Basics of Quantity Surveying: Taking Off Quantities

Learn to take off superstructure quantities by calculating block work area and adjusting for openings. Explore lintels, formwork, and concrete or precast options.

Develop skills to take off superstructure concrete lintels, including in-situ concrete, reinforcement, and formwork; learn to compute lintel length, width, height and projections for doors and windows.

Learn to take off reinforcement quantities for lintels in superstructure, including main bars and links, using concrete cover, hooks, and spacing to estimate lengths and the number of links.

Take off quantities for formwork in the superstructure, measuring sides and soffit of the concrete lintel in square meters, using block thickness for soffit and length for sides.

Discover the basics of roof structure, from kingpost, rafters, struts, and tie beams to wall plates and ridge cap, and learn to read roof plans for quantity taking off.

Learn to take off roof quantities: calculate wall plate length from floor plan and count tie beams using 1200 mm spacing, with wall plates 50 by 150 mm.

Master taking off quantities for roof king posts and struts by applying elevation data, trigonometry and Pythagoras, with step-by-step calculation of V1, V2, and diagonal members across multiple trusses.

Compute roof quantities by taking off rafters and purlins from the roof plan, using half the plan width plus 600 mm projections, and Pythagoras to find rafter length.

Take off quantities for ceiling noggins using a room-by-room approach with 50 by 50 mm noggins at 600 center to center, independent of other roof items.

Master roof quantity take-off in basics of quantity surveying by calculating ridge board, facial board, barge board, roof covering, and ridge cap, using pole line, rafter lengths, and eaves estimates.

Learn to take off quantities for doors in quantity surveying, detailing door dimensions, frames, jambs, head, mortise locks, hinges, ironmongery, painting, reveals, rebates, and opening adjustments.

Master taking off quantities for windows by detailing window frames: head, seal, mullion, and jamb; lower carriers and glazing, including louver blades, painting, rendering, and opening adjustments.

Take off quantities for ceiling finishes using plasterboard and two coats of emulsion paint, applying the same area measurements as for floors but with separate ceiling descriptions.

Learn to take off floor finishes room by room using a finishes schedule, detailing screed, tiling, and carpet, with area measurements and dimensioning rules from the specification.

Learn how to take off quantities for skirting, calculate room perimeters, and describe wood skirting finishes, not prime and stop, prime before fixing, and painting with deductions for door openings.

Take off wall finishes quantities from plan, section, and elevation data, estimating 3 m high internal wall areas with plaster and two-coat emulsion paint, including skirting and door/window deductions.