CH.

INTRODUCTION

30-SEP-2020
DEFINITION:

The Estimation is a process of calculating the quantities

and costs of the various items required for the work and
expenditures likely to be incurred in the construction of a
proposed work and therefore to determine the final cost
and the time required for the construction before starting
the work or taken up.
Estimation requires a thorough Knowledge of the
construction procedures and cost of materials & labour in
addition to the skill , experience, foresight and good
judgment.
THE PURPOSE OF THE ESTIMATION:
1. To work out the necessary amount of money required
by the owner to complete the proposed work.
and in order to decide its feasibility with respect to the
cost and to ensure the financial resources.
2. To ascertain quantities of materials required in order to
program their timely procurement and making
applications to the controlling authorities.
3. To calculate the number of different categories of
workers those are to be employed to complete the
work within the scheduled time of completion.
4. To assess the requirements (tools, equipment) required to
complete the work according to a given program.
5. To fix the completion period from the volume of works
involved in the estimate.
6. To draw up a construction schedule and program and also to
arrange the funds required according to the program.
7. To invite tenders, prepare bills for payment and to check
contractor’s work during and after its execution for the
purpose of making payments to the contractor.
For a good estimate the actual cost of the proposed work after
completion should not differ by more than 5 to 10 % from its
approximate cost estimate, provided there are no unusual
unforeseen circumstances.
SITE CONDITIONS AFFECTING THE OVERALL COST
1. Each type of work requires a different method of
construction, Construction may be of an ordinary house,
office, Dam, Tunnel, Multistory building, Airport, Bridge,
or a Road already in operation.
Each of these works requires totally different construction
techniques, Materials, type of machinery and formwork.
2. Quality of labourers and their output varies in different
localities.
3. Weather conditions greatly affect the output and, hence,
the overall cost.
4. Ground conditions changes the method of the
construction. The excavation in( dry, wet, hard, soft soil)
and shallow or deep excavation requiring different efforts.
5. The work may be in open area such as fields or it may be in
congested areas such as near the public roads, need
extensive watching, lightening, and controlling efforts, etc.
6. The source of the available materials of a good quality .
7. The availability of the construction machinery .
8. Access to the site must be reasonable. If the access is poor,
temporary roads may be constructed.
ESTIMATING ENGINEER (ESTIMATOR)

The Engineer who have a good knowledge about the

construction process, the estimator begin his career doing
quantity takeoff,
The duty of the Estimator :-
1. Preparing the process of the estimation.
2. Establishing the price and cost of all materials including
their transportation, rent of equipment and service costs.
3. Preparing the process of execution of the project.
4. Calculating the final time of the execution of the project
5. To calculate the final cost of the works after completion.
ESSENTIAL QUALITIES OF A GOOD ESTIMATOR

1. The Estimator must have good knowledge regarding the

important rules of quantity surveying and selection of a
good method for preparing an estimate
2. He must thoroughly understand the drawings and details
of the construction works, for which he is going to
prepare an estimate.
3. He must also be clearly informed about the specifications
showing nature and classes of works and the materials to
be used because the rates at which various types of
works can be executed depend upon its specifications.
4. Experience in construction works.
5. Having information regarding the materials required,
machinery needed, overhead, problems, and costs of
all kinds.
6. Good judgment with regard to different localities,
different jobs.
Before preparing the estimate, the estimator should visit the site
and make a study of the condition of the construction work

1. Note the location of the proposed building.

2. Get all data available regarding the soil.
3. Make a sketch of the site showing all important details.
4. Obtain information concerning light, power, and water.
5. Secure information concerning banking facilities.
6. Note conditions of streets leading to railway yards and to
material dealers.
7. Investigate general efficiency of local workman.
OWNER (Employer)

The person of behalf of which work is to be done.

He may be an individual or firm or organization.
May be :
1. A person or organization, who built project, expends
the money and get benefits from the project.
2. An organization built a project but doesn't get any
benefits from the project like service projects
,government offices, roads, Hospitals,
………………etc.)
TYPES OF THE ESTIMATION
1 Approximate Estimation or (Preliminary or Rough) cost estimation
2. Detailed Estimate or Item Rate Estimation

APPROXIMATE ESTIMATION (QUICK ESTIMATION)

 This type of estimation is simple, quick and rough.
 The Estimator will estimate the cost of the project roughly,
depending on the entire area or volume of the building
and the unit rate of previous buildings which have the
same conditions.
 The area or the volume of the building is multiplied by the
cost of one unit of measurements
Methods of Approximate Estimation:
1) Plinth area method
2) Cubical contents methods )Cub Rate method)
3) Unit base method.
4. Approximate Quantity Method Estimate

1- Plinth area method

The cost of construction is determined by multiplying plinth area with plinth
area rate. The area which obtained is the outer dimensions of the building.
In fixing the plinth area rate, careful observation and necessary enquiries are
made in respect of quality and quantity aspect of materials and labour, type of
foundation, height of building, roof, wood works, fixtures, number of storeys
etc.
Example: 1

A building with a dimension of (20*35)m consists of:

Basement, Ground floor, first floor, second floor and roof. The total
amount of the building was (1,500,000,000)ID.
Determine the rate of one meter square of the building due to the
following assumptions:
A- All floors have the same rate of square meter.
B- The rate of Basement is equal 60% of the rate of other floors and
rate of building roof equal 40% of other floors rate
2- Cubic Method ( Cubical Contents Method)
This method is generally used for multi-storeyed buildings. It is more
accurate that the other two methods viz., plinth area method and
unit base method.
The cost of a structure is calculated approximately as the total cubical
contents (Volume of buildings) multiplied by Local Cubic Rate. The
volume of building is obtained by (Area x depth or height).
The length and breadth are measured out to out of walls excluding
the plinth offset.
The cost of string course, cornice, corbelling etc., is neglected.
The cost of building = volume of buildings x rate/ unit volum
Example: 2
A building with a dimension of (60*40)m has been built, consists of
Basement, Ground floor, first floor and second floor. The total
amount of the building was (2,000,000,000)ID.
- The height of the basement = 2.8 m
- The height of the other floors = 3 m
Determine the rate of cubic meter of the building due to the
following assumptions:
A- All floors have the same rate of cubic meter.
B- The rate of Basement is equal 60% of the rate of other floors
3- Unit Base Method

According to this method the cost of structure is determined by

multiplying the total number of units with unit rate of each item. In
case schools and colleges, the unit considered to be as ‘one
student’ and in case of hospital, the unit is ‘one bed’.
The unit rate is calculated by dividing the actual expenditure
incurred or cost of similar building in the nearby locality by the
number of units
DETAILED ESTIMATION (ITEMIZING ESTIMATION):

This type of estimation is done after preparing all

required plans, details, specifications, prices of materials,
fees of workers, equipment, additional fees and
expenditures, profits.
The project works are divided into many activities,
scheduled and the quantity and rate of each activity
(ITEM) is tabulated and finally the total cost (AMOUNT)
of the building will be calculated.
AVERAGE FEES:
There are many types of fees (wages) of workers, equipments,…..etc..
1- Ordinary fees
Daily fees : Like fees of workers
Weekly fees : Like fees of workers, builders.
Monthly fees : Like salary of the employments, engineers,..
Hours fees :Like fees of equipment,
ADDITIONAL FEES
When the works require doing at two or more stages therefore the
owner must spend an over times for the workers and equipment the
amount of worker and equipment fees will be more than the ordinary
fees.
The additional fees of one working hour =
Daily fees
Number of working hours per day
Working days = 8 working hours
The additional hour fees may increase at the holidays or when the
working hours exceeds an limits.
FACTORES EFFECTING THE COST OF ANY ENGINEERING WORKS

1. Site of the works and special conditions of the site.

2. Existence of skilled workers.
3. General economic conditions (Supply and demand ).
4. Holidays and vacation days.
5. Weather conditions.
6. Preparation works.
7. Additional and continuous expenses (salary, site office,..)
8. Availability of materials and equipment.
9. Time assigned or required for the execution.
PROFITS

profit means the amount of money added to the total estimated

cost of the project.
All costs relating to the project, including project and office
overhead and salaries, are included in the estimated cost of the
building.
Profits = {Amount given to the contractor during the execution
periodically – [cost expended to the executed items + (salary,
insurance, taxes...)]}
There are probably more approaches to determining how much
profit should be included than could be listed.
Each contractor and estimator seems to have a different approach.
The profit depends on the following factors.
1. Condition of the work (weather, politic…)
2. Skills and experience of the Estimator.
3. Skills of the contractor and his efficiencies.
4. Size of the project.
5. Number of contractors enters the competition (tenders).
6. General economic conditions of the site.
** The profit usually ranges between 10- 15 % and may
reach 20% or more in some times
Typical approaches by contractor and estimator
1. Add a percentage of profit to each item as it is estimated, allowing
varying amounts for the different items; for example, 8 to 15 percent
for concrete work, but only 3 to 5 percent for work subcontracted
out.
2. Add a percentage of profit to the total price tabulated for materials,
labor, overhead, and equipment. The percentage would vary from
small jobs to larger jobs (perhaps 20 to 25 percent on a small job and 5
to10 percent on a larger one), taking into account the accuracy of the
takeoff and pricing procedures used in the estimate.