Fact sheet 7.

2: Electrical Services
1m

Background of residential electrical services

To measure electrical services, you need to understand the
electrical systems, principles of the installation and the
technicalities of this trade, including:

 electrical symbols and designations

 electrical supply provisions
 earthing and bonding requirement
 meterboard and switchboard designations and roles
 mains supply and sub-mains
 interpretation of electrical wiring and circuits
 electrical fittings, fixtures and outlets

 Measurement requirements of
residential electrical services
 1m
 How much detail goes in a take-off for electrical work
depends on how much detail is in the documents.
Residential installations are not normally designed by an
electrical engineer. The designer or architect normally
provides a basic electrical plan showing location of
fittings and outlets and relies on the electrician pricing
the work to allow for the detail and technical
requirements.
 Lack of technical information is not necessarily unfair to
the tenderers, who must provide enough technical
 expertise to install a legal and acceptable system within
the general principles laid down in the documents. The
tenderers will be expected to be suitably qualified and
experienced and will be responsible for ensuring the
installation meets the relevant AS/NZS codes and
certification. ANZSMM 2018 may call for detail that is not
available, for example, cable sizes or circuit loadings.
Measure and describe the electrical work in a manner
that will give the tenderer a priceable document covering
all items that would normally be required.

Items to measure in residential electrical

services
1m

The items to measure electrical services are laid out in

sections and include,

 Preambles
 Appliances Sundry wiring and outlets
 General Items
 Mains Supply
 Meterboard and switchboard
 Light circuit wiring and switches
 Light Fittings
 Power circuit wiring
 Power outlets.

 Method of measurement for electrical

services
  1m

 We will use Southern Landfill amenities building plan to

measure the electrical services. The information
provided in the drawing below is typically of the amount
of detail provided for residential electrical services. All
clause references are to ANZSMM 2018 Section 34
Electrical Installations.

 Fig. 7.1 Electrical Plan

Preambles
1m
Like all trades, the schedule of quantities for electrical work
commences with general preambles. These are the
preambles which relate to more than one section. The sub-
preambles relate to one specific section of the take-off and are
written at the beginning of that specific section. Clause M2 of
Electrical Services trade section of ANZSMM 2018 identifies
all appropriate sub-headings of work categories.

Southern Landfill Amenities Building Plan Preambles

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General Items
1m
It is always a good idea to add some reference to any
legislation that covers a specialist trade like electrical. Also
check the Electrical Specification for general items.

Note that general items from ANZSMM 2018 is added on the

preambles such as providing samples and providing plans
diagrams, manuals and similar items of the installations as
fitted.

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PREVIOUS: PREAMBLES

NEXT: MAINS SUPPLY

Mains Supply
1m

The mains supply is the power connection from the roadside to

the externally mounted meter board at the residence and then
to the internally mounted main switchboard.

ANZSMM 2018 suggests that all the associated works ie the

cable, trenching, conduit, connections etc. shall be measured
separately. For residential take-offs the earthing of the supply
has been measured as a separate item in the Mains Supply and
Submains section but could be measured as a separate
section for large commercial projects. If the property included
any outbuildings, then a submain would be run from the
internally mounted main switchboard to any secondary
building where a distribution board would be located. This
submain and distribution board would be scheduled as
separate items in the Mains Supply section.
Southern Landfill Amenities Building Plan Mains Supply

© Open Polytechnic

An alternative to nominating a distance is to nominate a

provisional sum for the supply and install of the mains cable.
Refer the example below which assumes margin is added to
the total trade value on the trade summary, so does not need
to be shown separately in the take-off.
Southern Landfill Amenities Building Plan Mains Supply Alternative

© Open Polytechnic

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Meterboard and Switchboard

1m

Southern Landfill Amenities Building Plan Meterboard and

Switchboard

© Open Polytechnic

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PREVIOUS: MAINS SUPPLY

NEXT: CIRCUIT WIRING AND SWITCHES

Circuit Wiring and Switches
1m

Circuits originate from the main switchboard and are grouped

and labelled as Main Switch / Range / Residual current Device
(RCD) / Light / Power.

Electrical appliances such as ovens, hobs and rangehoods

require an isolator switch next to them for safety purposes, as
the permanent wiring of these items is hidden and therefore
cannot be a switched outlet.

To accurately allow for the correct size wiring for some

specialty appliances the tenderer will need to know the make
and type of the appliance for reference to the technical
information.

In rural areas appliances such as ovens require 2-phase wiring.

In cities, only 1- phase is required, so location of the build is
important.

Clause 34.9 states that wiring shall be counted and grouped

according to distribution board origin, type and size of cable. A
typical residential build only has a main switchboard and no
distribution boards, and the type and size of cable may need to
be determined by the electrician. Therefore, there would be
one section for the main switchboard with only general
descriptions of the light fittings, switches and outlets, (i.e.: no
detail of the type and size of wiring and no circuit details).

Clause 34.9 also states that the description for each circuit
will include the number of lights, switches, plug sockets etc.
connected to that circuit. A typical residential electrical plan
only shows the location of lights and the linking of the lights to
the light switches. The circuit wiring for outlets is not shown
and can only be written as a general description.

Because the electrical trade has numerous items distributed

throughout the building, it is a good idea to set up a system for
marking off the drawings as you measure the electrical items
and wiring links. Use of highlighters works well with different
colours used for different fittings. It is also good practice to
check that the number of outlets and switches measured
equals the total number covered by the wiring items.

A brief example of this possible set up of such a spread

follows:
Electrical Take-Off Summary

The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand

More preambles are required for the circuit wiring and

switches.
Southern Landfill Amenities Building Plan Circuit Wiring and Switches

© The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand

Southern Landfill Amenities Building Plan Lighting Circuits

© The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand

An alternative to listing each room as an individual line item is
to group together rooms that are the same and include a list of
the room references in the description. Refer below for an
example:

Southern Landfill Amenities Building Plan Switches

© Open Polytechnic
Southern Landfill Amenities Building Plan Power Circuits

© The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand

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PREVIOUS: METERBOARD AND SWITCHBOARD

NEXT: LIGHT FITTINGS

Light Fittings
1m

If the light fitting type has not been provided then a PC sum can be included in the schedule.
Remember that a PC sum is for the supply only. The tenderer will still need to allow for the
delivery, fixing and connecting of the light fitting and this should be clearly written in the sub
preamble.

The preamble also needs to clearly indicate everything to be allowed within the rate.

The take-off can be done either sequentially room by room, or by systematically moving around
the drawing.
Southern Landfill Amenities Building Plan Light Fitting

© The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand

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Power Outlets
1m

Clause 34.13 states that plug sockets, switches, isolators and the like are to be counted. The
measurement is much the same as for light fittings, with a separate group for each different type
of outlet.

Note: switches have been enumerated as a separate item in the Wiring section.
Southern Landfill Amenities Building Plan Power Outlets

© The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand

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Appliances
1m
The measurement of appliances is much the same as for light fittings except that the connection
(wiring in) of the appliance to the outlet is counted separately from the appliance, refer Clauses
34.21, M21 and P13.

The wiring in of the appliance can be included as a separate item under Appliances, or as for our
example be included with the power outlet items. Be sure to make it clear in the sub preambles
where the connection is to be priced.

Appliances can be either supplied and installed by the electrician or supplied by the client with
the electrician taking delivery. Any appliances supplied by someone other than the electrician
should be taken off in a separate section.

Note: Hot water cylinders are supplied and installed by the plumbing trade, with the electrical
trade only providing a permanent wired power outlet including connection to the power outlet.

Write the sub preambles so that it is clear to the tenderer whether they are to supply the
appliances or just take delivery.
Southern Landfill Amenities Building Plan Appliances

© The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand

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