Civil Engineering PE Exam – Quantity Take-Off Methods
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I. Project Planning
A. Quantity Take-Off Methods
Quantity Take-Off Methods require detailed measurements of a building’s components, materials, and construction labor to determine a scope of work required and a cost estimate of the construction project. The values for Quantity Take-Off Methods are typically measured and calculated by building construction estimators using the construction documents, building plans, and specifications to determine the scope and cost estimate.
Quantity Take-Off Methods on the Civil Engineering PE Exam will test your ability to measure and calculate various building materials or components such as:
- Building Materials
- Roofing
- Walls
- Flooring
- Site Development
- Soil cut and fill
- Landscaping
- Hardscaping
- Structure
- Steel
- Concrete
- Wood (Timber)
- Foundations
- Retaining Walls
- Footings
Helpful resources in preparing for these questions are:
- Learn Civil Engineering – further instructions and guidance as well as several practice problems.
- Cost Estimation – the Project Management for Construction website.
- Cost Estimating – the Whole Building Design Guide website, a program of the National Institute of Building Sciences.
- Glossary of Construction Cost Estimating – Wikipedia glossary of terms related to construction cost estimating.
The ability to know which unit of measure is needed and to calculate various quantities is a must-have skill for these types of questions.
For example:
- Earthwork – measured in cubic yards (PowerPoint presentation)
- Concrete – measured in cubic yards
- Masonry – measured in number of bricks or blocks
- Mortar – measured in cubic feet
- Lumber – measured in board feet (Board feet = (thickness x width x length) ÷ 144)
- Roofing – measured in square feet
- Siding, Flooring, etc. – measured in square feet
- Structural Steel – measured in pounds or tons
Quantity Take-Off Methods
