| Setting up and taking down derrick and platform: | |
| 4 days foreman at $5.00 | $ 20.00 |
| ¾ days engineman at $3.00 | 2.25 |
| ¾ days blacksmith at $3.00 | 2.25 |
| ¾ days blacksmith helper at $2.00 | 1.50 |
| 22 days laborers at $2.00 | 44.00 |
| ——— | |
| Total | $ 70.00 |
| Cofferdam— | |
| 7 days foreman at $5.00 | $ 35.00 |
| 4 days engineman at $3.00 | 12.00 |
| 38 days laborers at $2.00 | 76.00 |
| 1 ton coal at $3.00 | 3.00 |
| ——— | |
| Total labor on 7,900 ft. B. M. at $16.00 | $126.00 |
| 7,900 ft. B. M. at $20.00 | 158.00 |
| ——— | |
| Total for 58 cu. yds. excavation | $284.00 |
| Wet Excavation— | |
| 1.8 days foreman at $5.00 | $ 9.00 |
| 1.5 days engineman at $3.00 | 4.50 |
| 9 days laborers at $2.00 | 18.00 |
| ½ ton coal at $3.00 | 1.50 |
| ——— | |
| Total labor on 58 cu. yds. at 57c. | $ 33.00 |
| Foundation Piles— | |
| 960 lin. ft. at 10c | $ 96.00 |
| 4 days setting up driver and driving 24 piles at $20 per day for labor and fuel | 80.00 |
| ——— | |
| Total | $176.00 |
| Concrete— | |
| 100 cu yds. stone at $1.00 | $100.00 |
| 40 cu. yds. sand at $0.50 | 20.00 |
| 100 bbls. cement at $2.00 | 200.00 |
| 5 days foreman at $5.00 | 25.00 |
| 50 days laborers at $2.00 | 100.00 |
| 5 days engineman at $3.00 | 15.00 |
| 2 tons coal at $3.00 | 6.00 |
| ——— | |
| Total, 100 cu. yds. at $4.66 | $466.00 |
| 8 days carpenters at $3.00 | 24.00 |
| 2,400 ft. B. M. 2-in. plank at $25.00 | 60.00 |
| 1,000 ft. B. M. 4×6-in. studs at $20.00 | 20.00 |
| Nails, wire, etc | 2.00 |
| ——— | |
| Total forms for 100 cu. yds. at $1.06 | $106.00 |
| Summary— | |
| Setting up derrick, etc. | $ 70.00 |
| Cofferdam (7,900 ft. B. M.) | 284.00 |
| Wet excavation (58 cu. yds.) | 33.00 |
| Foundation piles (24) | 176.00 |
| Concrete (100 cu. yds.) | 466.00 |
| Forms (3,400 ft. B. M.) | 106.00 |
| ———— | |
| Total | $1,135.00 |
| Transporting plant | 20.00 |
| 20 days rental of plant at $5.00 | 100.00 |
| ———— | |
| Total cost of pier | $1,252.00 |
Regarding the item of plant rental, it should be said that the plant consisted of a pile driver, a derrick, a hoisting engine, and sundry timbers for platforms. There was no concrete mixer. Hence an allowance $5 per day for use of plant is sufficient.
It will be noted that no salvage has been allowed on the lumber for forms. As a matter of fact, all this lumber was recovered, and was used again in similar work.
Referring to the cost of cofferdam work, we see that, in order to excavate the 58 cu. yds. inside the cofferdam, it was necessary to spend $284, or nearly $5 per cu. yd. before the actual excavation was begun. The work of excavating cost only 57 cts. per cu. yd., but this does not include the cost of erecting the derrick which was used in raising the loaded buckets of earth, as well as in subsequently placing the concrete. The sheet piles were not pulled, in this instance, but a contractor who understands the art of pile pulling would certainly not leave the piles in the ground. A hand pump served to keep the cofferdam dry enough for excavating; but in more open material a power pump is usually required.
The above costs are the actual costs, and do not include the contractor's profits. His bid on the work was as follows:
| Piles delivered | 12 cts. per ft. |
| Piles driven | $5 each |
| Cofferdam | $37 per M. |
| Wet excavation | $1.00 per cu. yd. |
| Concrete | $8.00 per cu. yd. |
In order to ascertain whether or not these prices yielded a fair profit, it is necessary to distribute the cost of the plant transportation and rental over the various items. We have allowed $120 for plant transportation and rental, and $70 for setting up and taking down the plant, or $190 in all. The working time of the plant was as follows:
| Days. | Per cent. of time. | Prorated plant cost. | |
| Cofferdam | 7 | 39 | $74 |
| Excavation | 2 | 11 | 21 |
| Foundation piles | 4 | 22 | 42 |
| Concrete | 5 | 28 | 53 |
| — | —— | —— | |
| Totals | 18 | 100 | $190 |
As above given, the labor on the 7,900 ft. B. M. in the cofferdam cost $126, or $16 per M.; but this additional $74 of prorated plant costs, adds another $9 per M., bringing the total labor and plant to $25 per M., to which must be added the $20 per M. paid for the timber in the cofferdam, making a grand total of $45 per M. This shows that the contractor's bid of $37 per M. was much too low.