Corrugated formwork is a corrugated metal form left in position after concrete is placed.

It may be galvanized or plain, standard weight, heavy duty or even with reinforcing rods welded across the top of the corrugations, for longer spans. Generally, the thickness of floor specified is

above the top of the corrugation, or dimension D. The depth of the corrugation is shown as D1. To figure the concrete volume, the depth of D plus D1 should be used. The concrete gained by figuring to the bottom of the corrugation will be used in the sag of the corrugated sheets.

ESTIMATING CONCRETE WORK - IV

BY

EDWARD G. LE JEUNE

Slabs on corrugated metal forms

To figure the amount of corrugated formwork needed, take the area of the slab plus 7 percent for lap and waste. The edge forms are listed by the height required in total lineal feet for each height. The finish area is the exact slab area to the closest 10 feet for convenience. The concrete volume is the slab area times the thickness of the slab, including to the bottom of the corrugations in the form. If the specifications show 2 inches of concrete above the top of the corrugations, figure 1/2 inch for the corrugations, or figure the slab as 2 1/2 inches thick. Include the corrugations in your figuring as if they were solid concrete. This will

cover waste and possible sag in the form material. Similar types of construction use a welded wire mesh with heavy waterproof paper backing for the slab forms. The paper is stretched tightly and clipped down to steel beam or joist construction. This is figured as described above except that in takeoff the concrete slab should be figured as 1/2 inch thicker than the drawings show. This will cover waste and the sag that will come in the paper-backed form. The forming with paper-backed forms is about 10 percent less than with corrugated formwork. Many contractors prefer to use corrugated formwork if they have an option as it provides better and cheaper concrete placing conditions.

Stairs on fill
The takeoff items to consider here are sand fill, form risers, finish treads and risers and concrete. All

stairs are taken off by the lineal feet of risers. If a stair has eight risers that are 4 feet long, it has 32 lineal feet of risers. You can then calculate all of your takeoff items. For the sand fill area I figure 1 square foot per lineal foot of riser (or 32 square feet) . To form the risers I list them by the lineal feet (or 32 lineal feet). To finish the treads and risers I list them by the lineal feet (or 32 lineal feet). To takeoff the concrete in a stair I figure 1 cubic foot per lineal foot of riser (or 32 cubic feet). Metal stair nosings are also equal to the lineal feet of risers (or 32 lineal feet). Abrasive grits in stair treads are figured as 1 square foot per lineal foot of tread. We always have one less tread than risers, so 7 treads times 4 feet equal 28 square feet of treads or abrasive grits.

Shored stairs
Form risers and stair bottom, finish treads and risers and concrete

Shored stairs need forms on the bottom for the risers and sometimes they need forms on both sides. The easiest way to take them off is by the total lineal feet of risers, with a notation as to where forms are needed. They can then be priced by the lineal feet of risers with all price units includ-

ed. A stair on fill would need forms for the risers only. The concrete in stairs should be figured at 1 cubic foot per lineal foot of risers. This is on the high side but it will take care of waste. Stairs must be finished on both tread and riser unless the riser is metal and part of a steel form.

will be taken off here. Shored stairs, as in stairs on fill, are taken off by the lineal feet of risers, and from this I figure my takeoff items. If a shored stair has eight risers that are 4 feet long, it has 32 lineal feet of risers. The forming of the riser and the stair bottom is priced by the lineal feet of risers (or 32 lineal feet). This is based on the close approximation that there is one square foot of stair bottom to each lineal foot of riser. The finishing of treads and risers, concrete quantity and other items are taken off as listed under stairs on fill. Under shored stair forming I may include partial steel forms. One type of steel stair forms comes to the job with the reinforcing steel welded to steel risers which are welded to channel stringers. This means that the carpenters must first set the steel stair forms by means of a light chain hoist. When pricing these items, they should be listed on the takeoff sheet by units, or by flights of

stairs. Next, the carpenters must form the stair bottom only, since the risers are steel. This saves one-half of the forming costs. The finishing of the stairs is of the treads only, since the risers are of steel. The difference in cost between forming stairs without steel forms and with steel forms is not too great. With all factors considered the steel forms should cost about 10 percent more.

feet per day on this type of work. The finish area is used as the same quantity as the form area. The concrete is grouped with the stairs for pricing.

Pan-fill stairs
Only finishing and concrete fill are taken off here. The stair treads are figured as 1 square foot per lineal foot of tread. Most of the tread pans are 2 inches deep and landing pans are 3 inches deep. However, be sure to figure about 10 percent waste on the concrete fill. The treads are listed in total lineal feet for pricing the finishing, and the landings are taken off in square feet for the finishing areas.

Stair landings
Shored stair landings are taken off at the same time as shored stairs. They are listed separately on the takeoff because only a little forming is required at each landing and this increases the labor cost. The form area for these slabs and the total number of landings should be provided. It is easier to estimate the amount of time required to erect one landing than to estimate these by the square foot. Seldom does a carpenter do better than 60 square

Miscellaneous concrete in building

At this point all of the main concrete work has been taken off from both the structural and the architectural drawings. Now, we must search

If the sand fill (or drainage course) is to be placed on undisturbed earth, hand grading must be figured on the earth in addition to the machine excavation, in order to get the sub-grade exact enough. This is taken off and priced as a square foot item. The vapor barrier will be the area for hand grading plus 10 percent added for lap and waste. The sand fill will be given in cubic yards with 25

percent added for compaction and loss. Expansion joints are listed by the size (i.e., 1/2 inch by 5 inches) in lineal feet with 5 percent added for waste. Poured sealant is listed by the size (i.e., 1/2 inch by 1 inch) in lineal feet with 5 percent added for waste. We have assumed a 6-inch thick slab.

out the less obvious items of concrete by looking through the drawings starting with the first drawing. On each drawing, check each section for concrete not taken off before. Some of the items you might find are: mechanical equipment bases, locker bases, cabinet bases, toilet room curbs, window sills and curbs, concrete fill placed on precast slabs, lightweight roof fill for drainage and roof curbs for openings through the roof. These items will all have forms, finishing and concrete to takeoff and recap for pricing. Generally, the formwork will be taken off and listed by the various heights times the lineal feet for each height. The finishing will be listed by the lineal foot or square foot, whichever is easiest to price. The concrete will, of course, be in cubic yards. It is best to take off and recap each of these miscellaneous concrete items separately. This will make it easier to estimate the labor time for the formwork and placing of the concrete. Each item can best be priced by estimating the labor time for the individual item itself. After you have checked all drawings for miscellaneous concrete work inside of the building, you can pro-

ceed to the final step which is to take off all exterior walks, paving and curbs from the site plan.

Exterior paving
Sand fill, edge forms, expansion joints, finishing and concrete are taken off here. The same outline of takeoff as given for exterior sidewalks will apply to exterior paving. They must be kept separate due to the difference in finishing generally specified between sidewalks and paving. The labor required for placing sidewalks is higher than for placing paving and this is another reason for separating them.

Exterior sidewalks
Sand fill, edge forms, expansion joints, finishing and concrete are taken off here. Exterior sidewalks are taken fromand checked off onthe site plan. The area of the sidewalks will first give you the area of hand grading of sub-grade required. This area times the sand fill depth will give you the sand fill volume in cubic yards, but to this you must add 25 percent for compaction and loss when listing the sand fill. The edge forms are taken off and listed by the height times lineal feet of each height. Expansion joints are taken off by the thickness times the height times the total lineal feet of each size. The finishing is the same area as for the sub-grade. In some localities, private walks (within property lines) must be separated from public walks, because there is a permit fee or tax on public walks only. The concrete, of course, is the area of the walks times the depth put into cubic yards. Add at least 3 percent to the concrete for waste in placing.

Exterior straight curbs

Hand excavation, forms, finishing and concrete are taken off here. How much hand excavation will be required for curbs is very questionable. Therefore, to simplify the problem, I take off the hand excavation and price it by the lineal foot of curb. This varies considerably with the size of the site, amount of curbing and type of ground. A typical straight curb is 6 inches wide by 2 feet high with 1 foot, 6 inches below the ground. The formwork is twice the height times the length. Since the formwork is only 2 feet high and will be buried in the ground for the most part, it belongs in the same class for pricing as wall footings.

Strainght curbs and curb and gutter work are taken off separately because they are formed in two separate price brackets. The forms for straight curbs and simple and equal to twice the height. The forms for curb and gutter are in three locations: H1, H2 and D. The face dimension, H2, requires a curved form, but it can be grouped, for pricing purposes, with H1 and D for total

form area. The finishing of straight curbs cost one-half of that required to finish curb and gutter. Both are priced by the lineal foot of wither straight curb or curb and gutter. Hand excavation for curb work is best priced by the lineal foot of straight curb or curb and gutter because it is a rather indeterminate quantity.

The finishing of the exposed curb top should be given in lineal feet. The concrete is given in cubic yards.

Exterior curb and gutter

Hand excavation, forms, finishing and concrete are taken off here. The same outline of takeoff as given for straight curbs will apply to curb and gutter. A typical curb and gutter is 6 inches thick with a 2-foot wide

apron and a 6-inch high rise at the curb. The formwork is slightly more complicated due to the apron and is more costly than for a straight curb. The concrete is given in cubic yards. The takeoff of concrete quantities is now completed and you are ready to proceed to the recap sheet and pricing of the job. This will be covered by the next article in this series.

* The author, a civil engineering graduate from the University of Notre Dame, has been estimating concrete work for the past 17 years. For eight of these years, Mr. Le Jeune was president of his own estimating service. The author presently is associated with W.E. ONeil Construction Company, Chicago, Illinois.

PUBLICATION #C670331
Copyright 1967, The Aberdeen Group All rights reserved