Estimating correct answers The process of determining the anticipated cost of materials,
labor, and equipment of a proposed project.
Take-off correct answers The process in which detailed lists are compiled, based on drawings
and specifications, of all the material and equipment necessary to construct a project. The
cost estimator uses this list to calculate how much it will cost to build the project.
Quantities correct answers Measured amounts of construction items expressed in their
customary units.
Quantification correct answers In estimating an activity to translate project scope information
into resource quantities suitable for
Quantity survey correct answers A detailed analysis of material and equipment required to
construct a project.
Area correct answers A measurement of a given planar region or of the surface of a solid.
Area method correct answers A construction cost estimating system employing unit square
foot costs multiplied by the adjusted gross floor area of a building.
Length correct answers The longest dimension of an object.
Linear measurement correct answers A unit or system of units for measuring length:
12" = 1', 3' = 1 yard, 1 yard = 0.9144 meters, 1 mile = 5,280 feet.
Dimension correct answers A distance between two points, lines, or planes.
Specifications correct answers Documents that define the qualitative requirements for
products, materials, and workmanship upon which the contract for construction is based.
Drawings correct answers Graphic illustrations depicting the dimensions, design, and location
of a project. Generally including plans, elevations, details, diagrams, schedules, and sections.
Addendum correct answers A document describing an addition, change, correction, or
modification to contract documents. An addendum is issued by the design professional during
the bidding period or prior to the award of contract, and is the primary method of informing
bidders of modifications to the work during the bidding process. Addenda become part of the
contract documents.
Amendment correct answers A modification of the contract by a subsequent agreement. This
does not change the entire existing contract but does alter the terms of the affected provisions
or requirements.
Grade correct answers The surface or level of the ground.
Level correct answers A term used to describe any horizontal surface that has all points at the
same elevation and thus does not tilt or slope.
, Site correct answers The location of a project geographically, usually defined by legal
boundaries.
Elevation correct answers A vertical distance relative to a reference point.
Cut and fill correct answers An operation commonly used in road building and other rock and
earth-moving operations in which the material excavated and removed from one location is
used as fill material at another location.
Fill correct answers The soil or other material used to raise the grade of a site area.
Foundation correct answers The entire masonry substructure below the first floor or frame of
a building, including the footing upon which the building rests.
Grade beam correct answers A horizontal end-supported (as opposed to ground-supported)
load-bearing foundation member that supports an exterior wall of a superstructure.
Width correct answers The measurement or extent of something from side to side.
Footing correct answers That portion of the foundation of a structure that spreads and
transmits the load directly to the soil.
Reinforced concrete correct answers Concrete containing adequate reinforcement, prestressed
or not prestressed, and designed on the assumption that the two materials (steel and concrete)
act together in resisting forces.
Reinforcing bar correct answers A steel bar, usually with manufactured deformations, used in
concrete and masonry construction to provide additional strength.
Footing beam correct answers A reinforced concrete beam connecting pile caps or spread
footings to distribute horizontal loads caused by eccentric loading.
Bolster correct answers In concrete, an individual or continuous support used to hold
reinforcing bars in position. Usually used in slab work.
Pan construction correct answers A type of concrete floor or roof in which pan forms are used
to create intersecting ribs and resulting in a waffle-like undersurface.
Formwork correct answers The total system of support for freshly placed concrete, including
the mold or sheathing that contacts the concrete, as well as all supporting members,
hardware, and necessary bracing.
Potential Vertical Rise correct answers expressed in inches (mm) is the latent or potential
ability of a soil material to swell, at a given density, moisture, and loading condition, when
exposed to capillary or surface water, and thereby increase the elevation of its upper surface,
along with anything resting on it.
Liquid Limit (LL) correct answers Is the moisture content expressed as a percentage of the
weight of oven dried soil, at which soil changes from a plastic to a liquid state.