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Student Key Skill

Brickwork Calculations

Application of Number

The bricklayer will need to understand how to calculate quantities of materials required to carry out an activity. This is an essential skill that is required for basic tasks, ranging from determining the number of bricks to stack out for a particular wall to calculating the total quantities of materials for a whole job (e.g. masonry work to a house extension). This will involve the bricklayer, in the rst instance, in calculating basic dimensions, areas and volumes. Quantities of materials The buyer will generally have the responsibility of taking off and scheduling materials from the bills of quantities or, on smaller jobs, the working drawings. When the site supervisor is given this role, he/she must be careful to ensure that correct quantities and details of quality of materials are extracted from the drawings and specications. Allowances should be made for materials wastage (usually 5%10%). Taking off materials measurements from drawings should be carried out with care to ensure correct dimensions are selected and used in subsequent calculations. The rule in construction measurement is to measure (calculate) the NET quantity from dimensions drawings, and only add a percentage for waste at the ordering stage. Need for accuracy NOTE: It is equally important to avoid under measuring as it is to avoid over measuring; both practices may result in a loss to the contractor, either due to an inadequate price being charged or perhaps the loss of a contract due to an over-expensive estimate.

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Types of calculations Calculations in construction can be associated with different units of measurement: Enumerated one-off items such as chimney pots etc. Linear lengths of materials such as copings etc. Supercial areas of brick/block walls and oors etc. Cubic volume of excavations, concrete etc. Enumerated Many building materials are measured by the number. Chimney pots are counted, as are air bricks, doors and windows. Linear Many building materials are measured by the length. Brick-on-edge is measured by length, e.g. Brick-on-edge on 3 metres length of wall, 215mm wide.
Coping of brick-on-edge measured in linear metres

Height

Length of brickwork

Supercial This is also known as square measurement, because the length and width (or height), are multiplied to achieve the supercial area of the material required. Examples are brick and blockwork. The length of the wall is multiplied by the height to give the square area of brickwork required. Example: 20m of brickwork 2.5m high = 50m

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MODULE 3 SHEET 23

Student Key Skill

Cubic

Application of Number

Cubic measurements are taken when there are three dimensions; length, width and height. Examples are found in excavating trenches where the volume of concrete is needed for foundations.

Volume = length x width x height Calculating brick quantities The gure below shows nominal sizes of a brick.

These are the net sizes of the average brick and it is necessary to add 10mm to the length, width and height to produce the actual dimensions when installed in the wall. Therefore: length: 215 + 10 = 225mm height: 65 + 10 = 75mm width: 102.5 + 10 = 112.5mm Bricks are generally laid to a gauge of four courses to 300mm.

Four courses to 300mm

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Student Key Skill

Calculating Brick Quantities

Application of Number

To calculate the number of bricks required per square metre in stretcher bond, it is necessary to calculate the face area of one brick including joints, and then divide that quantity into one square metre.

Face area of one brick = 0.225m x 0.075m = 0.01688m per brick. Number of bricks per square metre = 1.000 = 59.17 bricks. 0.0169 For the purposes of calculating brick quantities, this gure is rounded up to 60 bricks per square metre. The total area of brickwork is measured from the drawing, and then the number of bricks per square metre is applied. Regardless of the bond used, the number of bricks will remain the same, although the quantity of facings and common bricks may change if the wall is not faced on both sides. The numbers of bricks required are multiples of 60 per m for each half-brick thickness in the wall i.e. Half brick wall = 60 bricks/m. One brick thick wall = 120 bricks/m. One and a half brick thick wall = 180 bricks/m. Two brick thick wall = 240 bricks/m. The following examples of brick calculations may help you understand the basic principles of calculating brick quantities. Brick quantities Example 1: A one brick wall built in English bond is 6.00 metres long and 1.50 metres high. Calculate the number of bricks required. Answer: 6.00 x 1.50 = 9.00m 9.00m x 120 = 1,080 bricks required (net)

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Example 2: A wall 7.50 metres long by 2.10 metres high is to be one and a half bricks thick in Flemish bond. Calculate the number of bricks required to build the wall. Answer: 7.50 x 2.10 = 15.75m 15.75m x 180 = 2,835 bricks required (net)

Example 3: A half brick wall built in Stretcher bond is 8.00 metres long x 1.20 metres high, with a opening 0.9 x 0.6 metres. Calculate the number of bricks required. Answer: Overall area: Opening area:

8.00 x 1.20 = 9.6m 0.9 x 0.6 = 0.54m

Wall area with area of opening deducted = 9.6 0.54 = 9.06m 9.06m x 60 = 543.6 bricks = 544 bricks required (net)

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Student Key Skill

Calculation of Block Quantities

Application of Number

The dimensions of a block = 440mm long x 215mm high x 100mm wide.

These are net dimensions, and the thickness of the joint is added to obtain the following dimensions: 450mm x 225mm x 100mm. Laid blocks are equal to three courses of bricks in height = 225mm. The calculations for blocks are very similar to brick calculations. First calculate the area of one block, this will include the joints, then divide that quantity into one square metre.

The face area of one block = 0.45m x 0.225m = 0.10125m per block Number of blocks per square metre = 1.000 = 9.87 blocks 0.10125 For the purposes of calculating block quantities, this gure is rounded up to 10 blocks per square metre. Therefore, for every future calculation of blockwork, use 10 blocks per square metre.

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Student Key Skill Application of Number Example 1: Calculate the number of blocks required to construct a block wall 2.690m long and 0.675m high. Answer: 2.690 x 0.675 = 1.815 m of walling 1.815 x 10 = 18.15 blocks required (net) Rounding of quantities Since it is impractical to order parts of bricks or blocks, the total required is always rounded up to the next brick or block. Round up the net answer to the previous example: Answer: Net answer = 18.15 blocks. Rounded up = 19 blocks required Example 2: Calculate the number of blocks required to construct a block wall which is 2.690m long and 0.675m high which contains a window opening of 0.9m x 0.45m. Answer: Total area of wall = 2.690 x 0.675 = 1.815m Area of opening = 0.9 x 0.45 = 0.405m Actual wall area = 1.815 0.405 = 1.41m Total number of blocks required = 1.41m x 10 = 14.1 blocks. Rounded up = 15 blocks.

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Student Key Skill

Percentage Waste Calculations

Application of Number

After calculating the net quantity of materials for inclusion into a bill of quantities or possibly a materials schedule, the next step is to determine the actual amount of material to be ordered for the job. Due to the inevitable losses through breakages and cutting etc, a percentage addition is made to the net amount to cover these possibilities. This is called percentage waste, and the percentage can vary but generally it ranges from 5% to 10%. To calculate quantities of materials plus percentage waste, a two-stage calculation is required: 1. Calculate the percentage waste of the net amount. 2. Add the calculated amount to the original net amount to produce the gross gure which will include waste. Example 1: The number of blocks required for a wall is calculated to be 340 blocks (net). Calculate the number of blocks to be ordered including 5% waste. Answer: 1. Percentage waste = 340 x 5 = 1700 = 17 additional blocks for waste 100% 100 2. Add the additional amount to the net amount: 340 + 17 = 357 blocks required (gross to order)

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Student Key Skill Application of Number

Calculating Other Material That a Bricklayer May Need

Concrete Concrete is calculated as volume or metres cubed (m). This involves multiplying three dimensions, i.e. the length, the width and the thickness of the space into which the concrete is to be poured. The most common construction situations in which concrete is used are in foundations, oors, beams and columns. The following examples relate to two of those situations. Example 1: Foundations Calculate the amount of concrete required for a foundation if the foundation trench is 39.00 metres long and 0.60 metres wide if the concrete is required to be 0.225 metres thick. Answer: 39.00m x 0.60m x 0.225m = 5.265 m of concrete required Example 2: Floors Calculate the amount of concrete required to lay a oor measuring 15m long x 10m wide if the oor is required to be 0.150 thick. Answer: 15.00m x 10.00m x 0.150m = 22.5m of concrete required Drainage pipes Drainage pipes are sold in various lengths. The number of pipes can be calculated by dividing the length of the drainage trench by the length of the individual pipes. Example 1: Calculate the number of drainage pipes required for a trench 36.00 metres long if the length of each individual pipe is 0.90 metres in length. Answer: 36.00m 0.90m = 40 pipes required

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During the course of your work it may be necessary to calculate the area of various shapes to determine the quantity of required materials. Some of the shapes will include: Triangles. Quadrilaterals. Circles. All of these shapes are covered in detail in Section 2, Technical Drawing Skills. Refer to Module 5: Angles and Module 6: Regular Figures.

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Student Key Skill Application of Number

Perimeters and Centre Line Calculations

When calculating quantities of concrete foundations and brickwork, it is common practice to initially take off the dimensions from the drawing and then calculate the external perimeter of the building. The perimeters are then adjusted to produce what is termed the Centre Line Measurement. The reason for doing this is to avoid over-measurement of quantities due to measuring at corners twice. The diagram below illustrates the inaccurate effect of measuring to the full extent of the foundation or wall length.

By measuring the dimensions to the corners as Y, the shaded area is effectively measured twice resulting in over-measurement. The dimension X must be deducted twice at every corner to produce an accurate length of the foundation or wall, based on the centre line dimension. The centre line dimension method is usually used to calculate the volume excavation of trenches. It can be used to calculate concrete volume, brickwork areas and DPC calculations. A simple rule to adopt when calculating using the centre line measurement is to deduct four times the width of the foundation.

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Centre line calculations Calculate the length of the centre line of the building shown in plan below.

Answer: 1. Perimeter: (2 x 14m) + (2 x 7m) = 42m. 2. Perimeter minus 4 x width of foundation: 42m (4 x 750mm) = 39m. The length of the centre line of the trench is 39 metres. The centre line represents the total length of the trench as if laid out in one length, and can be used for subsequent calculations. For example, the area of the base of the foundation is 39.00 m x 750mm. Therefore, to calculate the volume of 225mm thick concrete foundations required in the trench (area x depth): 39.00 x 0.750 x 0.225 = 6.58m of concrete The bricks required to build a one-brick wall 3.00m high centred on these foundations: 39.00 x 3.00 x 120 = 14,040 bricks are required NOTE: Walls are measured overall, and openings deducted from the total wall area to produce the actual area of brickwork.

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Mortar
The amount of mortar required to lay bricks will depend upon the type of brick being used, e.g. wire cuts or bricks with deep frogs, gauge and the thickness of the wall. We work on the assumption that approximately 1m to 1.5m will be required for 2500 bricks. Therefore for a wall of 6,000 bricks (assuming it requires 1m of mortar per 2,500 bricks), the volume of mortar required will be: 6000 = 2.40m of mortar required 2500 Since substantial shrinkage always takes place when mixing the materials, a rule of thumb method often used is to take the calculated volume of mortar as being the sand required and add the required proportion of cement. Therefore in the previous example assuming a 4:1 sand/cement mix Volume of sand to add to the mix = 2.40m Volume of cement to add = 2.40m3 = 0.60m of cement 4 The density of cement may be taken as 1440kg/m Therefore the weight of cement required to make 2.4m would be equal to: 0.60m (Cement) x 1440kg/m = 864kg Therefore to calculate the number of 25kgs bags of cement required, the calculation would be: 864 = 34.56 bags (rounded to 35 bags of cement) to make 2.4m 25 NOTE: This method is only suitable for the small quantities that a bricklayer might have to calculate.