Standard Sequences

Last reviewed 9 September 20262,518 words11 min read

Reference logic: structure, envelope, MEP rough-in, finishes, externals

🟩 In one line: Most construction logic is the same job to job — the sequences below are the reference set to build from and adapt, not to copy blind. A typical 800 m² floor plate runs an 7-day structural cycle, MEP first fix starting 2 floors below the pour, and finishes starting 4–6 floors below that.

👤 Who this is for: Juniors building their first floor cycle; mid-level planners starting a new sector; anyone checking whether a subcontractor's logic is sane. You should know relationship-types-explained and hard-logic-vs-soft-logic.

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First, let's be honest about why this page exists

Every planner rebuilds the same logic from scratch, badly, on their first job in a new sector — and then defends it for two years. The physical sequences are settled. What varies is durations, zone sizes and how many trades you can stack.

Use these as a starting network; get the site team to break them. The value is in the arguments the sequence provokes, not in the sequence itself.

🟨 The standard — what "good" looks like

Source	Relevance
FIDIC 2017 Cl 8.3 / NEC3–4 Cl 31.2	Programme must show the order of operations and method — the sequence is the deliverable
AACE RP 38R-06	Method and sequence documented in the schedule basis
SCL Protocol 2nd ed., Part B	Programme should be supported by a method statement consistent with the logic
GAO Schedule Assessment Guide, Best Practice 2	Sequencing should reflect how the work will actually be executed

🟢 Rule to remember: build the sequence, then walk it with the superintendent. Every link they can't explain is one you'll defend badly later.

How it actually works

1. Substructure

#	Activity	Predecessor	Link	Typical duration, 1,000 m² footprint
1	Site setup, hoarding, temp facilities	Site possession	FS	10–20 d
2	Enabling — dewatering, shoring, piling mat	1	FS	10–15 d
3	Piling	2	FS	Rate-based; 6–12 piles/day/rig
4	Pile cropping and testing	3	SS+5 / FF+3	5–10 d
5	Bulk excavation	3	FS (or SS if top-down)	3–8 d per 1,000 m³ with 2 machines
6	Blinding	5	FS (or SS+2 by zone)	2–4 d
7	Pile cap / raft rebar & formwork	6, 4	FS	5–15 d
8	Raft pour	7	FS	1–2 d per pour
9	Waterproofing & protection	8	FS + curing	3–7 d
10	Backfill	9	FS	3–5 d

Curing is an activity on a 7-day calendar, never a lag.

2. Superstructure — typical floor cycle

#	Activity	Predecessor	Link	Duration (800–1,200 m² plate)
1	Column/wall rebar	Slab below poured + cured	FS	1.5–2 d
2	Column/wall formwork	1	FS	1–1.5 d
3	Column/wall pour	2	FS	0.5 d
4	Column/wall strip	3	FS + cure	1 d
5	Slab formwork & falsework	4	FS	2–2.5 d
6	Slab rebar	5	SS+1 / FF+0.5	2 d
7	Slab MEP cast-in & sleeves	6	SS+1 / FF	1 d
8	Slab pour	6, 7	FS	0.5–1 d
9	Slab curing	8	FS (7-day calendar)	3–7 d
10	Partial strip / re-prop	9	FS	1 d

Cycle benchmarks (add 1–2 days for transfer/podium levels):

Plate size	Formwork system	Realistic cycle
Up to 800 m²	Conventional / table forms	6–7 days
800–1,200 m²	Table forms, 2 sets	7 days
1,200–2,000 m²	Split into 2 pours	7–10 days
Core (jump form)	Slip/jump	3–5 days per lift, runs ahead of slabs by 2–4 floors

Floor-to-floor link: Slab L(n) pour FS Column L(n+1) rebar, with curing between. The soft link is which formwork set goes where — document it.

3. Envelope

#	Activity	Predecessor	Link	Notes
1	Façade shop drawings & approval	Design freeze	FS	30–60 d; usually the hidden critical path
2	Façade procurement & fabrication	1	FS	60–120 d unitised; 90–180 d bespoke
3	Bracket installation	Slab L(n) stripped	FS	Starts 3–5 floors below top pour
4	Unitised panel installation	3, 2 delivery	FS	8–15 panels/day/crew
5	Weathertight per zone	4	FF	The gate for internal finishes
6	Sealant & glazing snagging	4	SS+10	—
7	Roof waterproofing	Roof slab cured	FS	—

Weathertight is the single most important milestone in a building programme. Everything internal keys off it, and it's the one date site teams underestimate.

4. MEP rough-in (first fix)

#	Activity	Predecessor	Link	Notes
1	Riser and shaft services	Slab L(n) stripped, core complete	FS	Runs ahead of floor work
2	Overhead containment (tray, trunking)	Slab L(n) stripped	FS	Starts 2 floors below top pour
3	Ductwork installation	2	FS or SS+3	Largest item goes first
4	Pipework — chilled water, drainage	3	SS+3	—
5	Electrical conduit & cable pulling	4	SS+3	—
6	Fire protection pipework	4	SS+2	—
7	Blockwork / partitions	2 (or in parallel by zone)	—	Coordinate: services in walls after framing, before boarding
8	In-wall first fix	7	FS	—
9	MEP first fix inspection	5, 6, 8	FS	Gate before closing anything

Rule of thumb: overhead services start 2 floors below the top pour; nothing closes until first-fix inspection signs off. The ceiling-void order is containment → duct → pipe → cable → sprinkler, largest and least flexible first.

5. Finishes — typical floor

#	Activity	Predecessor	Link	Duration/floor
1	Blockwork	Slab stripped, weathertight zone	FS	10–15 d
2	MEP in-wall first fix	1	FS	4–6 d
3	Plaster / render	2	FS	8–12 d
4	Screed	3	SS+3	4–6 d + curing
5	Ceiling grid	3, MEP first fix inspection	FS	5–8 d
6	Wall tiling (wet areas)	3, waterproofing	FS	6–10 d
7	Floor tiling / finishes	4 cured	FS	8–12 d
8	Second fix MEP (fittings, devices)	5	FS	6–10 d
9	Doors & joinery	7	FS	4–8 d
10	Painting — first coat	3	SS after 5	6–10 d
11	Ceiling tiles / closure	8 tested	FS	3–5 d
12	Final paint	9, 11	FS	4–6 d
13	Sanitaryware & fittings	6, 12	FS	3–5 d
14	Cleaning & snagging	13	FS	3–5 d

Finishes floors typically start 4–6 floors below the top pour and run at 1 floor per 3–4 weeks per crew set. Use SS+FF pairs for overlaps — never SS alone (dangling-activities).

6. Externals and infrastructure

#	Activity	Predecessor	Notes
1	Deep services (drainage, water, ducting)	Backfill complete, building out of the way	Sequence away from the building
2	Substation & authority connections	1	Long authority lead — start early
3	Sub-base and kerbs	1	—
4	Hardstanding / base course	3	—
5	Hoist and crane dismantle	Building envelope complete	The classic forgotten critical activity
6	Final wearing course	5, site clear	Must be after heavy traffic ends
7	Landscaping and irrigation	6	—
8	Site clearance and demobilisation	7	—

7. Testing, commissioning and handover

#	Activity	Predecessor	Notes
1	Static / pre-commissioning checks by system	System installation complete	System-based, not floor-based
2	Permanent power energisation	Substation, authority approval	Often the critical constraint
3	Functional testing by system	1, 2	—
4	Integrated systems testing (ISFT)	3 all systems	Cause-and-effect, BMS, fire
5	Authority inspections (civil defence, municipality)	4	Sequence with buffer — re-inspection is common
6	Client witness testing	4	—
7	Punch list / snagging clearance	6	—
8	O&M manuals, as-builts, training	3	Runs parallel; often late
9	Taking-Over / Substantial Completion	5, 6, 7, 8	—

Commissioning logic is by system, not by floor — this is the switch most building planners get wrong (commissioning-and-handover-planning).

Standing offsets to sanity-check any building programme:

Relationship	Typical offset
Core ahead of slabs	2–4 floors
MEP overhead below top pour	2 floors
Façade below top pour	3–5 floors
Finishes below top pour	4–6 floors
Weathertight before finishes in a zone	Gate, not an offset
Energisation before functional testing	4–8 weeks of authority process

🟥 Where people go wrong

Copying the floor cycle without checking the formwork set count. A 7-day cycle on 3 towers needs 3 sets or 21-day effective cycles. The cycle is a resource statement as much as a sequence.

Starting finishes before weathertight. The bars look great, the site floods in the first November rain, and the plaster is redone. Weathertight is a hard gate per zone; model it as a milestone with FS successors.

Sequencing commissioning by floor. Chilled water is one system across 30 floors. Floor-based commissioning logic produces a programme that can't be executed and a handover date nobody believes.

Forgetting hoist and crane dismantle. It sits between envelope completion and final external finishes, takes 5–15 days, needs road closure and often authority permits, and it lands on the critical path in month 30 every time.

Treating curing as a lag. FS+7 on an 8-hour, 6-day calendar isn't 7 calendar days. Curing is an activity on a 7-day calendar (calendar-on-relationship-lag).

Ignoring authority lead times in the Gulf. Civil defence approval, municipality inspection, DEWA/SEC-type energisation — these have real durations measured in weeks and their own re-submission cycles. Put them in the network with realistic durations, not as 1-day milestones.

Building the sequence alone. The site team knows that Zone C can't take a crane and the podium transfer costs 10 extra days. Walk it with them before you baseline.

⚖️ When you're challenged

"Your floor cycle is 7 days — the client wants 5." "Five is achievable on a plate under 700 m² with two full table sets and a jump-formed core. Ours is 1,050 m² with one set. Two sets is a cost and a lead time; if the client instructs it we'll re-sequence and price it."

"Why can't finishes start on Level 3 while you're pouring Level 8?" "They can, and they do — the programme starts finishes 5 floors below the top pour. What they can't start before is façade weathertight in that zone, which is Level 3 in week 62. That's the gate."

"Commissioning shows 14 weeks. That's too long." "It's 4 weeks of static checks, 4 weeks of functional testing by system, 3 weeks of integrated testing and 3 weeks of authority inspection with one re-inspection allowance. Remove the re-inspection allowance and it's 11 — but the first civil defence pass rarely clears in one visit."

📄 Related pages

Construction Sequencing and Method — turning a method statement into logic
Hard Logic vs Soft Logic — which of these links you can change
High rise and buildings — the sector playbook in full
Commissioning and Handover Planning — the system-based end game
Calendar on Relationship Lag — why curing isn't a lag
Crew and Manhour Formulas — the durations behind these bars
Site Logistics in the Schedule — cranes, hoists, laydown
Procurement and Long-Lead Items — façade and MEP lead times

✏️ Worked example

A 24-storey residential tower in Dubai, 950 m² plate, one table-form set, jump-formed core. Key offsets from the baseline:

Milestone	Floor	Week from start	Offset from top pour
Core jump form at L24	24	62	+3 floors ahead of slabs
Slab L24 pour (topping out)	24	66	—
Façade bracket start	L4	42	5 floors below (top pour L9)
Façade weathertight L4	4	47	—
MEP overhead start L4	4	40	2 floors below (top pour L6)
Blockwork start L4	4	48	After weathertight
Finishes complete L4	4	62	—
Finishes complete L24	24	88	22 weeks after topping out
Energisation	—	84	Authority lead 6 weeks from application wk 78
ISFT complete	—	92	—
Taking Over	—	96	—

Structure took 66 weeks; the last 30 weeks were envelope, finishes and commissioning. The tail is a third of the job and it's the part most tender programmes compress to nothing.

📖 References

FIDIC 2017 Cl 8.3 (check the edition in your contract); NEC3 / NEC4 ECC Cl 31.2
AACE RP 38R-06, Documenting the Schedule Basis
SCL Delay and Disruption Protocol, 2nd ed. (2017), Part B Guidance
GAO, Schedule Assessment Guide (GAO-16-89G), Best Practice 2

From the field

Experience from working planners. Unreviewed — read it as experience, not guidance.

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