Taking-off Measurement for the Foundation

Taking-off Measurements

Estimating costs for particular construction work can be divided into categories as follows.

1. Method of construction
2. Detail drawings
3. Measurements
4. Specification of materials
5. Availability of material and market price
6. Quantity (Labour and Material)
7. Transport and operational expenses

Measurements are one of the most important parts in estimating the construction cost.  Estimate the materials, labor, transport, or whatever the expenses are prior to the quantities gathered from the drawings. Therefore, quantities must be very accurate to estimate the construction cost.

Taking-off measurement is called the process of recording dimensions in a standard way which is accepted by construction professionals. It is done in a particular sheet called TDS. Taking-off measurements and estimating the project quantities are time-consuming, but it is required to be done. Because to reduce errors and give a rational elucidation for the estimated quantity whenever necessary. The measurements entered are should be accurate while being clear and readable for others.

In this article, we will discuss how we take measurements for excavation work for the foundation in a building.

Foundation Detail

Foundation Layout

According to the given details in the drawings, we can find the centerline girth of the building.

Horizontal Lengths          = 3 x 20’-0” + 2 x 10’-0”

                                         = 60’=0” + 20’-0”

                                         = 80’-0”

Vertical Lengths              = 3 x 20’-0” + 2 x 12’-0”

                                         = 60’-0” + 24’-0”

                                         = 84’-0”

Centerline Girth            = 80’-0” + 84’-0”

                                        = 164’-0”

Let’s find the excavation volume of the rubble foundation with the following steps;

Excavation for Rubble Foundation            = 164’-0” x 1’-6” x 2’-0”

                                                                   = 492 Cu.ft

Ddt

For Column bases            = 8 x 3’-0” x 3’-0” x 2’-0”

                                         = (144 Cu.ft)

Therefore Total excavation for Rubble Foundation = 492 Cu.ft – 144 Cu.ft

                                                                                                    = 348 Cu.ft

                                                                                                   = 3.48 Cube

                                                                                                   = 9.85 m3

Excavation for Column Bases      = 8 x 3’-0” x 3’-0” x 3’-0”

                                                      = 216 Cu.ft

Total Excavation Work for the foundation of the Building = 348 Cu.ft + 216 Cu.ft

                                                                                                                = 564 Cu.ft

                                                                                                                = 5.64 Cube

                                                                                                                = 15.96 m3

                                      

Material Calculation for Concrete Mixing Designs

Introduction to Concrete

Concrete is an artificial stone which we used in construction. Concrete can be divided into two main categories as follows;

1. Mass Concrete
2. RCC Concrete

The only different between Mass concrete and RCC concrete is reinforcement. The mass concretes are designed without reinforcement while RCC concrete are designed with considerable reinforcement. The mass concrete are not being used as structural concrete. It is only used for leveling & as ground floor slabs and may be as some other architectural designs.

The concrete is basically made with cement, sand, metal and water to mix them together. The metal used for increasing the volume and also to give a considerable strength to the concrete. The sand used to fill the rest of the void which cannot be filled with metal. The cement is used in concrete will make these components attached well together with the jelly kind of thing that they produce in the mixing. Again the cement will make sure to fill other micro small voids which the sand cannot go through. 

Density of Cement  = 1440 kg/m3

Density of Sand      =  1920 kg/m3 

Density of Metal     = 1800 kg/m3

How to Find the cement, sand & metal quantities used in different type of  concrete mixing designs.

Calculations are based on the following assumption;

• Sand includes 15% wastage
• Cement Included 5% wastage
• No wastage includes for metal
• Contribution of the sand 65% per 1m3 of concrete by volume
• Contribution of metal 85%  per 1m3 of concrete by volume
• Contribution of cement 2% per 1m3 of concrete by volume

Nominal Mixing Designs

1. G15 (C:S:M = 1:3:6)
2. G20 (C:S:M = 1:2:4)
3. G25 (C:S:M = 1:1 1/2:3)
4. G30 (C:S:M = 1:1:2)

Contribution of material for 1 m3 of concrete = Sand 65% + Metal 85% + Cement 2%

                                                                          = 152 %

                                                                          = 1.52 m3

This means (1.52m3) to produce a 1m3 of solid concrete requires a 1.52 m3 of the actual quantity of the above material.

Hence, we can find the required material for the different type of concrete.

Required Material for G15 Concrete

1. G15 (C:S:M = 1:3:6)

Cement  = 1/10 = 0.1

Sand      = 3/10 = 0.3

Metal     = 6/10 = 0.6

Number of 50 kg cement bags per 1m3 = 0.1 x 1.52 m3 / Volume of cement bag

                                                             = 0.152 / 0.035

                                                             = 4.343 

                                                             = 4.343 x 1.05 

                                                             = 4.560 Nr

Therefore required number of cement bags per 1Cu = 4.56 x 2.83 Nr

                                                                                   = 12.91 Bags

                                                    Say Nr of Bags      = 13 Nos

 Required amount of Sand = 0.3 x 1.52 Cu 

                                           = 0.456 Cu

                                           = 0.456 x 1.15 Cu

                                           = 0.525 Cu

Say Required Amount of Sand      = 0.53 Cu

 Required amount of Metal = 0.6 x 1.52 Cu 

                                            = 0.912 Cu

Say Required Amount of Metal      = 0.91 Cu

Required material for G20 Concrete

2. G20 (C:S:M = 1:2:4)

Cement  = 1/7 = 0.14

Sand      = 2/7 = 0.29

Metal     = 4/7 = 0.57

Number of 50 kg cement bags per 1m3 = 0.14 x 1.52 m3 / Volume of cement bag

                                                             = 0.21 / 0.035

                                                             = 6.00 

                                                             = 6.00 x 1.05 

                                                             = 6.30 Nr

Therefore required number of cement bags per 1Cu = 6.30 x 2.83 Nr

                                                                                   = 17.83 Bags

                                                    Say Nr of Bags      = 18 Nos

 Required amount of Sand = 0.28 x 1.52 Cu 

                                           = 0.43 Cu

                                           = 0.43 x 1.15 Cu

                                           = 0.50 Cu

Say Required Amount of Sand      = 0.50 Cu

 Required amount of Metal = 0.571 x 1.52 Cu 

                                            = 0.87 Cu

Say Required Amount of Metal      = 0.87 Cu

Required material for G25 Concrete

3. G25 (C:S:M = 1:1.5:3)

Cement  = 1/5.5 = 0.18

Sand      = 1.5/5.5 = 0.27

Metal     = 3/5.5 = 0.55

Number of 50 kg cement bags per 1m3 = 0.18 x 1.52 m3 / Volume of cement bag

                                                             = 0.27 / 0.035

                                                             = 7.71 

                                                             = 7.71 x 1.05 

                                                             = 8.1 Nr

Therefore required number of cement bags per 1Cu = 8.1 x 2.83 Nr

                                                                                   = 22.92 Bags

                                                    Say Nr of Bags      = 23 Nos

 Required amount of Sand = 0.27 x 1.52 Cu 

                                           = 0.41 Cu

                                           = 0.41 x 1.15 Cu

                                           = 0.47 Cu

Say Required Amount of Sand      = 0.47 Cu

 Required amount of Metal = 0.55 x 1.52 Cu 

                                            = 0.836 Cu

Say Required Amount of Metal      = 0.87 Cu

Required material for G30 Concrete

4. G30 (C:S:M = 1:1:2)

Cement  = 1/4 = 0.25

Sand      = 1/4 = 0.25

Metal     = 3/5.5 = 0.50

Number of 50 kg cement bags per 1m3 = 0.25 x 1.52 m3 / Volume of cement bag

                                                             = 0.38 / 0.035

                                                             = 10.86 

                                                             = 10.86 x 1.05 

                                                             = 11.40 Nr

Therefore required number of cement bags per 1Cu = 11.40 x 2.83 Nr

                                                                                   = 32.26 Bags

                                                    Say Nr of Bags      = 31 Nos

 Required amount of Sand = 0.25 x 1.52 Cu 

                                           = 0.38 Cu

                                           = 0.38 x 1.15 Cu

                                           = 0.437 Cu

Say Required Amount of Sand      = 0.44 Cu

 Required amount of Metal = 0.50 x 1.52 Cu 

                                            = 0.76 Cu

Say Required Amount of Metal      = 0.76 Cu

Please go through the below link to survey form.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfEaESLCOB1f1RjUpi0QpBp_bAKKhLTgqcqLlBaFSZm5ITH1A/viewform?c=0&w=1&usp=mail_form_link

Actual Project Cost

How to Track the Actual Cost in a Construction Project

Tracking the actual cost of a construction project is very hard unless there is a proper cost tracking system. In a construction project, the cost can be divided into categories as follows;

1. Material Cost
2. Labor Cost
3. Tools & Equipment Cost
4. Transport Cost
5. Operational Cost (Accommodation, Electricity, Water, Sanitary, Safety, etc.)
6. Overheads such as employee salaries, main office operation, etc.
7. Legal cost
8. Tax's

There may be more cost to it than above based on the business setup and how it operates.

Project Management Team

The main objective of this team is to set an appropriate and executable construction timeline for the project. It should contain all necessary items that cover the whole project within the project timeline. The field experience and knowledge of the different types of construction methods will be very important in this regard. The project management team should often contact the engineering team to discuss that the timeline they provide is executable with the actual site condition.

Quantity Surveying Team

After finalizing the timeline by the project management team, a copy of that should be given along the each team of the project. Therefore, once the project timeline handed over the quantity surveying division they must prepare the material, labor, tools & equipment, transport items are required prior to the timeline. This report should be given to the project purchasing team and the accounting team.

Purchasing Team

Looking into this report issued by the QS team, purchasing team can have a premature idea of the material and labor and other items to be available in the site prior to the timeline. Therefore, they have enough time to contact suppliers and discuss the prices and deliver them without having a delay.

Accounts Team

Same as purchasing team, the accounts team can realize the expenses to be made with the timeline. They can make the cash flow for the project stages wise of the project.

Engineering Team

The engineering team is the most important team in the project. Because they are the ones who actually execute the project. If they do not follow the instructions are given to them, the project will be unsuccessful.      


How to track Actual Cost

When ordering material or service for a particular work, it is necessary to make a material or service requesting note by an authorized person before purchasing the materials or services. Then these request orders will be recorded under purchasing team of the project. Then they make the purchasing of material or services according request order. Once the good received note or service received note arrives from the supplier, we should make the manual Good Received Note (GRN) or Service Received Note (SRN) for the work and record it. This should be done under the financial management team of the project.

Therefore, all the departments have to work as a team to track the actual project cost. If any mistake happens, this system can show it directly who is responsible for the mistake so everyone will have to work properly and accurately.

Advantages of having a proper cost tracking system

•            Figure out the Actual Profit.
•            Figure out the Actual Project Cost.
•            Increase the knowledge about the project in each department.
•            Figure out the financial status in the progress of the project.
•            Figure out the errors in quotations & estimations.
•            For a similar type of future project cost realization.

Rate Analysis for Excavation Work

Excavation Cost & Rate

Rate analysis for excavation work is comparatively easy to establish because it does not require a material analysis. Therefore, we only have to consider the Labour and Equipment cost to determine the rate of excavation work. Generally excavation can be done by handheld tools such as hoes, shovels & etc. or using excavator machine. Depending on the work, we need to decide the method we should go with.

In this article, we are going to discuss the rate analysis for manual excavation using handheld tools. Assume we have to dig a pit for a particular column footing size of 900mm in width and 900mm in length and 1000mm in depth. First thing is we have to investigate the soil type of the site to determine what are the necessary tasks to be undertaken to complete the work properly. Such works can be as follows.

• Shoring
• Working Space
• Dewatering
• Rock required blasting

Assume we need a considerable working space of 150mm for each side to get the work done. Then, the practical excavation size of footing is 1200mm width & 1200mm length and 1000mm depth.

Actual excavation volume as per the drawings;

Volume (Actual) = 0.90 m x 0.90 m x 1.00 m
                      = 0.81 m3

Practical volume to be excavated is;

Volume (Practical) = 1.20 m x 1.20 m x 1.00 m
                      = 1.44 m3 

Assume that 0.50 days required to excavate 1m3 volume using one unskilled labourer. Say the rate for unskilled labourer per day is Rs.1,500.

Therefore, the labour cost of excavation for the given work is;

Labour Cost = 1.44 m3 x (0.50 days / 1m3) x (Rs. 1,500 / 1day)
                     = Rs.1,080

Assume Tools & Equipment Cost = 5% of Labour Cost
                                                       = 0.05 x Rs.1,080
                                                       = Rs.54

Total Basic Cost = Labour Cost + Tools & Equipment Cost
                           = Rs.1,080 + Rs.54
                           = Rs.1,134

Now let's add Overheads & Profit 20%

Therefore, Total with OH & P 20% = Rs.1,134 /(100%/(100%-20%)
                                                          = Rs.1,292.50


After calculating the total cost with OH & P, we have to find the rate for excavation work. In this step, we need to be very careful enough that the total to be divided by the actual volume which is according to drawings. (Should refer the preamble notes in the tender)

Rate for Excavation Work per 1m3 = (Total with OH & P) / Volume (Actual)

                                                         = Rs.1,292.50 / 0.81m3

                                                         = Rs.1595.68/m3

Tender Documents - (Bidding Documents)

Generally tender documents consist with the following sub documents stated below.

• Instruction to Tenderers
• Form of Tender
• Articles of Agreement
• General Conditions of Contract
• Special Conditions of Contract
• Specimen Forms
• List of Drawings
• General Specification
• Particular Specification
• General Notes
• Bills of Quantities
• Schedule of Rates
• Appendix

Instruction to Bidders/ Tenderers

The Scope of Bid :- Brief description about the project including construction period indicated in the contract.

Source of Funds :- Means of the finance stated in the contract.

Qualification of the Bidders :- Tenderers must submit the required qualification and legal status and other relevant documents asked by the client's consultant and those who do not comply with the required qualifications will be rejected.

Bidding Cost :- All costs involve with the bidding to the contractor shall be borne by the contractor himself with no claim by the client.

Site Visit :- It is Contractor's responsibility to visit the site and examine all necessary cost and requirement to be fulfilled with the project and submit them accordingly. No allowance will be given to the contractor to carry out these works and bidders shall bear the site visiting and investigation expenses on their own.

Bidding Document :- These are the document listed under the first paragraph of this article.

Clarification of Bidding Documents :- Tenderers must inform if there are any doubts about the designs, drawings, specification, etc.. and clarify it with the client's representative appointed in the contract. Bidders should inform it prior to the deadline of the tender and no later than the given period in the contract.

Preparation of Bid :- Language of the bid, Currency of Bid & payment, Validity period of Bid, Bid Security, Bid Prices, Documents of the Bid, etc. should be provided.        

• Language of the Bid

          All the documents to be submitted by the stated language in the contract.

• Currency of Bid & Payment

          The bidders should quote the tender rates and prices prior to the currency stated in the contract

• Bid Validity 

          Bidders should indicate the validity period of the bid with the quotation.

• Bid Secuirity

Client can ask to provide a bid security by the tenderers together with their tender from a bank draft or guarantee from a reputed bank in the state. It is a must to provide this guarantee with the tender otherwise bid will be rejected.

Pre-Bid Meeting :- Bidders will be invited by the client to meet them and discuss their doubts and clarify them with the consultant of  the client. Bidders can raise their questions about specifications, drawings, design and whichever things regarding the tender document and clarify it with the consultant. Meeting minutes will be issued to all the tenderers stating all changes of the specifications, drawings, design, etc.. whichever decision  made as a result of the meeting as soon as possible. Anyway absence for the pre-bid meeting will not cause to disqualification of a tenderer.    

Condition of Contract - (Preambles)

Preambles

Preamble notes are one of the most important parts in a tender. It is necessary to discuss the preamble notes when pricing the tender. In preambles, we have all the information and guidelines about the rates and specification. Generally preamble notes contain the general specification of the construction work under each item and how the rate should be established.

Example:

B.1 Excavation & Earthwork

Rate Shall include for:-

• Levelling Bottom of Trenches
• Backfilling with selected excavated material and consolidation
• Dewatering including pumping out water up to the nearest manhole
• Disposal of surplus excavated material away from premises
• Bulking after excavation
• Necessary Shoring and shuttering
• Working space if required only net areas are considered for measurement
• Cost of testing materials and samples to establish to specifications               

B.3 Concrete Work

Unless otherwise stated all concrete shall be:-

1. Grade 20 (3/4" minimum aggregate size)
2. All concrete shall be so cast as to receive only that finishing on it's exposed as specified in the respective items.
3. All concrete shall be made dense with vibrator and finished with monolithic to receive tiles, granite etc. The type and stability which shall be agreed with the consultant prior to commencement of concerning of each item.

Rates shall include for the plant for mixing, handling, hoisting, depositing compacting, vibrating, curing making good after removal of formwork and any test establish the compliances with specification whatever necessary.

Likewise, we will have a set of notes under each work of how the pricing must be done in the quotation. Therefore, it is essential to refer the preamble notes carefully enough where we have all the details to price the tender.

Conditions of Contract - 1

Provisional Sum (PS)

In a tender, the provisional sum can be placed due to lack of details of drawings and undefined work at the tender stage where tenderers unable to quote. The provisional sum is decided by the consultant or client's representative with a nominated subcontractor to carry out the work. The contract amount of provisional sum can be adjusted accordingly under engineer's guidelines.

Prime Cost (PC)

Prime cost is when we are pricing a tender, there can be items that have the brand or specification not defined or are the range of material prices which varies with the design and brand. Therefore to complete the tender we use to include the prime cost for those materials that can not be exceeded the price mention mentioning the brand and specification assumed. If the client wishes to exceed the amount given or change the design, he has to pay the increment cost per each unit. Therefore consultant should decide the prime cost of those items are not the minimum price available in the market so client & architect can decide a better material for the above work.

Variation

The term 'variation' as used in these conditions, means the alteration or modification of design, quality or quantity of the work as shown upon the contract drawings and described by or referred to in the specification and includes the additions, omissions or substitution of works.

The price in the contract schedule or rates mentioned in of these conditions shall determine the valuation of all variation as instructed by the consultant in accordance with the contract. All  variation authorized in terms of the contract by the consultant shall be priced by the contractor with the rates given in the schedule of rates. The contractor shall indicate the additional time required for carrying out variations along with his price for additional work.

All variation shall indicate the progress of work shall be noted and checked by the consultant and evaluated only with the contractor's final bill.
 
Therefore, the contractor before making any variation from contract drawings or specification necessitated by compliance with by law shall give to the consultant a written notice specifying and giving the reason for such variation and apply for instruction in reference thereto. If the contractor within seven working days of having applied for the same does not receive such instruction, he shall proceed with the work confirming to the new provision, regulation or by-law in question and any variation thereby necessitated shall deemed to be a variation.

Claim    

The Claim is that the contractor requested by the client to claim time extension or loss of profit and similar situations due to the negligence of work from clients party. The Contractor should inform it to the client in advance by submitting why and how not less than 28 days.

Types of Foundations

There are different types of foundations we use in construction. The selection of foundation type is mainly depending on the loads and the soil condition where the structure going be rested. But if we assume a design for a particular purpose we can calculate the dead load and live load for the structure. But if we are going to build that design in two locations where soil condition is considerably different we will have to use different types of foundations for that structure even the superstructure is the same. Therefore, foundation design always comes with the soil condition at the site.

Foundations are mainly two types that are;

1. Shallow Foundation 
2. Deep Foundation    

Shallow Foundations:

• Strip Footing
• Pad Foundation
• Raft Foundation

Deep Foundation:

• Pile foundations

Strip Footing: These type of foundation applied where soil bearing capacity is very low. So it is required to make the foundation area is wider to reduce the pressure by the building into the soil and spreading it as much as possible. Columns & walls can be rest on these footing. Mostly strip footing required to be reinforced properly. Strip  footing for walls can be made with rubble and bricks as well. 

Pad Foundation: These type of footings use where soil condition is considerably good. Columns of the building going to be supported by these types of foundations. 

Raft Foundation: Rafte foundation is the type of foundation that we build covering the entire area of the building going to be casted with reinforced concrete. Whenever the soil condition is very low and cannot use strip foundation or pad foundation type we will have to use raft foundation. raft foundation is also known as mat foundation. 

Pile foundation:  Foundations that are driven until the bedrock or considerably deep till it finds a better soil condition to have the building rest on it are called pile foundation. There are different types of pile foundations. 

• Bearing piles
• Friction piles
• Bearing & friction piles    

Recommendation: Whenever we design a foundation, we should refer the soil investigation report and loads of the structure. See here    

Forces Applied on Building Structures

There are number of different loads applied on building structures. Therefore when we design a building structure, we should design it such way that all those forces are equally and safely borne by the structure itself. Below the types of loads that we need to analysis when design a structural design for a building, bridge, road, etc.

• Dead Load
• Live Load
• Lateral Loads
• Earth quick Loads
• Construction Loads
• Soil and Hydrostatic Pressure  

Dead Load: The load due to structure itself. It is determined by calculating the weights of beams, columns, slabs, walls, partitions, roofs or whatever the building components is used in a building or in any type of construction.

Live Load:  People, cupboards, beds, books, tables, etc. which is movable or temporary fixed in the building or in any type of construction. for an example in a bridge we can assume maximum traffic that is going to put on by calculating expected amount of vehicles and other types of weights such as billboards, ads, etc. which can be changed time to time. but we have to assume the maximum possible weight and into that we need to add safety factor depending on the building standards.

Lateral Loads: This is also known as wind load. we know wind load is a big problem with the height of a building. According to the wind profile, we must take care of wind load when building going high on the air as it forcing the building.

Earth quick Loads: Also known as seismic loads. The loads or shocks that are due to unexpected movement of ground where the building structure is rested on.

Construction Loads: Loads due to the construction of a building. (storing construction material & plants, temporary structures, etc.) 

Soil & Hydrostatic Pressure: Pressures due to soil condition and ground water that can force the building by any means. We can analysis this by a soil investigation.

   

       

Reinforced Concrete Structures

What is Reinforced Concrete Structures?

Normally concrete being considerably weak where tension is applied. Therefore, where tension is high concrete will get cracks in its structure. It will reduce the expected strength. In this case, we need to improve the tensile strength of the concrete. Tensile strength of concrete can be increased by adding special components that can resist against the tension. As a result of that, we use reinforcements in concrete structures. It is called Reinforced Concrete Structures. Concrete make a very stable bond with these reinforcements. Reinforced concrete structures are equally good in resisting  both the tension and compression forces.

Reinforced concrete structures are the most common use of any type of construction all around the world ever since it's invented due to its strength and other advantages.

What are the advantages of Reinforced Concrete Structures?

• Strength (can be achieved depending on the application)
• Fire resistant
• Can be casted in any desired shape & size
• Cost effective (cheap compared to other structures)
• Easy Maintenance
• Availability
• Chemical resistance up to a considerable extent 

What are the disadvantages of  Reinforced Concrete Structures?

• Can not be recycled (use for land filling)
• Emission of Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
• Concrete Dust

What are the components in Reinforced Concrete Structures?

• Cement
• Fine Aggregate (Sand)
• Coarse Aggregate (Metal)
• Reinforcement
• Water 

Do you know concrete strength can be achieved depending on the application?

Generally buildings consist of floors, beams, columns, slabs, footings, etc. The requirement of the strength of these components may be different due to different forces and requirements applied on each component. In this case, we can analysis the required strength and requirement then make the structure according to the requirement. It can be done with the proportion of mixing the components that have been mentioned above. In the construction field, we call it the grade of concrete. Normally  reinforcement is used for concrete not less than G20 ( C: S: A = 1:2:4). C = Cement, S = Sand, A = Aggregate

Below the most commonly used concrete grades and it's mixing proportions. But for high rise building and skyscrapers requires a much higher strength of concrete.

• G15 = 1:3:6
• G20 = 1:2:4
• G25 = 1:1 1/2: 3
• G30 = 1:1:3      

Note:
G15 mean it's specified compressive strength at 28 days should be 15 N/mm2. If it is G20 it should achieve 20N/mm2.

How to use reinforcement in concrete structures

We should use reinforcement in concrete structures near the surface as possible. Because the tension is more near the surface. But it should have an allocation to pour minimum size of aggregate to make a proper bond. Not only that but also lessen the chemical reaction and exposure to fire at an event of a fire. Therefore in an extreme weather condition and where fire resistant should be a topic, we should have minimum cover space is little bit spacer to reduce the exposure of reinforcement to the environment.





  

Steel Structure Quantity Estimation

It is really very easy to calculate quantities for Steel Structures. Commonly Steel Structures include Steel Columns, Beams, Rafters, Trusses, Haunches, Apex, etc. We can easily calculate the length of these components using a given drawing base on the unit weight and size of each iron to be used.

Note: Unit weight can be different even for the same size of iron where thickness is not the same. Therefore, the price will be changed for each steel since the price of steel base on its weight.

Then we should have a proper idea what are the required amount of steel plates with its thickness, nuts & bolts, washers, welding rods, etc. Most of the time you will be given drawings of each section so you can calculate the required material quantities easily and quickly.

When estimating required amount of welding rods it is necessary to know the total weight of steel structure. In fact in steel structure it is approximately we use 14-16 Kg of welding rods per one ton. Therefore by estimating steel structure weight, we can multiply it by average the (14+16)/2 = 15 to find the required amount of welding rods.

We cannot forget required steel treatment like hot bath galvanizing and steel painting when we estimate the cost of the steel structure. The painting cost also to be included in the BoQ. Since we have estimated the length of steel irons with its sizes, we will be able to calculate the total area of the steel structure. Then what we have to do is to find the painting products base on the description given by the engineer and manufacturers details that how much of an area can be painted by one liter or gallon. so we can find the required amount of paint liters or gallons.

Once we are done with the Material calculations, we have to figure out the Labour, Plant & Equipment and also transportation cost for the above structure. Then we have to add the overheads & profit to take the final figure.

In the next article, I hope to publish cost estimation for steel structure with supporting drawings so you readers can easily understand how it is done.