Material calculation thumb rule for Construction
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Constructing a building is a big task and the materials required to finish the building play a major role in it. If you can able to calculate them in advance you can able to arrange the storage facilities and can able to schedule the work accordingly without delay in construction due to delays in materials. Because some materials need 3 months for production and some were readily available in the market. So here is the thumb rule where you can approximately calculate how much material will be required to finish the building. The thing that we discuss here is the thumb rule, which will match nearly 90% of the standard building design and execution. If you want the exact materials we need to make a specified estimate for that building. These thumb rules were used to roughly check those estimates or to roughly arrive at materials, but if you have an idea of starting the construction of the building. It is always advisable to have a proper estimate because you don't need to have a shortage of the cash flow that you need at the end, so you can plan accordingly.
Let us now see how much material is required for constructing 100 square feet by using a manual mix instead of RMC. If you are using RMC then the Cement, Sand and Aggregate get subsumed within Ready Mix Concrete(RMC).
Cement
Cement is the most important material that takes up approximately 16.4% of your project cost. You will need nearly 40% of the buildup area that needs to be converted into cement bags to complete the whole project.
For Example,
As we discussed 100 sqft is the build-up area of our building, So 40% of the Buildup area is 40. So you need 40 bags of Cement to complete the construction of the 100 sqft buildup area building.
Sand / Fine Aggregate
Sand is the next most important material after cement. Sand takes up nearly 12.3% of the total project cost. To approximately to calculate the amount of sand required take 81.6% of the building area of the building.
For Example,
If you want to construct a 100sqft buildup area then you need 81.6% of the buildup area as sand, Which can be expressed as 100 x 0.816 = 81.6 Tons of sand required. The sand includes both the Sand for concrete mix, Masonry, Plastering as well and tile laying.
Coarse Aggregate
Aggregate was the strengthening material in concrete. The concrete gets its strength from aggregate. You may wonder then what cement does. Cement is the binding material. The bonds of the cement make these solid aggregates become and act as one. Hence aggregate was known as the strength material of concrete.
Aggregates come in different sizes ranging from 8 mm to 60mm. Different sizes were used for different purposes. In Construction cost aggregate takes up nearly 7.4% which includes all such as PCC for flooring, all types of concrete work etc. To approximately calculate the amount of aggregate, take 60.8% of the buildup area.
For Example,
If you want to construct a 100sqft buildup area then you need 60.8% of the buildup area as aggregate, which can be expressed as 100 x 0.608 = 60.8 Tons of coarse aggregate. This includes all the aggerate such as PCC for flooring, all types of concrete works etc., to complete the project / Building.
If you want to know the different types of coarse aggregate and its uses, visit our article titled "Course aggregate types and uses".
Steel
Steel is the costliest material of all in construction it takes up nearly 24.6% of your construction project. To calculate for 100 square feet of buildup you need 400 kilogran steel which is 4 times the build-up area.
If you want to know how steel is made nowadays check out our article on "How steel is made in modern days".
Masonry Work
Masonry works take up 4.4% of the project cost. There are various types of masonry works out there like Red Bricks, Solid Blocks Hollow Blocks etc., we take Red Brick Masonry which is more cost-consuming than any other masonry. To calculate the amount of bricks needed from the buildup area, take 8 times the build-up area that is to complete 100 square feet of buildup area you need 800 pieces of bricks to complete the work.
Flooring
Flooring includes all the Tiles area of the Construction projects. Tiles take up 8% of the total cost of the project. To provide flooring for 100 square feet of construction area you need 130 square feet of tiles which is 130% of the Buildup area.
Painting
Painting takes up nearly 4.1% of the construction cost of the building. For example to complete Painting for a 100 square feet area you need 18 litres of paint. This means 18% of the buildup area is the paint requirement in litres to complete the project.
Electricity
Electricity is mandatory for machinery like the wood cutting machine, wall cutting machine, Steel Cutter etc., So in the total cost of the project about 6.8% of the cost will go to the electricity.
Plumbing
The Water and Sewage pipelines were essential in the building construction without this they can't be habitable, they are collectively known as Plumbing. This takes up nearly 5.5% of your construction cost of the project.
Joineries
By Joineries we are mentioning the Doors & Windows of the Construction project which takes up nearly Doors(3.4%) and Windows(3%) of your Construction Project cost.
Sanitary Fitting
Sanitary fittings include the Closet, Wash basins, Showers, Taps etc. This takes up nearly 4% of the construction cost.
So, if you are planning to start a project, you can easily have an approximate split up of the amount of funds or money that is needed for each material in the construction.
Constructing a building is a big task and the materials required to finish the building play a major role in it. If you can able to calculate them in advance you can able to arrange the storage facilities and can able to schedule the work accordingly without delay in construction due to delays in materials. Because some materials need 3 months for production and some were readily available in the market. So here is the thumb rule where you can approximately calculate how much material will be required to finish the building. The thing that we discuss here is the thumb rule, which will match nearly 90% of the standard building design and execution. If you want the exact materials we need to make a specified estimate for that building. These thumb rules were used to roughly check those estimates or to roughly arrive at materials, but if you have an idea of starting the construction of the building. It is always advisable to have a proper estimate because you don't need to have a shortage of the cash flow that you need at the end, so you can plan accordingly.
Let us now see how much material is required for constructing 100 square feet by using a manual mix instead of RMC. If you are using RMC then the Cement, Sand and Aggregate get subsumed within Ready Mix Concrete(RMC).
Cement
Cement is the most important material that takes up approximately 16.4% of your project cost. You will need nearly 40% of the buildup area that needs to be converted into cement bags to complete the whole project.
For Example,
As we discussed 100 sqft is the build-up area of our building, So 40% of the Buildup area is 40. So you need 40 bags of Cement to complete the construction of the 100 sqft buildup area building.
Sand / Fine Aggregate
Sand is the next most important material after cement. Sand takes up nearly 12.3% of the total project cost. To approximately to calculate the amount of sand required take 81.6% of the building area of the building.
For Example,
If you want to construct a 100sqft buildup area then you need 81.6% of the buildup area as sand, Which can be expressed as 100 x 0.816 = 81.6 Tons of sand required. The sand includes both the Sand for concrete mix, Masonry, Plastering as well and tile laying.
Coarse Aggregate
Aggregate was the strengthening material in concrete. The concrete gets its strength from aggregate. You may wonder then what cement does. Cement is the binding material. The bonds of the cement make these solid aggregates become and act as one. Hence aggregate was known as the strength material of concrete.
Aggregates come in different sizes ranging from 8 mm to 60mm. Different sizes were used for different purposes. In Construction cost aggregate takes up nearly 7.4% which includes all such as PCC for flooring, all types of concrete work etc. To approximately calculate the amount of aggregate, take 60.8% of the buildup area.
For Example,
If you want to construct a 100sqft buildup area then you need 60.8% of the buildup area as aggregate, which can be expressed as 100 x 0.608 = 60.8 Tons of coarse aggregate. This includes all the aggerate such as PCC for flooring, all types of concrete works etc., to complete the project / Building.
If you want to know the different types of coarse aggregate and its uses, visit our article titled "Course aggregate types and uses".
Steel
Steel is the costliest material of all in construction it takes up nearly 24.6% of your construction project. To calculate for 100 square feet of buildup you need 400 kilogran steel which is 4 times the build-up area.
If you want to know how steel is made nowadays check out our article on "How steel is made in modern days".
Masonry Work
Masonry works take up 4.4% of the project cost. There are various types of masonry works out there like Red Bricks, Solid Blocks Hollow Blocks etc., we take Red Brick Masonry which is more cost-consuming than any other masonry. To calculate the amount of bricks needed from the buildup area, take 8 times the build-up area that is to complete 100 square feet of buildup area you need 800 pieces of bricks to complete the work.
Flooring
Flooring includes all the Tiles area of the Construction projects. Tiles take up 8% of the total cost of the project. To provide flooring for 100 square feet of construction area you need 130 square feet of tiles which is 130% of the Buildup area.
Painting
Painting takes up nearly 4.1% of the construction cost of the building. For example to complete Painting for a 100 square feet area you need 18 litres of paint. This means 18% of the buildup area is the paint requirement in litres to complete the project.
Electricity
Electricity is mandatory for machinery like the wood cutting machine, wall cutting machine, Steel Cutter etc., So in the total cost of the project about 6.8% of the cost will go to the electricity.
Plumbing
The Water and Sewage pipelines were essential in the building construction without this they can't be habitable, they are collectively known as Plumbing. This takes up nearly 5.5% of your construction cost of the project.
Joineries
By Joineries we are mentioning the Doors & Windows of the Construction project which takes up nearly Doors(3.4%) and Windows(3%) of your Construction Project cost.
Sanitary Fitting
Sanitary fittings include the Closet, Wash basins, Showers, Taps etc. This takes up nearly 4% of the construction cost.
So, if you are planning to start a project, you can easily have an approximate split up of the amount of funds or money that is needed for each material in the construction.
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