Masonry, Blockwork, Stonework and Rendering/Plastering Measurement
Walls and their finishes are the most frequently measured elements in building work, and this domain tests whether you keep the wall item, its accessories and its finishes in the right units. Cypriot practice uses blockwork far more than brickwork, so questions usually describe hollow or solid concrete blocks by thickness and strength.
Units and classification
- Blockwork and brickwork in m², with thickness (100, 150, 200 mm), hollow or solid, strength class and mortar stated.
- Stonework: rubble and ashlar walling in m³ or m²; cladding and dressings in m² or m linear.
- Damp-proof course, cavity trays, wall ties, bed-joint reinforcement and lintels are measured in m or nr. They are not absorbed into the wall rate unless the method expressly says so.
Deductions
- Openings above the threshold are deducted; smaller openings are measured as solid.
- Reveals, thresholds and fair faces are 'extra over' linear items, so a window both deducts area and adds linear work.
Rendering and plastering
- Measured in m² by coats and thickness, with background stated (blockwork, concrete, mesh) and finish (float, skim, Tyrolean).
- Beads, stops and movement joints are linear; dubbing out is measured as extra over where the background is uneven.
Worked example
A wall 10.000 m long × 3.000 m high with two windows 1.500 × 1.200 m each. Gross = 30.000 m². Windows = 2 × 1.800 = 3.600 m², so blockwork = 26.400 m². Plaster to both faces = 2 × 26.400 = 52.800 m². Reveals per window: two jambs 2 × 1.200 = 2.400 m plus head 1.500 m = 3.900 m; for two windows 7.800 m, with sills measured separately as a distinct item. Plaster follows exactly the deduction applied to the wall it covers, and each face is a separate measurement.
Traps that cost marks
- Measuring only one face of a wall that is plastered both sides.
- Omitting DPC, wall ties or lintels because they 'feel' included.
- Describing hollow blocks as solid, which changes the rate significantly.
- Deducting the same opening twice, once in the wall and once again in the plaster without justification.
- Forgetting that a fair-faced wall needs the extra over as well as the plain wall item.