Reinforced concrete (RC) is one of the most important and transformative materials in modern construction. Its significance spans from early 20th-century buildings to today’s most advanced infrastructure, covering both horizontal (roads, bridges, tunnels) and vertical (buildings, towers) construction.

Concrete has been used since ancient times (e.g., Roman pozzolanic concrete), but reinforced concrete—concrete embedded with steel—was formalized in the mid-1800s. French gardener Joseph Monier is credited with early innovations in embedding iron mesh into concrete planters (1860s). The system rapidly expanded into structural applications in the early 20th century.

This division explains how to measure, quantify and price concrete work accurately, ensuring that all material, labor, and associated items are accounted for in a transparent and consistent manner.

The measurement is based on the volume as measured from the plans.

The actual volume for ordering concrete must take into consideration the wastage. In pricing the BOQ, this wastage must be added to the unit cost and not to the volume.

Always remember the difference between the “contractual” BOQ document and the “operational” BOM document.

Do not order your materials using BOQ quantities or else the delivered material will always be short as this does not include allowance for wastages and breakages. Use your BOM quantities when ordering materials. Vis-à-vis, do not use the BOM for your contracts, use the BOQ.

Concrete Specifications

Concrete materials must meet the approved mix designs and quality standards outlined in the project specifications.

Standard specifications of concrete are for compressive strength (for vertical use), flexural strength (for horizontal use), water cement ratio, slump, aggregate size, aggregate type, cement type, curing requirements, admixtures, air content, rebar cover requirement, temperature, density and modulus of elasticity.

Formworks and Falsework

Formwork defines the geometry and dimensions of the concrete member while it is still plastic (fresh). It also acts as temporary structures that bear dead load (wet concrete), live loads (workers, equipment), and lateral pressure.

Specialized systems like modular formworks, tunnel form, or jump forms enable rapid repetitive construction (e.g., high-rise buildings, residential blocks) and can have significant advantages to traditional formwork systems.

There are several types of formwork material ranging from disposable wooden timber & plywood, steel, aluminum, fiber reinforced plastic and insulated forms. The material, number of reuse and cycles can considerably impact the cost.

Formworks are measured in square meters of exposed area. This measurement includes vertical faces (such as walls), horizontal surfaces (like slabs), and inclined or curved sections.

Adjust your cost based on height of the installation as it will take more time to lift the formworks as the building goes higher.
Most common mistake in formworks is the exclusion of the stripping cost in pricing.

There is a considerable labor and equipment involved in stripping of formworks. Most estimators will only include the installation cost without considering the stripping.

This measurement includes vertical faces (such as walls), horizontal surfaces (like slabs), and even inclined or curved sections. Deduct any openings such as doors or windows, as these are not part of the continuous formwork.

Steel Reinforcements

Reinforcement is complementary to concrete’s strength. All reinforcement bars (rebars) are measured by weight, and this includes the additional material needed for lap splices, overlaps, and couplers.

The BOQ quantity should only include what will be installed. The cost of wastage during cutting and bending should be added to the unit cost. The BOQ quantity will be shown in kilograms.

The BOM quantity should include the wastage typically 2% to 3% but can go as high to 5% if the rebar cutting list is not done properly. Ordering of rebars will be in number of pieces of desired lengths and diameters.

For bigger diameter rebars, there is an option to use mechanical couplers that will make it easier and faster to install.

Typical rebar tensile strengths required by projects are for grade 40, 60, and 75. Verify specifications requirements for tensile test and mill certificates. Typically, required for every 10,000 kgs of rebar.