BOQ format
How to quote false ceiling work
What belongs on a false ceiling BOQ, why the peripheral band is measured in running feet while the field is in square feet, and where the area gets disputed.
The unit
Square foot of ceiling area for the field, running foot for the band
Two units in one work type. The flat field is sqft; the peripheral drop, cove or step is rft because it is priced by its length, not its plan area.
What the BOQ breaks into
| Line | Unit | Why it is its own line |
|---|---|---|
| Plain ceiling | sqft | The flat field, including framing. |
| Peripheral band / cove | rft | Priced by length. Depth of drop changes the rate. |
| Steps / drops | rft | Each level is its own run. |
| Light cutouts | nos | Per cutout. A ceiling with forty spots is not the same job as one with six. |
| Service openings | nos | AC grilles, access panels. |
| Finishing | sqft | Jointing, taping and punning before paint — say if paint is excluded. |
The specs that decide the rate
- Board type
- Gypsum board, POP, or a grid system. Different labour, different repairability, different price.
- Frame specification
- GI section gauge and spacing. Invisible once closed, and the reason a ceiling sags in three years.
- Whether paint is included
- Ceilings are quoted both ways. If it is excluded, the client will assume it is included.
Plan area and developed area are not the same ceiling
A ceiling with a stepped perimeter has more surface than its floor plan. Quote the flat field on plan area and the drops as separate running-foot lines, rather than inflating a single sqft figure to cover both — the second is impossible for a client to check and reads as padding when they try.
To put numbers against this, the false ceiling cost calculator works it out from your own rates. Nothing is stored.
Houscade writes this breakdown for you, room by room, and the client approves it on their phone. See a real quotation.