MASONRY
22. Stone masonry is generally measured by the perch; in some sections of the United States, however, measurement by the cord is preferred, but the best method (as being invariable) is by the cubic yard. In estimating by the perch, it is necessary to state how much the perch is taken at, whether 24¾ or 25 cubic feet. Note should also be made in regard to corners and deduction for openings. In most localities it is not customary to deduct openings under a certain size, and corners are usually measured twice.
23. Rough stone from the quarry is generally sold under two classifications; namely, rubble and dimension stone. Rubble consists of pieces of irregular size, such as are most easily obtained from the quarry, up to 12 inches in thickness by 24 inches in length. Stone ordered of a certain size, or to square over 24 inches each way and to be of a particular thickness, is called dimension stone.
Rubble masonry and stone backing are generally figured by the perch or cubic yard. Dimension-stone footings are measured by the square foot unless they are built of large, irregular stone, in which case they are measured the same as rubble. Ashlar work is always figured by the superficial foot; openings are usually deducted, and the jambs are measured in with the face work. Flagging and slabs of all kinds, such as hearths, treads for steps, etc., are measured by the square foot; sills, lintels, molding, belt courses, and cornices, by the linear foot; and irregular pieces, by the cubic foot. All carved work is done at an agreed price by the piece.
DATA ON RUBBLE MASONRY
24. The following proportions and cost of materials and amount of labor required to lay 1 perch of rubble masonry are reasonably accurate, and will serve to give an idea of how to estimate such work. A perch of rubble masonry requires, approximately, 2,500 pounds of stone.
Cost of Rubble Masonry
| Using 1-to-3 Lime Mortar | ||
| 1 | perch of stone (25 cubic ft.) delivered at work | $1.25 |
| 1 | bushel of lime | .25 |
| ⅙ | cubic yard of sand, at $1.50 per cubic yard | .25 |
| ½ | day, mason’s labor, at $3.20 per day | 1.60 |
| ¼ | day, helper’s labor, at $2 per day | .50 |
| Total | $3.85 | |
| Using 1-to-3 Portland-Cement Mortar | ||
| 1 | perch of stone | $1.25 |
| ¾ | barrel of Portland cement, at $2 per barrel | 1.50 |
| ¼ | cubic yard of sand, at $1.50 per cubic yard | .38 |
| ½ | day, mason’s labor, at $3.20 per day | 1.60 |
| ¼ | day, helper’s labor, at $2 per day | .50 |
| Total | $5.23 | |
To the preceding amounts should be added the cost of scaffolding and the builder’s profit. If the walls are over two stories in height, 60 cents per perch extra for hoisting should be added.
DATA ON FLAGSTONES
AND CURBING
25. Flagstones for sidewalks, ordinary stock, natural surface, 3 inches thick, with joints pitched to line, in lengths (along walk) from 3 to 5 feet, will cost, for a 3-foot walk, about 11 cents per square foot (if 2 inches thick, 10½ cents); for a 4-foot walk, 12 cents; and for a 5-foot walk, 16 cents. The cost of laying all sizes will average about 3 cents per square foot. These figures do not include cost of hauling.
Curbing, 4 in. × 24 in., granite, will cost from 40 to 50 cents per linear foot at the quarry; digging and setting will cost from 10 to 12 cents additional; and the cost of freight and hauling must also be added.
DATA ON ASHLAR AND
CUT STONE
26. The following figures are average prices for ashlar facing when the transportation charges are not excessive, and are not given as fixed values, but more to show the relative costs. They include nothing but plain ashlar, and in estimating, the extra cost of sills, lintels, water-tables, belt courses, coping, etc. must be added. These prices are based on quarrymen’s wages of $2.50 per day, and stone-cutters’ wages of $4 per day.
Good rock-face bluestone ashlar, with from 6- to 10-inch beds, dressed about 3 inches from face, will cost, ready for laying, from 30 to 40 cents per square foot, face measure; while a higher grade of work will cost from 40 to 55 cents per square foot. Regular course bluestone ashlar, from 12 to 18 inches high and with from 8- to 12-inch beds, will cost about 50 cents per square foot. To this (and the previous figures) must be added the cost of hauling, which, on an average, will be about 3 cents per square foot.
To the preceding figures must also be added the cost of setting the ashlar. In estimating the cost of ashlar walls backed with brick, the wall is considered as solid brick, the cost of setting the ashlar being offset by the saving in cost of the brick and mortar and the labor resulting from making part of the thickness of the wall of stone. The cost of raking out the joints and pointing, which amounts to about 10 cents per square foot, must also be added.
27. The following figures show the approximate cost of cut bluestone for various uses:
| Flagstone, 5-inch, size 8' × 10', edges and top | ||
| bush-hammered, per sq. ft., face measure | $ .75 | |
| Flagstone, 4-inch, size 5' × 5', select stock, | ||
| edges clean cut, natural top, per sq. ft. | .45 | |
| Door sills, | 8" × 12", clean cut, per lin. ft. | 1.35 |
| Window sills, | 5" × 12", clean cut, per lin. ft. | .80 |
| Window sills, | 4" × 8", clean cut, per lin. ft. | .45 |
| Window sills, | 5" × 8", clean cut, per lin. ft. | .60 |
| Lintels, | 4" × 10", clean cut, per lin. ft. | .65 |
| Lintels, | 8" × 12", clean cut, per lin. ft. | 1.25 |
| Steps, sawed stock, | 7" × 14", per lin. ft. | 1.10 |
| Water-table, | 8" × 12", clean cut, per lin. ft. | 1.25 |
| Coping, | 4" × 21", clean cut, per lin. ft. | 1.20 |
| Coping, | 4" × 21", rock-face edges and top, | |
| per lin. ft. | .50 | |
| Coping, | 3" × 15", rock-face edges and top, | |
| per lin. ft. | .35 | |
| Coping, | 3" × 18", rock-face edges and top, | |
| per lin. ft. | .40 | |
| Platform, | 6 inches thick, per sq. ft. | .50 |
To the preceding prices of cut stone must be added the cost of setting, which for water-tables, steps, etc. will be about 10 cents per linear foot; and for window sills, etc., about 5 cents per linear foot. In addition, about 10 cents per cubic foot for fitting, and about 5 cents per cubic foot for trimming the joints after the pieces are set in place, should be allowed.
28. In a day of 8 hours, a stone cutter can cut about 4 square feet of granite, about 6 square feet of bluestone, or about 8 square feet of Ohio sandstone or limestone. These figures are for 6-cut, patent-hammered work. For rock-face ashlar (beds worked about 3 inches from face, the rest pitched), a workman can dress from 15 to 25 square feet of random ashlar per day; and from 18 to 20 square feet of coursed ashlar. In dressing laminated stone, from two to three times more work can be done in a day on the natural surface than on the edge of layers. In figuring cut stone, ample allowance should be made for waste, which, on an average, will be 15 per cent.
ADDITIONAL METHOD OF
ESTIMATING ASHLAR
29. The following method of estimating the cost of cut stone is employed by many practical stone men. It is based on the fact that most ashlar walls have about the same number of sills, belt courses, lintels, water-tables, etc. in proportion to their volume, and therefore all the stonework, both the ashlar proper and the other cut stone, may be lumped together at one price per cubic foot. For estimating purposes, stone may be divided into two classes: soft stone, such as the sandstones, and hard stone, such as the granites.
30. Soft Stone.—Indiana limestone may be taken as an example of soft stone. In the Eastern Pennsylvania district, where the stone cutters’ wage rate is 50 cents per hour, the cost of this kind of stone is about as follows:
| Rough blocks, per cubic foot | $ .75 |
| Sawing, jointing, cutting, rubbing, waste in stock | 1.50 |
| Total | $2.25 |
If the work is tooled, which is preferable for this material, 20 cents per cubic foot should be added. Thus the value in the yard, but ready to set, for an ashlar front, including water-table, sills, lintels, belt courses, all ordinary moldings, and plain cornices, is $2.45 per cubic foot.
Consoles, dentils, panelings, and similar ornamental work, mantels, and interior work have no fixed prices, but must be governed by the estimator’s knowledge of time required to cut any particular kind, sometimes reaching $5 per cubic foot. If moldings are deeply undercut, an extra price will have to be charged.
In heavy work, where the amount of stock is large compared with the amount of dressing, deductions may be made that sometimes amount to as much as 20 per cent. Rock-face work is somewhat more expensive than plain, dressed work because the projecting rock surface requires more stock; therefore, about 10 per cent. should be added.
It is customary to leave stone roughly cut to shape for carving in the wall, and therefore the sculptor determines the value from the drawings and includes the cost of models, which must be approved by the architect before the work is cut. Circular work, if plain, costs about the same as square work, but if fluted or reeded, as in the case of columns, it may cost as much as 50 per cent. additional.
31. Compared with limestone, the prices of other soft stones are as follows:
| Cost of Stock | For Cutting Per Cent. | |
| Connecticut brownstone | $1.25 | 20 |
| Long Meadow brownstone | 1.25 | 30 |
| Portage red stone | 1.05 | 30 |
| Vermont or Georgia white marble | 2.15 | 50 |
| Pennsylvania blue marble | 2.00 | 50 |
| Bluestone | .80 | 30 |
No definite price can be given for marble, as it comes in different grades and varieties.
The prices of stock just given are for stones of common size. If extra-large or extra-long stones are required, their price per cubic foot will be greater.
The cost of transportation from the quarries also influences the price of stone. This cost will vary according to the distance of the quarry from the location where the stone is to be used. The cost of hauling stone from the yard and setting it in the wall runs from 40 to 50 cents per cubic foot.
32. Granite.—Final estimates of cut granite by the cubic foot are seldom made, although approximate estimates are often made in that way by comparing a proposed piece of work with a similar one already completed. The reason for not making final estimates is that every additional molding or break in granite work affects the cost considerably, differing greatly in this respect from soft stone.
The first note to be made by the estimator is in regard to the cost of material. Good granite, in dimension sizes, can be obtained from southern quarries by rail for 65 cents per cubic foot, delivered. The same expenditure will buy very good eastern granite where through water transportation is available. If, however, the granite specified is such that it must be obtained from eastern quarries having only rail facilities for shipment, an addition of 40 or 50 cents per cubic foot will be required. There are also some special grades of granite that cost $1.50 or more per foot. In shipping granite, the railroads usually allow 8 cubic yards to the car. Granite for monumental purposes costs from $1.25 to $5 per foot, according to the size and quality. At wholesale, the price first mentioned, namely, 65 cents per cubic foot, will buy as good, substantial, and handsome material as will generally be required.
33. Machinery is used extensively for cutting plain faces in granite, and also to some extent for moldings and carved work. Every line in granite is costly to cut and must be computed separately. For instance, a plain face 12 inches wide, if cut by machinery, will cost 45 cents per square foot, while if cut by hand, where the machine cannot be applied, it will cost 60 cents. A 2-inch bevel, as shown at [a, Fig. 3], will cost 50 cents per linear foot additional. A scotia, as shown at b, or other molding, as at c, will cost 60 cents per linear foot additional for each member.
Fig. 3
All returns, no matter how small, must be counted as not less than 1 foot. Circular work costs from 50 to 100 per cent. more than straight work. Flutes or reeds in columns are very expensive, and must be calculated in each case according to the width and depth. All beads and joints should be counted at say 30 cents per square foot. All notches or rabbets are counted separately, according to shape and size.
The preceding prices are based on what is called patent-hammered, six-cut work. Eight-cut work will cost 15 per cent. more, and ten-cut work, which is seldom used in ordinary building work, brings $1 per square foot. Rock-face work in granite is cheaper than hammered work. A good, clean rock face should be counted at 20 cents per square foot. Axed, or peen-hammered, work is between rock face and six cut.
Polishing plain surfaces costs $1 per square foot in addition to the cost of cutting, surfaces having widths of 4 inches and under counting as 6 inches, and those over 6 inches up to 12 inches counting as 1 foot.