DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

QUANTITY SURVEYING & ESTIMATING 1

Topic 8 - How items of building work are determined

Items of building work are determined by referring to the classification tables of the standard
method of measurement.

Works Sections

Determine the Work Section (or trade) under which the item of work falls. e.g. Concrete, Masonry,
Painting, Carpentry, etc. If the work falls under a subsection of a work section, decide the
appropriate sub-section e.g. Formwork may comprise:

(i) Formwork

(ii) Permanent metal formwork system

(iii) Slip form construction

Factors determining the Cost of Construction Work

The main reasons for measuring and describing building or construction work is to enable
individual items of work, there are so many variable factors that can give differences in prices or
costs.

Examples
a) Excavation

Excavation can be pit excavation, trench excavation, basement excavation or excavation to

reduce level, etc.

It is easier to excavate 1 m3 of basement than 1m3 trench.

It is easier to excavate 1 m3 of trench than 1m3 of pit.

Accordingly, in measuring excavation, each of the above types of excavation, the depth of
excavation also affects the price.

It is easier to excavate a 600mm deep trench than a trench which is 1500mm deep or 2400
mm deep. Therefore each of the different depths of trenches above will have to be measured
and described separately. Each will be a separate item of work.

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b) Concrete
• Different grades or strength of concrete gives different prices.
• Also the member in which, the concrete is to be placed affects the price per m3 of
concrete.

E.g. it takes more time to place concrete in:

Columns than in walls

Walls than in slabs
Slabs than in footing, etc.

Therefore, if concrete of the same grade or strength is to be placed in walls, slabs and
columns each will be measured as a separate item of work.

c) Block walls
The cost of 150mm thick block wall will be cheaper than that 200mm block wall.

Taking 150mm block walls, it is cheaper to construct 150mm walls in hollow walls than
150mm walls in solid blocks.

Each of the above walls will be measured as a separate item of work.

d) Plastering (rending) or painting

It is easier to apply a particular type of rendering or plaster to a wall than to a ceiling.

For ceilings, it is cheaper to plaster a ceiling 2800mm high than a ceiling say, 4500mm
high above the floor.

e) Summarizing
The cost of building work depends on such factors as:

• Type of material (s)

• Quality of material (s)
• Size of material (s) being used
• Where the work is to be done e.g., walls, columns, ceilings, etc.
• Depth or height of the work.
• The class or nature of the work.
• Size of the work or items within the work, etc.
• Slope of the work, and so on.
• Sometimes the method of doing the work

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