Groundworks page for a construction cost plan

Groundworks foundations and drainage page for a construction cost plan

What's in this Article ?

Introduction

This is a simple article discussing the various elements of a construction cost-plan to attempt to articulate the best practice for construction cost-plans.

The groundworks page is simply one page of around thirty pages that lay out, item by item, the works involved in a construction project.

What is the Groundworks foundations and drainage page for a construction cost plan ?

A Groundworks foundations and drainage page for a construction cost plan is simply the page that lists out all of the tasks that are involved in the Groundworks foundations and drainage of a construction project.

In a typical construction costs plan there will be separate sections for the following elements (trades/work packages):

What is the purpose of the Groundworks foundations and drainage page ?

Its purpose is to summarise and total all of the various costs associated with Groundworks foundations and drainage.

It means that the Client or any of the team members can see exactly 1) what the final total is 2) where the costs are split through the work packages.

The groundworks page should have the following:

Logo of the company producing the construction cost plan
Title of the page e.g. Groundworks, foundations and drainage
Address of the project
Date of the cost-plan
All of the elements for the groundworks including excavation, new strip foundations, foundation slab, damp proof membrane, blockwork, engineering brickwork
All of the costs for the works
A final total

Here is an example that we have mocked up specifically for this article:

The Drainage page might look like this:

You can keep the drainage and the groundworks/foundations all in the one page because in practice it will be the one sub-contractor carrying out the works.

Any other notes on the Groundworks foundations and drainage page for a construction cost plan

Groundworks costs can be found easily by contacting a local Groundworks foundations and drainage business.

These businesses specialise in the complete Groundworks foundations and drainage packages so you can get a fixed price from them for the works.

This reduces your risk for this package as you are sub-contracting the risk out to someone who can handle it better (because they do nothing but groundworks and therefore know their costs a lot better than you would).

A Groundworks foundations and drainage contractor can also provide landscaping, hard landscaping, paving, paths and vice-versa so when you are researching these businesses look up both.

Groundworkers are usually the team that sets up the entire site and are the first boots on the ground. They may also be the last workers to visit site if they are taking care of the landscaping package too.

If you want to read more about groundworkers you can go here.

Order of measurement for groundworks and foundations

When quantifying Groundwork and foundations in a cost plan it is important to take a logical and systematic approach to capturing all of the works require.

This approach is defined in the latest version of the NRM.

The NRM lays out all works like it will eventually be displayed in a bill of quantities or pricing document and this will correspond with data produced by the Building cost information service.

These works include:

Preliminary investigations
General items
Site preparation
Excavation and disposal of topsoil
Disposal of material
Excavation to reduce levels
Disposal of material
Excavation of foundation trenches
Disposal of material
Surface treatments – compaction of bottom of trenches
Basement excavation
Earthwork support to faces of excavation
Concrete foundations
Disposal of surface water
Other substructure works
Brickwork/blockwork and associated items
Damp-proof courses
Health and safety

All of these works need to be included in the construction cost plan and any further documents such as a bill of quantities.

Take-off list for groundworks and foundations

When taking off quantities for these work tasks you should first create a take-off list.

All student quantity surveyors are taught as best practice to prepare a take-off list.

A take off list could read as follows:

Excavating topsoil
Disposal of excavated material
Excavating trenches (internal and external walls)
Disposal of excavated material
Surface treatments (trenches) e.g. compacting of the bottom of the trench
Earthwork support to faces of excavation
Disposal of surface water
In-situ Concrete in foundations
Brickwork to dpc
Blockwork to dpc
Forming cavities and providing insulation
Concrete fill to base of cavity
Damp-proof courses
Adjustment of brickwork and facework
Filling to excavations
Surface treatments (floor areas)
Filling to make up levels
Any other Damp-proofing

If you are measuring concrete ground floor beds you can follow a take-off list such as:

Hardcore and similar beds
Surface treatments e.g. blinding
Damp proofing
In-situ concrete beds
Mechanical tamping
Power floating
Trowelling

Order of measurement for drainage works

When creating a cost plan for drainage its important to allow for the following works:

Drains

Excavation of pipe trenches for foul and surface water drainage
Drain pipes
Protection
Pipe accessories

Manholes/inspection chambers

Associated works
Sewage disposal plant
Sewage treatment plant
Septic tanks
Cesspools
Soak-aways

Before starting a take-off of the drainage you should create a take-off list. This would go something like this:

Lengths of main drains starting from the head of the drainage system and working down towards the main sewer or whatever the disposal point is.

Then capture the branch drains that branch off the main drains.

Include for all connections, gullies and other accessories at the heads of the branch drains which link up with the work measured in the above drainage section.

Then capture all manholes, inspection chambers as shown including the building in of pipes to these inspection points.

Also, allow any ventilating pipes, fresh air inlets, interceptors, connection to sewer, testing and commissioning drains and the like.

Finally tackle any septic tank installations, cesspools, soakaways that are required.