Advertise with us
Estimating Sheet

How to Prepare Bill of Quantities in Construction

Construction Software

A Bill of Quantities (BoQ) comprises of the total materials based on which the architectural design of a construction project is completed, as for instance a house or other structure. The BoQ provides almost correct quotes for the project.

A quantity surveyor or civil engineer having skills at estimating the materials necessary for a project, mainly create BoQs.

Arrange a spreadsheet for your bill of quantities with columns for the item numbers, description, unit of measurement, quantity, rate for the item, labor, and total cost for the item. The item numbers should be sequential, beginning from 1. Restart the item numbers for each section or category of the build.

The columns for the rate for each item and total costs are inserted by contractors who bid on the project. Usually, there will be no values in those columns at the time of drafting the BoQ.

Formation of a List of Materials to Complete the Project

Based on the architect's plans, write a basic list of all the necessary building materials necessary and the amounts required of each. It comprises of wiring, hardware, and other fixtures.

1. As for instance, when the construction of a house is in progress, different types of components like framing materials, sheetrock, bricks, concrete, flooring materials, wiring, lighting fixtures, and kitchen and bathroom fixtures will be required.

2. Specify the unit of measurement for each of the materials. It may be a standard unit. For instance, the gallons or liters will be the unit of measurement for the paint that is included in the list of materials.

3. As soon as the required materials are decided, fill them in on your spreadsheet. For instance, in case paint is required for your project, record "green paint" next to item #1.

Also Read: Bill Of Quantity (BOQ) and it’s different parts

In the column for unit of measurement, the "gallons." should be written. Then provide the required number of gallons in the quantity column.

4. For waste, 15-20% should be taken into consideration for material calculations.

Split the Project Into Specific Sections or Categories

As several sections of your project are managed by different contractors or subcontractors, break up your list of materials into those sections. In this manner, each contractor or subcontractor can find out the exact project cost.

1. While constructing a house, there are different sections like "framing," "plumbing," "electrical," "kitchen," "bath," and "flooring."

2. Some materials may drop under more than one section. For instance, if there are "framing" and "flooring," the same nails should be utilized for both of them. So, it is required to divide the overall number of nails that is measured between the two.

Work Out the Labor Necessary to Complete Each Section

Benefits of Maturity Method Test on Concrete

With regards to the amount of work to be completed, find out the number of man-hours required for finishing. It should be a conservative estimate as some workers are competent as compared to others.

1. Get an idea from the contractors regarding how many hours it will be required to complete a given part. A quantity surveyor can easily compute this depending on their experience with related projects.

Prepare the Initial Cost Estimate According to the Architect's Design

Explore the average prices for the materials and labor in your area through different hardware stores . To get an idea about labor prices, consult with the contractors in your area who deal with the identical projects.

1. By adding the material prices and your labor costs, you can get a fair idea of how much amount will be required to finish the project.

2. Take a print of the individual copy of the BoQ for your preliminary cost estimate. Usually, this information is not provided on the official BoQ that is delivered to contractors for bids. It should be applied to compare bids obtained from contractors to discover the best bid for your project.

Draft a Schedule As Per the Estimates in the BoQ

As soon as you get the labor estimates, you can know how long it will be required to finish your project.

1. For instance, if you've estimated that 1,000 man-hours will be required to build your house, assuming the contractors work 40 hours a week and there are no interruptions, it would require 25 weeks to complete your house. However, to consider delays, planning for it to take 30 to 40 weeks.

Detail Process For Preparing Bill of Quantities (BoQ)