Quantity surveyor in Judea and Samaria: building in the hill areas, and what it changes in the bill of quantities
A quantity surveyor in Judea and Samaria, an engineer or a registered building technician like Yaakov Avital, meets a building mix that differs from the other districts: according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 46% of the dwellings whose construction started in the area in 2024 were in buildings with one or two dwellings, the highest share of any district. The hill areas have limestone, dolomite and chalk, and the verified information on concrete plants and waste sites in the area has a gap, which this page states openly.
Building in Judea and Samaria according to the CBS
The towns of the area include Modi'in Illit, Beitar Illit, Ma'ale Adumim, Ariel and Giv'at Ze'ev, and alongside them local councils such as Efrat, Kiryat Arba and Karnei Shomron. In 2024 construction started in the area on 1,092 dwellings, less than half of the 2,234 in 2023, and about 60% fewer than the 2,724 in 2022.
| Item | Dwellings | Share of starts |
|---|---|---|
| Construction starts, total | 1,092 | |
| of which in buildings with one or two dwellings | 498 | 46% |
| of which in buildings with three or more dwellings | 580 | 53% |
| of which additions to existing buildings | 14 | 1% |
| Construction completed | 2,026 | |
| Under active construction at year end | 4,920 |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2025, Table 20.6 (dwellings by stage of construction, district and type of building); 2024 data are preliminary. The percentages are calculated from the 1,092 starts in the area and rounded.
One more figure: in 2024 construction was completed on 2,026 dwellings in the area, almost twice the number of starts. For the bill of quantities (BOQ), the main meaning is the mix: almost half of the starts are private houses, with a BOQ built around a single homeowner, and alongside them there are apartment buildings with a full contractor BOQ.
A private house in the hill areas: what a quantity surveyor in Judea and Samaria checks
The hill areas have limestone, dolomite and chalk, and the first two also have karst. What matters for a private house: chalk weakens when it stays wet for a long time, and the flint inside it is hard and wears down the drill bit, according to a soil (geotechnical) report published in the hill country. In karstic limestone and on sites with limited access, micropiles are common.
For a private house this comes down to a simple question: what happens when the excavator meets rock. A contractor who prices without an answer will build the risk into the price, or ask for an extra in the middle of the works. A well-organised BOQ gives the question a place: a rock excavation item, or an extra-over item for rock, added to the excavation rate, with an estimated quantity; void filling that is measured during construction; and a micropile alternative when access to the plot is narrow. Because chalk is sensitive to water, it is worth checking the drainage items around the foundations too, and on a sloping plot, the retaining walls in the external works chapter.
In the end, what decides is the soil report for the plot, not experience from another house in the same locality. The structure of a BOQ for a house is on the BOQ for a private house page, and the soils on the soil types in Israel page.
Concrete and waste: what is missing from the verified information
I found no verified list of concrete plants for the Judea and Samaria area. The list of construction waste sites from the Solid Waste Treatment Division, published on the website of the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality and updated to 9 February 2019, has no site in the area either. That does not mean there are none, only that there is no verified source for them. So a quantity surveyor in Judea and Samaria checks both points with people on the ground:
- With the contractor or the concrete supplier: which plant the concrete will come from and what the delivery includes. The answer is recorded in the BOQ as an assumption.
- With the local council: which licensed site takes construction waste and surplus soil. An approved landfill for mixed waste may also accept construction waste.
- With the site itself: a current written quote. I found no official publication of prices by region, and Israel's State Comptroller (a July 2025 report on municipal waste) found gaps of up to about 300% in landfill entry fees.
The disposal item records the site, the distance and the gate fee as a marked assumption. For the national picture: according to the Research and Information Center of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, at the end of 2021 there were 35 construction waste sites operating in Israel, 3 for landfill, 10 for recycling and 22 for both.
Missing information is a fact in itself. When there is no verified source for a distance or a price, the BOQ does not assume zero. It writes down the assumption, marks it and updates it when an answer arrives.
Registered contractor, supervision and safety: what to ask for in writing
The sources below describe the rules in Israel. For a project in Judea and Samaria, it is worth checking with the local council and the designers how they apply to it. Before the work starts, you should have in hand:
- Proof of the contractor's registration. The registration and the classification are in the open database of the Registrar of Contractors. The basis is the Registration of Contractors for Engineering Construction Works Law, 5729-1969: such works are carried out only by a registered contractor, within the scope and classification set for them.
- The works manager's name and the notice of appointment. A works manager manages the construction directly and constantly, and the regional labour inspector is notified of the appointment, under the Safety at Work Regulations (Construction Work), 5748-1988, as set out on the government services website.
- Work-at-height certificates for the workers. The certificate is issued after training by a work-at-height instructor and is valid for two years at most, and without it a worker may not be employed at height: this is under the Safety at Work Regulations (Work at Height), 5767-2007, as the Israel Institute for Occupational Safety and Hygiene explains.
- The site safety officer's details. Regulation 2A, which deals with a safety officer at a construction site, has been in force since 16 October 2026. According to the Institute's 2026 summary, the officer needs, among other things, at least two years of experience; the full text is worth reading.
- A contract with the site supervisor. A site supervisor you hire for full-time supervision or construction review fills a different role from design supervision (pikuach elyon), which the Engineers and Architects Regulations (Licensing and Reserved Activities), 5727-1967, reserve for licensed engineers and licensed architects in the case of residential buildings, except for a simple structure (according to the explanation of the Division for the Regulation of Occupations of 25 August 2021). The supervisor's contract states exactly what is included.
How the roles on site are divided is covered on the construction site safety page.
About me
I am Yaakov Avital. I completed a course for work-at-height instructors (2020) and a course in detecting building defects, I hold professional liability insurance, and I work from drawings and models all over the country. Information about the service is on the quantity surveyor for construction projects page, and about the Jerusalem District on the quantity surveyor in Jerusalem page.
Frequently asked questions
Are there concrete plants and waste sites in the area?
There is no verified source for that: I found no verified list of plants in the area, and the list of waste sites dated 9 February 2019 has no site in the area. So I ask the contractor, the supplier and the local council, and record the answers in the BOQ as assumptions.
What is the difference between design supervision and a site supervisor?
The regulations reserve design supervision for licensed engineers and licensed architects, except for a simple structure. A site supervisor who works for the homeowner, in full-time supervision or construction review, fills a different role, and its scope is set in the contract.
Does a quantity surveyor in Judea and Samaria need to know the plot?
The plot is known through the soil report, the survey plan and the external works plan. The BOQ itself is built mainly from drawings and models, so the work on it does not depend on location.
Have a project? Tell me briefly what the project is and what already exists. When the project is a good fit, I usually reply with focused questions and a written quote.
Contact me for a quote* Created with AI for marketing, for illustration only. Not reviewed by Yaakov Avital and not professional advice. Every project must be checked on its own by a professional quantity surveyor and an engineer.