HOW TO

ESTIMATE
the COST
O F

S T R U C T U R A L

S T E E L

ROBERT R. BONENFANT, JR. - JULY 2008

CONTENTS
1.

2.

INTRODUCTION

Main CSI Division

Specific Sub-Division/Specification Section
Brief Description of Structural Steel

TYPES AND METHODS OF MEASUREMENT

Steel Beam Sections and Dimensions

7.
8.

RATIOS AND ANALYSIS

MISCELLANEOUS AND PERTINENT

INFORMATION
9. GLOSSARY
10. REFERENCES

3.

FACTORS THAT MAY AFFECT TAKE-OFF, PRICING, ETC.

4.
5.
6.

OVERVIEW OF LABOR, EQUIPMENT, INDIRECT COSTS AND MARK-UPS

SAMPLE TAKE-OFF AND PRICING SHEETS
SPECIAL RISK CONSIDERATIONS

Large Quantities Versus Small Economies of Scale

Union Labor Versus Non-Union Labor
Geographical Location
Supply and Demand of Steel
Height of Building
Site Conditions
Experience of Erection Crew
Renovation Project Versus New Construction
Connection Details
Moment Connections
Beam Penetrations

Material Pricing
Escalation
Surcharges
Fuel Costs
Value of the Dollar
Lead Times

Estimating Today January 09 15

1. INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this technical paper is to provide a basic

understanding of how to prepare an estimate for structural
steel beams and columns. This paper will focus on how to do
a quantity survey of steel members, bent plate (pour stops),
shear studs, connections, steel floor and roof decking, and
price accordingly. The paper will not address AESS, diagonally braced frames, open web steel joists, trusses, steel
tube, steel stairs, grating and other miscellaneous components that may be part of a building system. In addition,
ancillary trades such as cementitious spray-fireproofing
and intumescent fireproofing will not be considered in this
technical paper. The intent of the paper is to isolate on a
few key aspects of a structural steel framed building and
not all possible components. Please note that CSIs 2004
MasterFormat edition has been used.

Main CSI Divisions

Division 05 Metals
Subdivisions - 050000 Metals
050100 Maintenance of Metals
050500 Common Work Results of Metals
050600 Schedules for Metals
050800 Commissioning of Metals
051000 Structural Metal Framing
051200 Structural Steel Framing
053000 Metal Decking
053100 Steel Decking

BRIEF DESCRIPTION
A steel framed building is an alternative to a concrete framed
building. The steel framed building is equally a good choice
as a concrete framed building. They each have distinct
building materials, practices and benefits that have to be
carefully weighed, as timing and situation will dictate the
best choice. However, steel is a material that has the highest strength-to-weight ratio and is very ductile. Steel is also
shop fabricated and therefore has a higher quality control as
its produced in a controlled environment. Steel beams and
steel columns are used to structurally frame a building so
that it supports the exterior faade, roof, interior construction, mechanical and electrical systems of the building and
of course the personnel, furnishings and equipment that
will occupy the building. The structural steel framed building also includes components such as steel floor decking,
steel roof decking, steel joists, bolted connections, welded
connections, base plates, slab pour stops, braced framing,
moment connections, and other miscellaneous cold-formed
metals to complete the steel framing system. Again, for the
purposes of this paper I will only focus on a few of these
components.

16 January 09 Estimating Today

2. TYPES AND METHODS

OF MEASUREMENT
In the construction of structural steel building some basic design
criteria needs to be developed. One is the column spacing and another is the floor-to-floor height. This leads to the sizing of columns
and beams to carry the building loads. A 30 by 30 column bay is
typical and a 12 deck height is typical in an office building. A 14
deck height is normal in a laboratory building due to significant
HVAC requirements that need to be placed in the plenum space
above ceilings. Structural steel beams and columns are designed
on the basis of their yield stress. The most common design stress is
36 KSI and referenced by ASTM designation A36. Structural steel
is fabricated in many sections such as wide flange (W), American
standard beam (S), miscellaneous beams (M), American standard
channel (C), miscellaneous channel (MC), angle (L), and structural
tees (T). A beam and column is designated in the following way;
W18x35. The W references the section shape; 18 references the
nominal height of the beam/column flange in inches; and 35 references the weight of the beam in pounds per linear foot of beam
or column length. This description is interpreted as a wide flange
beam with a nominal depth of 18 inches and a weight of 35 pounds
per linear foot.

The standard unit of measurement for steel

beams and columns is tons. The formula for
calculating tons of steel will be:
Wt. (Tons) = (L x Wt.) / 2,000
L = Length of Beam of Column
Wt. = Unit Weight of Beam or Column in Pounds
2,000 = Conversion Factor from Pounds to Tons
The unit measurement for floor and roof deck is
square feet (SF).
Area (SF) = (L x W) x 1.15
L = Length of Building in Feet
W = Width of Building in Feet
1.10 = Excess Factor for Seams (10%)
The unit measurement for pour stop is Tons.
Wt. (tons) = (P x Wt.) / 2,000
P = (L + W) x 2 if rectangular or square building
and measured perimeter (P) if irregular shaped
L = Length of Building in Feet
W = Width of Building in Feet
Wt. = Unit Weight of Beam or Column in Pounds
2,000 = Conversion Factor from Pounds to Tons
The unit measure of shear studs is Each.
Shear Studs (Each) = Quantity Count from
Structural Steel Drawings x 1.05
1.05 = Excess Factor for Defective or
Broken Studs (5%)

Structural steel drawings will be provided that shows

plan views, column schedules, and connection details. The
plan drawings will show beam lengths and sizes with shear
stud counts and cambering and the column schedules will
show column heights and sizes. Detail drawings will also
show items such as beam penetrations, moment connections, base plates, deck opening framing, HVAC support
framing, and other special framing conditions. The following charts will show some typical steel sections, specifications, dimensions and welding symbols.

(Diagrams Cont. page 18)

Estimating Today January 09 17

18 January 09 Estimating Today

SUPPLY AND DEMAND OF STEEL

Currently the strong global demand of steel; particularly in
China, India and Russia is driving up the cost of steel. Even
though steel mills have become more efficient and there are
additional mills coming online demand is outstripping supply leading to higher prices. Foreign mills are also not exporting to the U.S. as they once did.

HEIGHT OF BUILDING
The height of the building will dictate the type of crane to
be used on the project. Smaller projects may be able to use
a mobile wheel-mounted or track-crawler crane. Tall buildings will need a tower crane that will require concrete pad
foundations and electrical power requirements.

SITE CONDITIONS
The site conditions and constraints will also dictate the type
crane that will be utilized. Tight sites in city areas will need
tower cranes versus the ability to use mobile cranes in open
sites assuming heights arent an issue.

EXPERIENCE OF ERECTION CREW

The experience of the erection crew can affect the number
of picks they make in day. The less experienced the crew
the longer the erection duration will be resulting in higher
erection costs.

3. FACTORS THAT MAY EFFECT

TAKE-OFF AND PRICING
EFFECT OF SMALL QUANTITIES VERSUS LARGE
QUANTITIES; ECONOMIES OF SCALE
If the project is small and theres a minimal amount of
tonnage the unit cost will be higher than a project with a
significant amount of tonnage. The mobilization and crane
costs that need to get absorbed into the small project with
less efficiency in production will make for a higher unit cost
than on a large project.

UNION VERSUS NON-UNION

If the project is based on union labor the project will have a
higher cost than non-union labor. Unions negotiate higher
wage rate and benefit packages than would be provided by
open-shop contractors.

RENOVATION PROJECT VERSUS NEW

CONSTRUCTION
Sometimes an existing building has to be structurally reinforced. The unit cost of structural steel will be higher on a
renovation project than on a new building. On a renovation
project the steel has to be fabricated in smaller sections to
access the existing building and scissor lifts and other small
hydraulic lift equipment has to be utilized in order to position the steel in place. The production rate is much slower
working in an existing building, as you will be utilizing
lighter equipment and probably using some handwork.

CONNECTION DETAILS
A project that utilizes welded connections takes longer to
erect than with bolted connections. In addition, the fieldtesting of welded connections will also add time to the
schedule. Curtainwall support connections will add to the
cost as well as precast panel connections. Therefore, its important to know what the faade of the building will be so
connection detail costs can be accounted for.

MOMENT CONNECTIONS
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
The location of the project may have an influence on cost
due to regional material, labor, and equipment costs based
on availability of resources and manpower. R.S. Means uses
a coefficient factor to adjust for regional differences.

Moment connections carry a premium cost to be installed,

as theyre a special condition connection to make a rigid
or semi-rigid connection between a column and a beam.
Theyre more labor intensive to install so the result is slower production leading to increased erection costs.

Estimating Today January 09 19

BEAM PENETRATIONS

EQUIPMENT

Beam penetrations are cutouts made in the steel beams so

that mechanical piping and ductwork can pass through.
There will be unreinforced and reinforced beam penetrations depending on the size of the opening. Sometimes the
architectural, structural, and mechanical drawings are coordinated enough to allow the Engineer to show on the plans
where a portion of these beam penetrations may occur. The
beam penetrations shown on the plans that can be fabricated in the shop will have a much lower cost than the beam
penetrations that will have to be provided for in the field.
There will inevitably be beam penetrations that will need
to be cutout and reinforced in the field at a higher unit cost.

The equipment utilized will be mobile cranes or tower

cranes. Tower cranes will be predominantly utilized on high
buildings in tight city quarters.

4. OVERVIEW OF LABOR,
MATERIAL, EQUIPMENT AND
INDIRECT COSTS
The following example is intended to demonstrate a simple
take-off and pricing method for a structural steel frame system including beams, columns, decking, shear studs, bent
plate (pour stop), and connections.
With todays technology many companies perform takeoff using OST and digitizers. OST allows you to take-off
quantities on your computer screen while color coding the
element youre taking off and recording up to three (3) units
of measure for that element at the same time.
However, for the purposes of this paper I will complete
the take-off and pricing sheets on Excel to demonstrate the
method being used.

MATERIAL
Take-off the lengths of each different size beam and column. Next Ill multiply the length of each beam and column by its respective weight. From the sum of all these
beams and columns Ill then calculate the total tonnage.
The shear studs will be counted for each beam and a total tallied. The perimeter of the floor plates will be calculated in order to figure the length of pour stop. The area
of the floors will be calculated to determine the decking quantity. And lastly, the connections will be figured
by calculating percentages of the total steel tonnage.

LABOR
Since the steel is fabricated in the shop the labor portion refers to the erection crew. Generally, its assumed
that for erection a crane can pick between 35 and 60
pieces a day. Assuming the average is 45 picks per day,
and using common sizes of beams and columns that
would probably equate to around 30 tons erected per day.

20 January 09 Estimating Today

INDIRECT COSTS
Tower cranes also require concrete pad foundations to be set
on and also require electrical power service. Safety costs for
perimeter cabling needs to be considered along with other
temporary construction costs to provide a secure and safe
working environment.
Other indirect costs to consider are sales tax, payment
and performance bonds and liability insurance.

Bent Plate Take-Off

Office Building Parameters

Structure

Floor

SOG
SOMD
SOMD
SOMD

1st Floor
2nd Floor
3rd Floor
4th Floor

L
Length (lf)

W
Width (lf)

90
90
90
90

90
90
90
90

360
360
360
360

Floor

90

90

360

360
360
360
360

Unit Wt.

LF
LF
LF
LF

Un

18.00
18.00
18.00
18.00

Total Wt.

PLF
PLF
PLF
PLF

6,480
6,480
6,480
6,480

Total Weight:

32,400

Roof

Perimeter Un

2nd Floor SOMD

3rd Floor SOMD
4th Floor SOMD
Roof SOMD

8,100
8,100
8,100
8,100

Total Interior Building SF:

SOMD

Assume 6"x6"x7/16" bent plate at 18 pounds per linear foot (plf).

P
A
Perimeter (lf) Area (sf)

Un

Total Wt.

LB
LB
LB
LB

Un

3.24
3.24
3.24
3.24

25,920 LB

TN
TN
TN
TN

12.96 TN

8,100

Structural Steel Connections Take-Off

Subtotal of Steel Tonnage

Steel Tonnage
Base Plates
Column Splices
Miscellaneous Details

Steel Columns Take-Off

# of Col. Size

2nd Floor
3rd Floor
4th Floor
Roof

16
16
16
16

Max. %

2.00%
4.00%
4.00%

160.07 TN
Min. Wt. Un Max. Wt. Un

3.00%
5.00%
5.00%

3.20 TN
6.40 TN
6.40 TN

Total Weight:

Floor-to-Floor Height is 12'0"

Floor

Min. %

Unit Wt. (plf) Height (vf) Len (lf)

W14x82
W14x61
W14x61
W14x53

82
61
61
53

12
12
12
12

192
192
192
192

Total Weight:

Total Wt.
15,744
11,712
11,712
10,176

Un
LB
LB
LB
LB

49,344 LB

Total Wt.

Un

4.80 TN
8.00 TN
8.00 TN

9,604 LB
16,007 LB
16,007 LB

20.81 TN

41,618 LB

Total Wt. Un
7.87
5.86
5.86
5.09

TN
TN
TN
TN

24.67 TN

Steel Deck

Floor

L
Length (lf)

2nd Floor
3rd Floor
4th Floor

W
Width (lf)

90.00
90.00
90.00

A
Area (sf)

90.00
90.00
90.00

Waste (10%)

8,100
8,100
8,100

Total SF

810
810
810

8,910
8,910
8,910

Total Steel Floor Deck:

26,730 SF

Roof

90.00

90.00

8,100

810

8,910

Total Steel Roof Deck:

8,910 SF

Total Steel Decking:

Ste e l Be a m s Ta ke -Off

35,640 SF

Typical for 2nd floor through the roof (4 levels)

4- Story Office Building Estim a te (32,400 GSF)

2nd floor
Qty

Size
8
4
8
8
22

W24x55
W36x135
W21x44
W8x10
W16x31

Le ngth
30
30
30
10
30

Unit Wt.
55
135
44
10
31

GSF

Tota l Wt. (lbs.) Tota l Wt. (tns.)

13,200
16,200
10,560
800
20,460

6.60
8.10
5.28
0.40
10.23

Ite m

De scription

Qty

Un

61,220

30.61

Ma t Tota l

La b Un Pr

La b Tot

32,400

Equip Un Pr Equip Tota l Tota l Cost

Structural Steel Beams & Columns

147.11 tons

2,200.00

323,642

900.00

132,399

$ 29,422.00

485,463

14.98

Bent Plate at Pour Stops

Connection Steel
Shear Studs - 3/4"x5"
Steel Floor Deck - 3"x18 Gauge

12.96
20.81
5,124
26,730

$
$
$
$

2,200.00
3,350.00
2.68
2.18

$
$
$
$

28,512
69,714
13,732
58,271

$
$
$
$

1,100.00
1,650.00
1.32
1.07

$
$
$
$

14,256
34,337
6,764
28,601

$
$
$
$

$
$
$
$

$
$
$
$

42,768
104,050
20,496
86,873

$
$
$
$

1.32
3.21
0.63
2.68

2.01

17,909

0.99

8,821

26,730

0.83

511,780

225,177

766,380

23.65

6.

Steel Roof Deck - 3"x20 Gauge

tons
tons
each
sf

8,910 sf

Overhead & Profit

20.00%

Tota l Construction Cost

200.00

$/SF

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Direct Construction Cost

Subtota l We ight:

Ma t Un Pr

29,422

153,276

4.73

919,655

28.38

3rd floor
Qty

Size
8
4
8
8
22

W24x55
W36x135
W21x44
W8x10
W16x31

Le ngth
30
30
30
10
30

Unit Wt.
55
135
44
10
31

Subtota l We ight:

Tota l Wt. (lbs.) Tota l Wt. (tns.)

13,200
16,200
10,560
800
20,460

6.60
8.10
5.28
0.40
10.23

61,220

30.61

4th floor
Qty

Size
8
4
8
8
22

W24x55
W36x135
W21x44
W8x10
W16x31

Le ngth
30
30
30
10
30

Unit Wt.
55
135
44
10
31

Subtota l We ight:

Tota l Wt. (lbs.) Tota l Wt. (tns.)

13,200
16,200
10,560
800
20,460

6.60
8.10
5.28
0.40
10.23

61,220

30.61

Roof
Qty

Size
8
4
8
8
22

W24x55
W36x135
W21x44
W8x10
W16x31

Subtota l We ight:
Tota l We ight:

Le ngth
30
30
30
10
30

Unit Wt.
55
135
44
10
31

Tota l Wt. (lbs.) Tota l Wt. (tns.)

13,200
16,200
10,560
800
20,460

6.60
8.10
5.28
0.40
10.23

61,220

30.61

244,880

122.44

5. SPECIAL RISK CONSIDERATIONS

When estimating the cost of structural steel there is significant risk to mitigate. These risk items include the following:

MATERIAL COST
The cost of structural steel is increasing, as theres a huge
global appetite for steel currently underway. Contributing
to this escalation is also the fact that steelmakers are paying large premiums for raw materials from mining companies and passing this cost onto the consumer. Raw material costs have recently contributed to 50% of the steel
cost where a short time ago they traditionally accounted
for roughly 15% of the steel material cost. Steelmakers
are now trying to acquire mines to provide raw materials
for their own companies in order to be more self-sufficient.

Estimating Today January 09 21

ESCALATION
Escalation is a significant cost factor when putting a steel
bid together. Your project may not require the steel to be
on-site for many months to a year, if not longer. Many steel
contractors will not even try to guess what steel prices may
be at that time because of price volatility. In order to level
the playing field for the steel contractors during a bid you
may have to forecast as best you can the projected future
steel cost and carry an escalation allowance. This strategy
should be discussed should be discussed with the Owner.

SURCHARGES
Surcharges are added to the steel material costs because
the material cost is volatile and it gives the steel supplier
more flexibility to lower and raise his price. This practice
eliminates the need to constantly adjust a fixed price so that
you can appear to remain competitive.

FUEL/ENERGY COSTS
The cost of a barrel of oil is hovering around $140/barrel
and the average cost of gasoline in the U.S. right now is
about $4.00/gallon. Fuel and energy costs are making steel
more expensive to produce and ship steel.

VALUE OF THE DOLLAR

The value of U.S. dollar has been declining steadily for several years now and is playing a large part in the high cost of
exported steel to the U.S. Steel is exported at a higher cost
to the U.S. because of the weak dollar. And many foreign
companies buying U.S. steelmakers are exporting to their
own country because of strong demand instead of selling
to the U.S. Therefore, were left still paying higher prices
because many U.S. steel companies are foreign owned.

LEAD TIME OF MATERIAL

If the steel sections required for your project are not in stock
then it becomes more critical to get your shop drawings approved in a timely manner to secure a place on the mill fabrication schedule. Depending on how many rolling jobs are
ahead of you this lead-time will have to be taken into consideration relative to your construction schedule.

6. RATIOS AND ANALYSIS

There are a few ways to analyze whether your bid or estimate is in the ballpark and reflects whether or not you are
providing a reasonable cost. One way is to look at historical
data from similar projects and escalate those previous project costs to current day costs. Using past project costs can
be a good benchmark to gauge your bid or estimate.
Another way is to use conceptual design information
that has been acquired through experience with putting together conceptual estimates and/or interaction with structural engineers. For the office building example used, I

22 January 09 Estimating Today

will take the total steel tonnage and divide by the total
building square footage (assuming the ground is a slab-ongrade) and expect to get a unit weight of between 11 psf and
15 psf. If my tonnage is not in this range I will investigate
further to determine why the structure is seemingly light or
heavy. Having a structure with inadequate steel strength is
one issue and having a structure with excessive weight may
be inefficiency in beam usage leading to an unnecessarily
higher cost.
In regards to shear studs I would also divide the total
building square footage by the total quantity of shear studs
and expect this number to be in the range of 6-8 sf per stud
(or 0.13 0.17 studs per sf). If not, Ill make adjustments to
make sure that I carry enough shear studs in the estimate.
The following logic chart below is a sample calculation used
to check the validity of the estimate. I have shown how to
complete a logic check on the structural steel beams, columns, bent plate, and connections to see if the unit weight
of the structural steel system is in the projected range. I
have also shown how to complete a logic check on the shear
studs to make sure there are enough for the composite slabon-deck system. I have performed a quick check on the
structural steel erection cost to see if it is in-line with my
estimate. As you will the erection estimate at $161,821 is
close to what I calculated in the estimate at $176,077. This
again is a logic check to make sure that the numbers in the
estimate are a reasonable cost for the scope of work.

Steel Logic Check

Weight
Columns
Beams
Bent Plate
Connections

49,344
244,880
25,920
41,619

Total Weight

361,763 LB

Building (SF)

32,400 SF

Unit Weight (PSF)

LB
LB
LB
LB

11.2 PSF

Okay: The unit weight of steel for the structure falls

in the range of 11-15 psf at 11.2 psf. Since this is an
office building I would expect it to be closer to 11#.
Shear Stud Logic Check

Shear Studs
Building (SF)
Square Feet Per Stud

5,124 EA
32,400 SF
6.3 SF

Okay: The quantity of shear studs falls in the range

of one (1) stud per 6-8 sf of floor area. We're at one (1)
stud per 6.3 sf of floor area for the structure.

GLOSSARY

Structural Steel Erection Cost

Item

Qty

Steel Columns

Un
48 Each

Steel Beams

200 Each

Total # of Beams & Columns

248 Each

Total Weight of Beams & Columns

Average Weight of Steel Member

147.11 Tons
0.59 Tons

If Pick 30 Tons Per Day Production =

51 Pieces

Duration of Steel Erection

5 Days

Crew Unit Cost ($/Ton)

1,100.00

Crew Daily Cost (30 Tons Per Day)

33,000

Total Steel Erection Cost

161,821

Check Cost From Estimate

176,077

A36 ASTM Steel Designation

AESS Architecturally Exposed Structural Steel
OST On-Screen Take-off
SOG Slab on grade
SOMD Slab on metal deck
BIM Building Information Modeling
Moment Connection A rigid or semi-rigid column to
beam connection
Shear Stud A metal stud welded to the top of a beam
in a composite slab on deck
Intumescent Referring to fire retardant paint on
architecturally exposed steel
Camber An arch fabricated in the beam so that
designed loads acting on the beam limit the deflection of
the beam. The intent is to have a level floor.

REFERENCES
Means Estimating Handbook
AISC Manual of Steel Construction

7. MISCELLANEOUS
PERTINENT INFORMATION
Recently, in order to evaluate the construction sequencing
of erecting structural steel BIM modeling has been utilized.
BIM stands for Building Information Modeling and is used
to create a computer model of the building from the design
drawings. This computer model is capable of detecting dimensional busts as well clashes with other building elements. It
also has shown weaknesses in erection sequencing that can
lead to a more efficient construction schedule. Another interesting development is the use of barcodes that are placed
on the fabricated steel in the shop, scanned when shipped,
scanned when delivered to the site, and scanned when
erected in place. This real-time scanning process allows the
BIM model to show the Construction Manager and Client
when the steel has been fabricated, shipped, delivered to
the site and erected. The computer model then displays that
actual to-date work put in place showing a time sequence.

Estimating Today January 09 23