.
 Finishes to isolated beams and columns must
be given separately as should work in staircase.
 The principal unit of measurement for wall, floor
and ceiling finishes is m2. Where the width does
not exceed 300 mm the unit of measurement is
linear. 26
 Measurement of Plumbing Installation
 Plumbing installations in domestic buildings
involve a number of different systems associated
by the supply, distribution and disposal of
water within and out of a building ­above the
ground and below the ground.

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 Order of Measurement
1. Connection to water authority's main and all
work up to boundary of site
2. Underground service and rising main from site
boundary up to cold-water storage tank
3. Branches to rising main
4. Cold water storage tank and associated Work
5. Down services with branches

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 Cont’d…
6. Sanitary appliances such as sinks, wash basins,
baths and water closets.
7. Discharge pipes - waste, soil and vent pipes.
8. Any other work connected with the plumbing
installation.
Pipe work: Pipes are measured in linear meters over all
fittings and branches, stating the type, nominal size and the
method of jointing and fixing.
 Fittings are enumerated and measured as extra-over the
pipe work on which they occur. 29
 Cont’d…
Sanitary Appliances: This includes washbasins,
urinals, baths, shower trays and sinks.
 These appliances are enumerated giving details
in the description of their type, size, capacity and
method of fixing.

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 Measurement of Electrical Installation
Cabling: Conduit and cable are each measured
separately in linear meters stating in the
description the type and size of cabling.
Switches, Socket outlets and Light Points
 These and other accessories should be
enumerated.
Appliances: Separately fused circuits will be
necessary for the cooker, immersion heater and
electric heating units, and are enumerated items.
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 Specification Worksheet (BOQ form)
 This is a complete list of all items of work
involved in connection with the estimate for a
project with the description, quantity and unit of
rate against each item of work.
 There are four clearly defined steps in preparation
of Bill of Quantities:
1. Taking off 2. Squaring 3. Abstracting
4. Writing the final Bill of Quantity
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1) Taking off
 In the first instance quantities need to be
extracted from drawings, together with an
appropriate description.
 This process - known as booking dimensions or
taking-off quantities - involves the measurer in
either reading or scaling dimensions from the
drawings.

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Cont’d…
 The standard form used for entering the
dimensions taken or scaled from drawings to
determine the accurate quantity in each trade of
work, except reinforcement steel, is called take
off sheet or dimension paper.
 The dimension paper used for taking off is
usually double – ruled as shown below (A4
size).
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Cont’d…

contract specification & bill of quantities, CEng 35

511
 Cont’d…
The purpose of each column:
 Column 1: is called the 'timesing column' in
which multiplying figures are entered when there
is more than one of the particular items being
measured.
 Column 2: is called the 'dimension column' in
which the actual dimensions, as scaled or taken
direct from the drawings, are entered. There may
be one, two or three lines of dimensions. 36
 Cont’d…
 Column 3: is called the 'squaring column' in
which the length, area or volume obtained by
multiplying together the figures in columns 1 and
2 is recorded, ready for transfer to the abstract or
bill.
 Column 4: is called the 'description column' in
which the written description of each item is
entered.
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A separate sheet (Bar Schedule) is used to prepare reinforcement quantities.

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General principle of taking-off
1. Entering dimensions
 Dimensions are entered in the dimension
column in meters to two places of decimals.
2. Abbreviations
 Many of the words entered in the description
column are abbreviated in order to save space
and time in entering the item by highly
skilled technical staff.
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 Cont’d…
3. Grouping of dimensions
 Where more than one set of dimensions relate to the
same description, the dimensions should be suitably
bracketed so that this shall be made clear.
4. Adjustment of openings and voids
 When measuring areas with openings or voids, the most
convenient practice is usually to measure the full area in
the first instance, and to subsequently adjust for any
voids or openings.
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2) Squaring:
 The dimensions entered in Column 2 are
squared or cubed as the case may be,
multiplied by the timising factor, and the
result entered in Column 3.
 This task is called squaring.

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 3) Abstracting:
 The squared dimensions are transferred to
abstract sheets and all similar dimensions are
collected in the same category to obtain the total
quantity of each item.
4) Writing the Final Bill
 After the abstract sheets have been completed
and checked, the final bill of quantity is written.

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