We're now going to discuss Measurement, or as it's more commonly known, Quantity Take-Off in this module. We're going to cover cut and fill, deep foundations, concrete, structural steel facade and interiors. So what is measurement? It's quantity take-off from drawings, a list of materials with quantities that are required to build a design structure or item. You carry it out by using a scale rule manually, that is, or using various software programs, such as AutoCAD and On-Screen Takeoff. So you carry out your measurement using either a scale rule or a software program such as AutoCAD and On-Screen Takeoff. So you measure the item and you record the quantity. For example, a 20 foot length of skirting board. So why is measurement important? It's effective for procurement aiming to provide clients with projects that achieve good value for money. The key objectives include accurate budgets that are prepared before work commences and the correct price paid when work is completed, which is very much to do with procurement. Measurement is a crucial process bringing these activities together, it forms a central link between design and cost. So who will use the measurement? Here's a few examples. A project manager may require the gross floor area of a proposed hospital to establish a building budget at the initial stage of contract. A cost manager may calculate the approximate quantities of work during the design development stage to produce a cost plan to check how realistic the building budget is. Another example could be a cost estimator carrying out quantity takeoffs from detailed drawings to produce a bill of quantities for bid purposes. It could be a new school project, where an estimator may need to measure the quantities from the bid drawings and specifications as part of their own bid submission for that project. And also during the actual construction stage a contractor will present measured change orders as part of a final account. So the purpose. The purpose of measuring any building work is to establish the correct amount of work to be carried out. This involves producing accurate quantities that are fully comprehensive, technically accurate, clear and logical in its approach and presentation. Okay, we're going to look at facade now So the facade is the face or exterior of a building, especially the principal front that looks onto a street or open space. The original meaning of facade is the front or face of a building, but in general construction measurements, it is typically referring to the outer area of the building. So, not always just the front face. Within facade you've got many different types of materials that might build it up the facade. We're just going to have a look at masonry now. And on the screen some really good examples of some very historic buildings, both of which are in New York City. So you've got Grand Central Station Terminal there with a Stein facade, and then you've got the Flatiron building there also with a mixture of stone and brick facade. So masonry. Masonry within the masonry trades, you have several types of walls and components. As I just mentioned there, you got stone, you got brick, you got concrete. So they're three of the main types of masonry. You got many different types though. Masonry is also referred to as block walls, and the CMU, so CMU is concrete masonry unit. Masonry can be part of the building's structural system too. When they are part of the structural system they're referred to as sheer walls or load bearing walls. Quantifying masonry walls. Masonry walls are measured in square foot, so it's length of the wall by the height of the wall. It's as simple as that. So when you're recording your measurement you need to take your measurement sheets or if you're using your computer's software, make sure you set it up effectively and very, very clear. You need to make sure you have your project name, the date, so all of the project information there. The heading of the measurement you're carrying out. So for example, masonry. Then also go into a bit more further detail and describe what type of mason you're covering, because you could have internal masonry, you could have masonry on the site works. So this is the exterior walls, which forms part of the facade. So it's a key to give some very good descriptions there, of the actual wall itself. So here we've got a thickness of eight inch thick. So you start measuring the masonry facade from the architectural and structural floor plans. Multiply the height, so the floor to the bottom of the slab above to get the area of the wall. Now every project is different and you need to make sure you look at the design stage you're at, but typically you measure over door openings and window openings. When the masonry is part of structural system, it's best to quantify the masonry walls from the structural drawings first and refer to the architectural to better understand the system. And then quantify the masonry from the architectural plans. It's best to quantify the exterior walls separately from the interior walls. Another form of a facade is a glass curtain wall. This term is typically used to describe exterior glass wall systems. A curtain wall is defined as a thin, usually aluminum-framed wall, containing in-fills of glass, metal panels, or even thin stone type of material. The framing is attached to the building structure and does not carry the floor or roof loads of the building. Now you see curtain walling these days in a lot of buildings. It seems to be the norm. It looks fantastic. And here's a few examples. So you've got the Willis building there in Chicago, formerly known as the Sears Tower. You've got the Shard in London, a fantastic example there of glass curtain wall facades. And lastly, recently completed, the One World Trade Center that looks fantastic. All of these use a glass curtain wall system. So glass curtain walls, if the glass wall is in front of on the slab, then it is referred to as curtain wall. The type of glass, the size of the aluminum frame, and the finish of the aluminum frame affects the price of the curtain wall. Again, typical of most facades, the straightforward way to measure it is on a square foot basis. So it is the length of the wall by the height of the wall. What's really important here is don't forget to read the curtain wall spec section your design pack.
