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Construction estimating glossary.
Plain-language definitions of terms used in quantity take-off and estimating.
- Quantity take-off
- Measuring lengths, areas, volumes and counts from drawings so that each item of work can be priced.
- Bill of quantities (BoQ)
- A list of the items of work in a project with their quantities, units, rates and amounts.
- Rate
- The price per unit of an item, such as AED per m² of formwork.
- Overhead and profit (OH&P)
- A percentage added to the direct cost to cover running the business and earn a margin.
- Formwork
- The temporary mould that holds wet concrete until it hardens. It is measured in m² of contact surface.
- Reinforcement (rebar)
- Steel bars placed in concrete to carry tension. It is measured in tonnes.
- Pile
- A deep foundation element, here a bored concrete column that carries load to firmer ground.
- Pile cap
- A concrete block that sits on top of one or more piles and spreads the column load to them.
- Ground beam
- A beam that ties pile caps or footings together at foundation level.
- Slab
- A flat horizontal concrete floor or roof element.
- Soffit
- The underside of a slab or beam.
- Blockwork
- Walling built from concrete or similar blocks and mortar, measured in m².
- Lintel
- A beam that spans a door or window opening and carries the wall above.
- Parapet
- A low wall around the edge of a roof or balcony.
- Scale
- The ratio between a length on the drawing and the same length in real life, such as 1:100.
- Level
- One floor or storey of a building, taken off separately.
- Resource
- A labour, material or plant input used to build up a rate.
- Rate build-up
- The breakdown of a rate into resources such as labour hours, material and equipment.
- Provisional sum
- An allowance in the bill for work that cannot yet be fully measured or defined.
- Bar bending schedule
- A table listing every reinforcement bar by diameter, shape, length and number.
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Basics
What is quantity take-off?
Quantity take-off is measuring the materials and work shown on drawings so they can be priced. The basics, the three kinds of measurement and where software helps.
2 min readBasicsQuantity take-off checklist for a building
A take-off order from substructure to services, with the unit for each item and the habits that keep quantities right.
2 min readBasicsBill of quantities explained
What a BoQ contains, how it grows out of take-off, and how rates, overhead and profit turn quantities into a price.
2 min read