Practical-Guide/Material-Estimation

LABOUR REQUIREMENT FOR VARIOUS

CONSTRUCTION WORKS

LABOUR REQUIREMENT FOR VARIOUS CONSTRUCTION WORKS:

The cost of construction project highly depends on the requirements of
labour for various activities during construction. There are direct and
indirect costs associated with the labour. They are the salary of labours,
their accommodation, food, insurance cost etc. Thus it is essential to
understand the number labours required for each activity of the
construction to estimate the final cost of project.

There are different types of labours that are required for the
construction:
Skilled labours
Semi-skilled labours
Unskilled labours

All these types of labours have different skills and different salaries. Their
optimum use in every work in construction is essential to minimize the
construction cost.

The table below shows the recommended labour requirement for

various civil engineering/building/construction works:

S. Recomme
Description of work Unit Labour
No. in days.

1) Excavation over areas M3 Mate 0.06

(hard/dense soil),depth up to 1.5m
and removal (up to one meter from Labour 0.62
 edge)

Excavation in trenches (soft/

loose soil),for foundations not
exceeding 1.5m in width and for Mate 0.05
2) shafts, wells, cesspits and the like, M3

not exceeding 10m3 and on plan, Labour 0.50

depth up to 1.5m and removal(up
to one meter away from edge)

Returning, filling and Mate 0.02

ramming of excavated earth in
3) layers not exceeding 20 cm in M3 Labour 0.25
depth, watering, well ramming and
leveling, lead up to 50m Bhisti 0.02

Labour
0.50
Concrete : Bhisti
0.10
Mixing by machine (mixer) at
4) M3
banker, cement concrete (with Mixer
0.07
20mm graded coarse aggregate) operator

0.07
Mixer

mason
0.10

Labour
1.63

bhisti
0.70
5) Mixer mixed cement concrete M3
mixer
0.07
operator

0.07
mixer

0.07
vibrator
 mason
0.17

Reinforced cement concrete in Labour

2.00
situ in foundations, footings, bases
bhisti
for columns, etc excluding form 0.90
6) work and reinforcement. (The M3

mixer
constants for items include mixing, 0.07
operator
pouring, consolidating and curing.
0.07
This does not include fair finish.) mixer

0.07
vibrator

mason
0.24

Labour
2.50
Reinforced cement concrete in bhisti
0.90
situ in suspended floors/roofs
7) M3
excluding form work, and mixer
0.07
reinforcement. operator

0.07
mixer

0.07
vibrator

Mortars:
Mixing by hand, cement mortar of
Labour 0.75
any mix/proportions (Labour
8) M3
required will be approximately
Bhisti 0.07
same for different mix
proportions.)

9) Brick work (straight walls): M3 mason 0.94

Brick work in walls exceeding one
brick thick, in cement / lime mortar Labour 1.80

(The constants include labour

bhisti 0.20
 involved in scaffolding.)

Brick work in walls, one brick thick, mason 0.25

in cement/lime mortar. (The

10) M2 Labour 0.40
constants could be adopted for
brick work with any mix or mortar.) bhisti 0.10

Carpente

Formwork / Shuttering: r
0.25
a) fabrication and erection with all
Labour
supports, struts, braces, etc, and 0.20
dressing with oil as cleaning of Carpente
M3 0.23
formwork: r
11) M2
1) rectangular column and walls M2 0.20
Labour

2) suspended floors/roofs 0.30

Carpente
r 0.20
3) sides and soffits of beam

Labour

Reinforcement:
Bar reinforcement including cutting
to length, hooked ends, cranking or Bar
1.00
bending, hoisting and placing in bender
12) Quintal
any position, binding wire and
1.00
holding firmly so as not to be Labour
disturbed while placing and
ramming of concrete

13) Plastering and pointing: M2 mason 0.08

a) 15mm thick cement plaster to M2
ceiling including mixing of mortar. M2 Labour 0.10

b) 15mm thick cement plaster on bhisti 0.10

 mason 0.06

brick walls (exterior) including Labour 0.10

mixing of mortar
bhisti 0.10

c) Tuck pointing to random rubble

mason 0.10
masonry in cement mortar
including mixing mortar. Labour 0.15

bhisti 0.10

Damping proof course:

a) Laying damp proof course 40mm
14) thick cement concrete including
form work and fair finishing to
edges and mixing.
Calculate Quantities of Materials for
Concrete
Home/ Concrete / Calculate Quantities of Materials for Concrete

Quantities of materials for the production of required quantity of concrete

of given mix proportions can be calculated by absolute volume method.
This method is based on the principle that the volume of fully compacted
concrete is equal to the absolute volume of all the materials of concrete,
i.e. cement, sand, coarse aggregates and water.

A Concrete structure may consists of beams, slabs, columns and

foundations etc. based on type of structure. The volume of concrete
required for concrete structure can be calculated by summing up the
volumes of each structural member or each parts of members. The
volume of a rectangular cross sectional member can be calculated as
length x width x height (or depth or thickness). Suitable formula shall be
used for different cross-sectional shapes of members.

The formula for calculation of materials for required volume of

concrete is given by:

Where, Vc = Absolute volume of fully compacted fresh concrete

W =Mass of water

C = Mass of cement

Fa = Mass of fine aggregates

Ca = Mass of coarse aggregates

Sc, Sfa and Sca are the specific gravities of cement, fine aggregates and
coarse aggregates respectively.

The air content has been ignored in this calculation.

This method of calculation for quantities of materials for concrete takes

into account the mix proportions from design mix or nominal mixes for
structural strength and durability requirement.

Now we will learn the material calculation by an example.

Calculating Quantities of Materials for per cubic meter or cubic feet

or cubic yards concrete

Consider concrete with mix proportion of 1:1.5:3 where, 1 is part of

cement, 1.5 is part of fine aggregates and 3 is part of coarse aggregates
of maximum size of 20mm. The water cement ratio required for mixing of
concrete is taken as 0.45.

Assuming bulk densities of materials per cubic meter, cubic feet

and cubic yards as follows:

Cement = 1500 kg/m3 = 93.642 lb/ft3 = 3.4682 lb/cubic yards

Sand = 1700 kg/m3 = 105 lb/ft3 = 3.89 lb/cubic yards

Coarse aggregates = 1650 kg/m3 = 105 lb/ft3 = 3.89 lb/cubic yards

Specific gravities of concrete materials are as follows:

Cement = 3.15
Sand = 2.6

Coarse aggregates = 2.6.

The percentage of entrained air assumed is 2%.

The mix proportion of 1:1.5:3 by dry volume of materials can be

expressed in terms of masses as:

Cement = 1 x 1500 = 1500

Sand = 1.5 x 1700 = 2550

Coarse aggregate = 3 x 1650 = 4950.

Therefore, the ratio of masses of these materials w.r.t. cement will as

follows =

= 1 : 1.7 : 3.3

The water cement ratio = 0.45

Now we will calculate the volume of concrete that can be produced

with one bag of cement (i.e. 50 kg cement) for the mass proportions of
concrete materials.

Thus, the absolute volume of concrete for 50 kg of cement =

Thus, for the proportion of mix considered, with one bag of cement of 50
kg, 0.1345 m3of concrete can be produced.

We have considered an entrained air of 2%. Thus the actual volume of

concrete for 1 cubic meter of compacted concrete construction will be = 1
-0.02 = 0.98 m3.
Thus, the quantity of cement required for 1 cubic meter of concrete =
0.98/0.1345 = 7.29 bags of cement.

The quantities of materials for 1 m3 of concrete production can be

calculated as follows:

The weight of cement required = 7.29 x 50 = 364.5 kg.

Weight of fine aggregate (sand) = 1.5 x 364.5 = 546.75 kg.

Weight of coarse aggregate = 3 x 364.5 = 1093.5 kg.

QUANTITIES OF MATERIALS PER CUBIC
METRE OF CONCRETE
Home/ How To Guide / QUANTITIES OF MATERIALS PER CUBIC METRE OF CONCRETE

Quantity of materials such as cement, sand, coarse aggregates and water

required per cubic meter of concrete and mortar varies with the mix
design of the concrete and mortar respectively. Following table gives the
estimated quantity of materials required per cubic meter of mortar and
concrete for various nominal mixes.

NOMINAL MIX WAT CEMENT

ER
WAT CRUS
PER
ER SAN HED
50K
CEM D STON
G BY
ENT BY (CU ES
BAG NUM
CEM F.A C. RATI WEI M) (CUM
OF BER
ENT . A. O GHT )
CEM OF
ENT (KG)
BAGS

0.71
1 1 0.25 12.5 1015 20.3
0

0.85
1 1.5 0.28 14 815 16.3
5

0.96
1 2 0.3 15 687 13.74
3

1 2.5 0.35 17.5 585 11.7 1.02

3
1 3 0.4 20 505 10.1 1.06

1.10
1 4 0.53 26.5 395 7.9
6

1.19
1 6 0.7 35 285 5.7
7

1.23
1 8 0.9 45 220 4.4
2

0.39
1 1 2 0.3 15 560 11.2 0.784
2

0.60
1 2 2 0.42 21 430 8.6 0.602
2

0.41
1 1.5 3 0.42 21 395 7.9 0.828
4

1.6 3.3 0.41

1 0.48 24 363 7.26 0.838
6 3 9

1 2 3 0.5 25 385 7.7 0.53 0.808

 9

0.46
1 2 3.5 0.53 26.5 330 6.6 0.808
2

0.43
1 2 4 0.55 27.5 310 6.2 0.868
4

0.53
1 2.5 3.5 0.57 28.5 305 6.1 0.748
4

0.49
1 2.5 4 0.6 30 285 5.7 0.798
9

0.55
1 3 4 0.65 32.5 265 5.3 0.742
6

0.44
1 2.5 5 0.65 32.5 255 5.1 0.892
6

0.50
1 3 5 0.69 34.5 240 4.8 0.84
4

1 3 6 0.75 37.5 215 4.3 0.45 0.904

2
 0.46
1 4 8 0.95 47.5 165 3.3 0.924
2

Notes:

1. F.A.= Fine Aggregates, C.A.= Coarse Aggregates

2. The table is based on assumption that the voids in sand and crushed
stone are 40 and 45 percent respectively.

3. Air content of 1 percent has been assumed.

4. For gravel aggregates decrease cement by 5 percent, increase sand by

2 percent and coarse aggregate in proportion to fine aggregate in mix.

4. No allowance has been made in the table for bulking of sand and
wastage.
 MEASUREMENT OF REINFORCED
CONCRETE WORKS
Measurement of reinforced concrete works such as foundation, columns,
beams, slabs pedestal are needed for calculation of actual cost of
construction and payment to the contractor. This article provides
guidelines for the measurement including formulas for the calculation of
quantities of various reinforced concrete works.

Measurement of Reinforced Concrete Works:

1. The Quantities can be rounded off to the nearest two decimals.

2. Concrete in Structural members, such as columns, Beams and slabs shall

each be measured separately.

3. No Deductions shall be made for the following:

Opening up to 0.1 m2
Volume occupied by reinforcement.

Volume occupied by pipes, conduits, sheathing, etc not exceeding

100cm2 each in cross-section.
Moulds, drips moulding, chamfers, splays rounded or covered angles,
beds, grooves and rebates up to 10 cm in girth.

Measurement of Concrete in Footings:

Volume of concrete = L x B x D for Rectangular and Square footing. For

Trapezoidal Footing, Volume of Concrete is calculated in two parts. Bottom
Rectangular portion is calculated separately and Trapezoidal volume is
calculated separately.

Rectangular Volume = L x B x D

Trapezoidal Volume V= H/3 (A1 + A2 + SQRT(A1 + A2) )

Where A1 and A2 is the area of top and bottom rectangles, H is depth of

footing.

Total Volume = Rectangular Volume + Trapezoidal Volume

Where V= Volume; h= height;

Measurement of RCC Columns:

Columns shall be measured from top of Column base to underside of first

floor slab and subsequently from top of floor slab to underside of floor
slab above. In case of Columns for flat slabs, flare of column shall be
included with column for Measurement.

Measurement of RCC Beams:

Beams shall be measured from face to face of columns and shall include
haunches, if any, between columns and beams. The depth of beams shall
be measured from bottom of slab to bottom of the beam except in case of
inverted beam where it shall be measured from top of slab to top of
beam.

Measurement of RCC Pedestals:

Pedestals is measured from top of Footing to top/ Bottom of plinth beam

depending on site conditions. If measured up to bottom of Plinth beam
then Ground floor column can be measured from Bottom of plinth beam to
underside of slab. The Height of Pedestal can be arrived from levels of
footing and plinth beam. The Height shall be crosschecked with site also.
 METHODS & UNITS OF MEASUREMENTS
OF CIVIL WORKS
The units of measurements for civil engineering works are mainly
categorised for their nature, shape and size and for making payments to
the contractor. The principle of units of measurements normally consists
the following:
a) Single units work like doors, windows, trusses etc., are expressed in
numbers.

b) Works consists linear measurements involve

length like cornice, fencing, hand rail, bands of
specified width etc., are expressed in running
metres (RM)

c) Works consists areal surface measurements involve area like

plastering, white washing, partitions of specified thickness etc., and are
expressed in square meters (m2)

d) Works consists cubical contents which involve volume like earth work,
cement concrete, Masonry etc are expressed in Cubic metres.

Table below shows units of measurement of various items of civil

engineering works based on IS 1200.
Sl. Units of Units of
Particulars of item
No. measurement payment
1 Earthwork
1. Earthwork in excavation CUM Per CUM
2. Earthwork in filling in foundation trenches CUM Per CUM
3. Earth work in filling in plinth CUM Per CUM
2 Concrete
1. Lime concrete in foundation
2. Cement concrete in lintels
3. RCC in slab
4. Cement concrete or RCC in chujja, sunshade
5. Lean concrete in roof terracing (thickness
SQM Per SQM
specified)
6. Cement concrete bed CUM Per CUM
7. Reinforced concrete sunshade (specified width
CUM Per CUM
and height)
3 Damp proof course (DPC) thickness mentioned SQM Per SQM
4 Brick work
1. Brickwork in foundation CUM Per CUM
2. Brickwork in plinth
3. Brickwork in super structure
4. Thin partition walls SQM Per SQM
5. Brickwork in arches CUM Per SQM
6. Reinforced brickwork CUM Per CUM
5 Stone work
1. Stone masonry CUM Per CUM
6 Wood work
1. Doors and windows frames or chaukhats, rafters,
CUM Per CUM
beams
2. Shutters of doors and windows (thickness
SQM Per SQM
specified)
3. Doors and windows fittings (like hinges, tower
Earch Per Each
bolts, sliding bolts, handles)
7 Steel work
1. Steel reinforcement bars etc in RCC and
Quintal Per Quintal
reinforced brick work
2. Bending, binding of steel reinforcement Quintal Per quintal
3. Rivets, bolts and nuts, anchor bolts, lewis bolts,
Quintal Per quintal
holding down bolts
4. Iron hold fasts
5. Iron railing (height and types specified)
6. Iron grills SQM Per SQM
8 Roofing
1. RCC and RB slab roof (excluding steel) CUM Per CUM
2. Lean concrete roof over and inclusive of tiles or
SQM Per SQM
brick or stone slab etc (thickness specified)
3. Centering and shuttering formwork SQM Per SQM
4. AC sheet roofing SQM Per SQM
9 Plastering, points and finishing
1. Plastering cement or lime mortar (thickness
SQM Per SQM
and proportion specified)
2. Pointing SQM Per SQM
3. White washing, colour washing, cement washing,
SQM Per SQM
(number of coats specified)
4. Distempering (number of coats specified) SQM Per SQM
5. Painting, varnishing (number of coats specified) SQM Per SQM
10 Flooring
1. 25mm cement concrete over 75mm lime
SQM Per SQM
concrete floor (including lean concrete)
2. 25mm or 40mm cement concrete floor SQM Per SQM
3. Doors and window sills (CC or cement mortar
SQM Per SQM
plain)
11 Rain water pipe / plain pipe RM Per RM
12 Steel wooden truss Each Per each
13 Glass panels (supply) SQM Per SQM
14 Fixing of glass panels or cleaning Each Per Each
 Note:
SQM = Square meter

CUM = Cubic meter

RM = Running meter

Methods for Measurement of civil engineering works:

The rules for measurement of each item are invariably described in IS
1200. However some of the general rules are listed below:

1. Measurement shall be made for finished item of work and description of

each item shall include materials, transport, labour, fabrication tools and
plant and all types of overheads for finished the work in required shape,
size and specification.

2. In booking, the order shall be in sequence of length, breadth and

height or thickness.

3. All works shall be measured subject to the following tolerances.

Linear measurement shall be measured to the nearest 0.01m.

Areas shall be measured to the nearest 0.01 SQM

Cubic contents shall be worked out to the nearest 0.01 cum.

4. Same type of work under different conditions and nature shall be

measured separately under separate items.

5. The bill of quantities shall fully describe the materials, proportions,

workmanships and accurately represent the work to be executed.

6. In case of masonry (stone or brick) or structural concrete, the

categories shall be measured separately and the heights shall be
described as:

From foundation to plinth level

From plinth to first floor level

From first floor to second floor level and so on.

UNITS OF MEASUREMENT AND PAYMENT
FOR CIVIL WORKS

Sl. Units of Unit of

Particulars of items
No. measurement payment

1 Earthwork: Excavation, filling, cutting, banking m3 100 m3

2 Surface dressing m2 m2

3 Cutting of trees Number Per number

4 Stones: quarrying, blasting m3 m3

5 Concrete : PCC, RCC, Precast m3 m3

6 Jail works m2 m2

7 Damp proof course m2 m2

8 Brick work of any description m3 m3

9 Thin partition wall m2 m2

10 String course, drip course, water course coping etc m m

11 Stone work of any description m3 m3

12 Stone work in wall facing (thickness specified) m2 m2

13 Wood work: truss, rafter, beam etc m3 m3

14 Door, window shutters m2 m2

15 Door, window fittings Number Per number

Timbering, boarding, sawing of timber, timbering of

16 m2 m2
trenches, partition, etc

17 Steel work Quintal Per quintal

Expanded metal, fabric reinforcement, cutting

18 cm2 cm2
angles, plates, tees

19 Threading; welding; solder of sheets cm Per cm

20 Iron gate, grill collapsible gate, rolling shutter m2 m2

21 Iron railing m m

Roofing: tiled, corrugated iron, caves board

22 m2 m2
(thickness specified)

23 Centering, shuttering m2 m2

24 Ridges; valleys; gutters (girth given) m m

25 Expansion and contraction joints m m

26 Ceiling timber, A.C. sheet, board, etc m2 m2

Plastering; pointing; white washing; distempering;

27 painting; varnishing; polishing; coal tarring; m2 m2
removing of paints

28 Flooring of any kind m2 m2

29 Pipes, laying of pipes m m

30 Dismantling of brick masonry m3 m3

31 Grouting m2 m2

32 Grouting of cracks, joints m m

33 Supply of sand; brick ballast; aggregates; timber m3 m3

34 Supply of cement Bag Per bag

35 Supply of steel, G.I. sheet, bare electric line Quintal Per quintal

36 Supply of GI sheet m2 m2

37 Supply of sanitary items Number Per number

38 Supply of paint, varnishes Litre Per litre

39 Supply of explosives, stiff paint Kg Per kg

 SIZE AND QUANTITY OF
REINFORCEMENT FOR BUILDING
WORKS
Reinforcement is required for reinforced concrete members such as
footings, beams, columns, slabs, lintels etc. Estimation of reinforcement
quantity is required prior to tendering stage to calculate approximate cost
of project or construction work.

Following table gives the estimated quantities of reinforcement

and its size generally used for various building works:

Sl. Quantity in
RCC Member Size of reinforcement required
No kg/m3

1 Column footings 75 10mm or 12mm

12mm, 16mm 85%

2 Grade beams 100
Stirrups 6mm or 8mm 15%

8mm diameter 85%,

3 Plinth beams 125
Stirrups 6mm 15%

16mm, 20mm and 25mm 90%

4 Columns 225
Ties 6mm or 8mm 10%

12mm, 16mm dia 85%

5 Lintel beam 125
Stirrups 6 mm or 8mm 15%

8mm dia 75%

6 Sunshades 60
Distributer 6mm 25%
 10mm dia 80%
7 Canopy slab upto 2.0 m span 125
Distributor bars 6mm or 8mm 20%

12 or 16mm dia 80%

8 Staircase waist slab 150
Distributor 8mm dia 15%

9 Roof slab

8mm dia 70%

80
(a) One way slab
Distributor 6mm 30%

100 8mm dia 100%

(b) Two way slab

(c) Square slab 4m to 6m 150 10 12mm dia 100%

size

20mm, 16mm, 12mm 80 85%

10 Main beams above 6m 250
Stirrups 8mm 15 20%

All above mentioned steel are round tapered steel. This data is just for
estimation of quantity of steel for various RCC works. This does not
provide actual steel required for all the members. Actual quantity of steel
required can be calculated from the drawings prepared after structural
design.

1. Read more posts on Reinforcement Guide

2. Read More posts on Material Estimation Guide

ESTIMATION METHODS OF BUILDING
WORKS
Home/ Construction / ESTIMATION METHODS OF BUILDING WORKS

The estimation of building quantities like earth work, foundation concrete,

brickwork in plinth and super structure etc., can be workout by any of
following two methods:

a) Long wall short wall method

b) Centre line method.

c) Partly centre line and short wall method.

a) Long wall-short wall method:

In this method, the wall along the length of room is considered to be long
wall while the wall perpendicular to long wall is said to be short wall. To
get the length of long wall or short wall, calculate first the centre line
lengths of individual walls. Then the length of long wall, (out to out) may
be calculated after adding half breadth at each end to its centre line
length. Thus the length of short wall measured into in and may be found
by deducting half breadth from its centre line length at each end. The
length of long wall usually decreases from earth work to brick work in
super structure while the short wall increases. These lengths are
multiplied by breadth and depth to get quantities.

b) Centre line method:

This method is suitable for walls of similar cross sections. Here the total
centre line length is multiplied by breadth and depth of respective item to
get the total quantity at a time. When cross walls or partitions or
verandah walls join with main wall, the centre line length gets reduced by
half of breadth for each junction. Such junction or joints are studied
carefully while calculating total centre line length. The estimates prepared
by this method are most accurate and quick.

c) Partly centre line and partly cross wall method:

This method is adopted when external (i.e., around the building) wall is of
one thickness and the internal walls having different thicknesses. In such
cases, centre line method is applied to external walls and long wall-short
wall method is used to internal walls. This method suits for different
thicknesses walls and different level of foundations. Because of this
reason, all Engineering departments are practicing this method.

Practical-Guide / Reinforcement
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