Short answer
What is a BOQ for a house? A bill of quantities, or BOQ, is a list of the work items for a building, with a unit and a quantity for each item. A bidder adds a rate and an amount. Each item description should name its material and workmanship, while the full standard of work is in the specification and drawings. Check that the items cover all your work, and ask your engineer to check the quantities.
On this page (13)
- What is a bill of quantities?
- What are the columns?
- What does an item description include?
- Can items be grouped together?
- Is my contract item rate or lump sum?
- Can the quantities change?
- A sample BOQ format
- How do I check a priced BOQ?
- What mistakes should I avoid?
- Who prepares the BOQ?
- Frequently asked questions
- Related guides
- Sources
When you build a house, you hear about a “BOQ” from the contractor, the engineer or a quotation. It is short for bill of quantities. It is a list of the work items for the building, with a unit and a quantity for each one. It is the base for comparing quotes, but it is not a cost estimate on its own. This guide explains what a BOQ is, how to read its columns, and how to check one. It gives no rates, totals or cost ratios. A BOQ for your house must come from your own drawings and specification.
What is a bill of quantities?
The older Indian measurement standard for earthwork, IS 1200 (Part 1):1992, says that bills of quantities “shall fully describe the materials and workmanship, and accurately represent the work to be executed” (clause 2.5). That edition is withdrawn. The current edition was not read for this guide, so the wording above is the older text. The concrete part of the same series, IS 1200 (Part 2):1974, applies the same idea to concrete work.
In plain words, a BOQ says what work is to be done, in what unit, and how much of it. Each item should name its material and workmanship. The full standard of work is in the specification and the drawings. This is practice: a BOQ read on its own can look complete when a key item is missing.
What are the columns?
The columns vary, but a government tender form we read uses these headings. Each bidder fills in the rate and the amount.
| Column | What it means |
|---|---|
| Sl. No. | The item number |
| Item description | What the work is, with its material and standard of work |
| Item code or make | A reference or the brand, if the tender names one |
| Quantity | How much of the item the drawings call for |
| Units | The unit of measure, such as cubic metre or square metre |
| Rate | Filled in by the bidder, in figures |
| Total amount | Quantity times rate, including taxes where the tender asks for them |
| Total in words | The total amount written in words |
The rate column is blank in the bill you receive from the owner or engineer. The contractor or bidder fills it in. Keep the quantities, units and descriptions the same across all quotes, so that the rates can be compared.
What does an item description include?
An item description can cover more work than its name suggests. The older Indian concrete measurement standard says that, “unless otherwise stated,” the description of an item is held to include, where necessary, “conveyance and delivery, handling, unloading, storing, fabrication, lowering, hoisting, all labour for finishing to required shape and size, setting, fitting and fixing in position, straight cutting and waste, disposal of packings” (IS 1200 (Part 2):1974, clause 2.3). That edition is withdrawn.
So a rate for an item may already cover waste, handling and cutting. Ask whether it does. One tender form we read says “The rate is inclusive of all wastages.” That is one tender’s wording, not a rule for every house.
Can items be grouped together?
Yes, but only in a way that can be traced. The older Part 1 standard, on earthwork, says “Items may be clubbed together provided that the break-up of the clubbed items is agreed to be on the basis of the detailed description of the items stated in this standard” (IS 1200 (Part 1):1992, clause 2.1). This is practice for other work: a lump item is fine only if its split into parts is clear. If it is not clear, you cannot check the quotes.
Is my contract item rate or lump sum?
This depends on how the contract is written. The central government’s procurement manual (updated June 2022) describes these two forms, among others. In an item-rate contract, “contractors are required to quote rate for each individual items of work on the basis of Bill of quantities (BOQ)” (section 3.2.2 (i)). The manual says a lump sum contract suits “stereotype/ repetitive residential buildings or other structures for which standard drawings are normally available” (section 3.2.1 (iv)), where the scope is clearly defined and the risk of change is low.
The same manual says that a schedule of rates “may still be specified in order to regulate the amounts to be added to or deducted from the fixed sum” (section 3.2.1 (v)). This is useful for a house. Even under a lump sum, ask for a schedule of rates for changes. The manual is for central government works, so private homes are not bound by it. It shows how the contract can be written.
Can the quantities change?
Yes. The CPWD Works Manual 2022 defines “Deviation in Quantities” as “Variation in quantities of items of the contract as given in the schedule of quantities and actually executed.” In practice, the final quantities can differ from the bill. Ask how a change is measured and priced before work starts.
A sample BOQ format
The table below is a blank layout. The item list is an example of the kind of items a house needs. It is not a standard format, and it is not a full list for your house. The quantities and units must come from your drawings. The rate and amount columns are for the bidder.
| Sl. No. | Item description | Unit | Quantity | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Excavation for foundations, including disposal of surplus soil | cubic metre | |||
| 2 | Lean (plain) concrete under foundations | cubic metre | |||
| 3 | Reinforced concrete for footings, columns, beams and slab, as per drawings and specification | cubic metre | |||
| 4 | Steel reinforcement, as per the bar bending schedule | kg | |||
| 5 | Brickwork in mortar, as per the specification | cubic metre | |||
| 6 | Plastering inside and outside, as per the specification | square metre | |||
| 7 | Flooring, as per the specification | square metre | |||
| 8 | Roof waterproofing, as per the specification | square metre | |||
| 9 | Water supply and drainage pipes and fittings, as per the specification | as stated in the bill | |||
| 10 | Electrical wiring and points, as per the specification | as stated in the bill |
Where a line needs a quantity, a calculator can help you check the number. The brick quantity calculator and the steel bar weight calculator show the arithmetic with the inputs you choose. Your engineer checks the final figures.
How do I check a priced BOQ?
This section is practice. Check each point before you compare quotes.
- Does every item come from the drawings and the specification?
- Are waterproofing, grouting, pipes, fittings and finishes listed as separate items, or are they stated as included in another item?
- Is the unit the same for each item across all quotes?
- Does the rate include wastage and handling?
- Is the scope the same in each quote? Two quotes can look different only because one leaves items out.
- How will changes be measured and priced?
What mistakes should I avoid?
This section is practice.
- Comparing quotes with different scope. Two rates for the same item mean little if one includes waste and the other does not.
- Treating an unpriced or priced BOQ as a fixed price without checking what it leaves out.
- Forgetting wastage, such as broken tiles and cut pipes.
- Mixing units. Running metres for an item priced per square metre makes the totals wrong.
- Leaving out hidden items, such as formwork oil, curing water and small hardware, unless the rate covers them.
- Using old rates when prices have moved since they were written.
Who prepares the BOQ?
This is practice. Sources differ on who should prepare it. A quantity surveyor, an engineer, an architect or a contractor may do so. Ask your architect or engineer, and ask for the BOQ in writing before you compare quotes.
Frequently asked questions
Is a BOQ needed for a small house?
This is practice. A small house does not need a formal tender. Still, a written list of items and quantities from your engineer makes quotes easier to compare.
What is the difference between a BOQ and a cost estimate?
A BOQ lists items, units and quantities. A cost estimate puts a money value on them. The method is explained in how to calculate house construction cost.
Can I use a sample BOQ from the internet?
This is practice. Use it for the layout only. The items and quantities must come from your own drawings. Many online samples include rates, which may not apply to your city, your date or your specification.
Does a BOQ show the quality of the work?
Partly. Each item description should name its material and workmanship, as the older standard asks: the items must “fully describe the materials and workmanship.” The full standard of work is in the specification and the drawings.
Related guides
- How to calculate house construction cost: the method, step by step
- Choosing a building contractor for your house: questions and checks
- How painting area is measured: IS 1200 door, window and grill factors
- How excavation is measured: trench volume, working space, lead, lift
This guide is general information. Read the disclaimer. Your engineer and architect decide the quantities and the specification for your house.
Sources
- IS 1200 (Part 1):1992, Method of measurement of building and civil engineering works: Earthwork, Fourth Revision. Clauses 2.1 and 2.5 read. Withdrawn per the BIS record; the current 2026 edition was not read, so the older wording is quoted by name.
- IS 1200 (Part 2):1974, Method of measurement of building and civil engineering works: Concrete works. Clause 2.3 read. Withdrawn per the BIS record; the current 2025 edition was not read, so the older wording is quoted by name.
- Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure, Manual for Procurement of Works, updated June 2022: sections 3.2.1 (iv) and (v) and 3.2.2 (i). A central government manual; it does not bind private homes.
- CPWD Works Manual 2022, definitions section (copy on the NDMC website). The manual does not define what a bill of quantities contains.
- IPR (Gandhinagar) item-rate tender form, contract IPR/TN/CIVIL-PR/03/2022: column headings and two notes read. Used as one example of a tender form, not as a rule.
Change log
- : Added Related guides link to newly published article(s): how-painting-area-is-measured-for-doors-windows-and-grills-is-1200-part-15-coefficients, how-excavation-for-a-house-foundation-is-measured-trench-volume-working-space-lead-and-lift. No other text changed. Approved by the reviewing engineer.
General information only. It is not a structural design or professional advice. Ask a licensed structural engineer or architect to check your plans and site.