Cost Estimating for Construction Projects

Explore how productivity and activity duration drive labor cost in construction, comparing unit-based and duration-based methods, and applying daily output to estimate hours and days.

Explore how electronic spreadsheets, especially Excel, support cost estimating through quantity takeoffs, unit costs, and overhead and profit to calculate total costs for concrete elements.

Convert all dimensions to cubic yards, compute circular area with pi r^2 from the diameter, and multiply by height; total for 50 columns is 48.48 yd³.

Build a spreadsheet to estimate total clothing costs, applying discounts of 40% off suits, 35% off pants, 20% off shirts, tees, and dresses, plus 7% tax.

Create a spreadsheet to calculate the total cost of clothing items—apply item prices, quantities, discounts, and 7% sales tax, using Excel formulas and the sum function for a dynamic subtotal.

Create an Excel spreadsheet to compute the overall average height and weight from an anonymous data set, then sort by gender to compute averages for men and women.

Learn to set up a spreadsheet from a random sample to calculate the average height and weight for men and women. Use sorting to separate sexes and compute group's average.

Compute the formwork contact area for a column by calculating four rectangular faces, converting measurements to feet, and summing results for 48 columns.

Explore the five to one classes of cost estimating, from ballpark to detailed estimates, and learn how accuracy, feasibility studies, and WBS guide budgeting and project control.

Explore competitive bidding, selective bidding, and direct or indirect award methods, and learn how time matters with plus D and lane renting incentives, including A plus B decision logic.

Collaborate in groups to practice basic cost estimating concepts from chapter three, solving true/false and multiple-choice questions, and submit your elaborative answers to the exercise three box on e-courses.

Apply the A plus B method to compare three bids for a construction project, weighing daily value and bid duration to select the optimal bidder under different daily worth scenarios.

Compute architectural and structural fees for a $15 million hospital project using CSI Masterformat references. Interpolate 8.7% architectural fee ($1.3 million) and 1.2% structural fee ($180k), then $109,750 performance bond.

Compute labor costs for two crews over three weeks with four workers at $30 per hour. Add workers' compensation and overhead—builders insurance, bonds, and architecture fees—to determine the initial estimate.

Compute workers' compensation insurance cost for a three-week, full-time construction crew in North Carolina, with two crews, four workers and one foreman, at specified hourly wages.

Estimate the mechanical and electrical portion of a $3.3 million municipal project using median table percentages and square-foot costs; compute the engineering fee at 4.9% of the $762,000 subcontractor size.

Learn to interpolate and extrapolate costs between RSMeans items when exact matches are missing, using closest items and linear formulas. Apply to excavating costs and hauling distances with overhead.

explain replacing union wages with location-specific open shop rates to estimate bare costs for a 7800 sq ft slab on grade, calculating labor and equipment costs per square foot.

Explore how inflation and cost escalation affect construction project estimates by applying the compound interest formula to calculate future costs, using historical cost indices and annual escalation rates.

Calculate the total cost of laying 10,000 square yards of polypropylene stabilization fabric in Nashua, New Hampshire, using labor at $31 per hour and equipment at $40 per hour.

Estimate cost, including overhead and profit, to demolish a gypsum board suspended ceiling on a suspension system, covering load, haul, dumpster disposal, and 20x60 ft ceiling 100 ft away.

Estimate concrete formwork costs by selecting element type and material, and performing quantity takeoff. Apply productivity, local labor rates, and overhead to determine bare and total costs.

Estimate precast concrete elements such as beams and columns, including delivery and installation costs. Understand bare cost versus total cost with overhead and profit for precast versus cast in place.

Perform a practical cost estimate for columns and footings, calculating formwork area, rebar quantities and sizes, concrete volume, pumping, and total project cost.

Learn to build a construction estimate by mapping Masterformat 2016/2017 data to concrete formwork, rebar, concrete mix, and placement for columns and footings using ready-mix 3500 psi.

Identify and reference formwork and reinforcement quantities for beams, girders, columns, elevated slabs, and slab-on-grade, converting areas to linear feet and tonnage with 10% contingencies to complete the cost calculation.

Estimate the cost and total cost with overhead and profit for providing and installing eight-inch common brick masonry, accounting for openings over ten square feet, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Apply per ton cost estimation for an industrial building in Atlanta by adjusting from 59.82 tons to about 69 tons, and calculate unit costs for material, labor, equipment, and overhead.

Calculate bare and total costs per ton for shop-fabricated structural steel columns, beams, and details in Rochester, New York, using an Excel-based quantity and weight method.

Explore division seven's thermal and moisture control, building envelope concepts, and practical roof calculations, including rafter length via Pythagorean theorem and roof slope factors.

Estimate wood frame structures by counting and sizing girders, joists, and plywood, converting lengths to MDF board feet, and computing bare costs from plan quantities.

Compute the volume of all wood elements and practice, with the answers posted by midnight for review tomorrow.