Professional Documents
Culture Documents
TechPaper January2009 PDF
TechPaper January2009 PDF
ESTIMATE
the COST
O F S T R U C T U R A L S T E E L
CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION 7. RATIOS AND ANALYSIS
Main CSI Division 8. MISCELLANEOUS AND PERTINENT
Specific Sub-Division/Specification Section INFORMATION
Brief Description of Structural Steel 9. GLOSSARY
2. TYPES AND METHODS OF MEASUREMENT 10. REFERENCES
Steel Beam Sections and Dimensions
3. FACTORS THAT MAY AFFECT TAKE-OFF, PRICING, ETC.
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
4. OVERVIEW OF LABOR, EQUIPMENT, INDIRECT COSTS AND MARK-UPS
5. SAMPLE TAKE-OFF AND PRICING SHEETS
6. SPECIAL RISK CONSIDERATIONS
Material Pricing
Escalation
Surcharges
Fuel Costs
Value of the Dollar
Lead Times
Estimating Today • January 09 15
2. TYPES AND METHODS
1. INTRODUCTION
OF MEASUREMENT
The purpose of this technical paper is to provide a basic In the construction of structural steel building some basic design
understanding of how to prepare an estimate for structural criteria needs to be developed. One is the column spacing and an-
steel beams and columns. This paper will focus on how to do other is the floor-to-floor height. This leads to the sizing of columns
a quantity survey of steel members, bent plate (pour stops), and beams to carry the building loads. A 30’ by 30’ column bay is
shear studs, connections, steel floor and roof decking, and typical and a 12’ deck height is typical in an office building. A 14’
price accordingly. The paper will not address AESS, diago- deck height is normal in a laboratory building due to significant
nally braced frames, open web steel joists, trusses, steel HVAC requirements that need to be placed in the plenum space
tube, steel stairs, grating and other miscellaneous compo- above ceilings. Structural steel beams and columns are designed
nents that may be part of a building system. In addition, on the basis of their yield stress. The most common design stress is
ancillary trades such as cementitious spray-fireproofing 36 KSI and referenced by ASTM designation A36. Structural steel
and intumescent fireproofing will not be considered in this is fabricated in many sections such as wide flange (W), American
technical paper. The intent of the paper is to isolate on a standard beam (S), miscellaneous beams (M), American standard
few key aspects of a structural steel framed building and channel (C), miscellaneous channel (MC), angle (L), and structural
not all possible components. Please note that CSI’s 2004 tees (T). A beam and column is designated in the following way;
MasterFormat edition has been used. W18x35. The W references the section shape; 18 references the
nominal height of the beam/column flange in inches; and 35 ref-
erences the weight of the beam in pounds per linear foot of beam
or column length. This description is interpreted as a wide flange
Main CSI Divisions beam with a nominal depth of 18 inches and a weight of 35 pounds
Division 05 Metals per linear foot.
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 build-
ings 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 aren’t an issue.
4. OVERVIEW OF LABOR,
MATERIAL, EQUIPMENT AND
INDIRECT COSTS
MATERIAL
Take-off the lengths of each different size beam and col-
umn. Next I’ll multiply the length of each beam and col-
umn by its respective weight. From the sum of all these
beams and columns I’ll then calculate the total tonnage.
The shear studs will be counted for each beam and a to-
tal tallied. The perimeter of the floor plates will be calcu-
lated in order to figure the length of pour stop. The area
of the floors will be calculated to determine the deck-
ing 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 por-
tion refers to the erection crew. Generally, it’s 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.
Steel Tonnage Min. % Max. % Min. Wt. Un Max. Wt. Un Total Wt. Un
Base Plates 2.00% 3.00% 3.20 TN 4.80 TN 9,604 LB
Column Splices 4.00% 5.00% 6.40 TN 8.00 TN 16,007 LB
Steel Columns Take-Off Miscellaneous Details 4.00% 5.00% 6.40 TN 8.00 TN 16,007 LB
Total Weight: 20.81 TN 41,618 LB
Floor-to-Floor Height is 12'0"
Floor # of Col. Size Unit Wt. (plf) Height (vf) Len (lf) Total Wt. Un Total Wt. Un
2nd Floor 16 W14x82 82 12 192 15,744 LB 7.87 TN Steel Deck
3rd Floor 16 W14x61 61 12 192 11,712 LB 5.86 TN
4th Floor 16 W14x61 61 12 192 11,712 LB 5.86 TN
Roof 16 W14x53 53 12 192 10,176 LB 5.09 TN L W A
Floor Length (lf) Width (lf) Area (sf) Waste (10%) Total SF
Total Weight: 49,344 LB 24.67 TN
2nd Floor 90.00 90.00 8,100 810 8,910
3rd Floor 90.00 90.00 8,100 810 8,910
4th Floor 90.00 90.00 8,100 810 8,910
Total Steel Floor Deck: 26,730 SF
GSF 32,400
Qty Size Le ngth Unit Wt. Tota l Wt. (lbs.) Tota l Wt. (tns.)
8 W24x55 30 55 13,200 6.60 Ite m De scription Qty Un Ma t Un Pr Ma t Tota l La b Un Pr La b Tot Equip Un Pr Equip Tota l Tota l Cost $/SF
4 W36x135 30 135 16,200 8.10 1. Structural Steel Beams & Columns 147.11 tons $ 2,200.00 $ 323,642 $ 900.00 $ 132,399 $ 200.00 $ 29,422.00 $ 485,463 $ 14.98
2. Bent Plate at Pour Stops 12.96 tons $ 2,200.00 $ 28,512 $ 1,100.00 $ 14,256 $ - $ - $ 42,768 $ 1.32
8 W21x44 30 44 10,560 5.28 3. Connection Steel 20.81 tons $ 3,350.00 $ 69,714 $ 1,650.00 $ 34,337 $ - $ - $ 104,050 $ 3.21
4. Shear Studs - 3/4"x5" 5,124 each $ 2.68 $ 13,732 $ 1.32 $ 6,764 $ - $ - $ 20,496 $ 0.63
8 W8x10 10 10 800 0.40 5. Steel Floor Deck - 3"x18 Gauge 26,730 sf $ 2.18 $ 58,271 $ 1.07 $ 28,601 $ - $ - $ 86,873 $ 2.68
22 W16x31 30 31 20,460 10.23 6. Steel Roof Deck - 3"x20 Gauge 8,910 sf $ 2.01 $ 17,909 $ 0.99 $ 8,821 $ - $ - $ 26,730 $ 0.83
Direct Construction Cost $ 511,780 $ 225,177 $ 29,422 $ 766,380 $ 23.65
3rd floor
Qty Size Le ngth Unit Wt. Tota l Wt. (lbs.) Tota l Wt. (tns.)
8 W24x55 30 55 13,200 6.60
4 W36x135 30 135 16,200 8.10
8 W21x44 30 44 10,560 5.28
8 W8x10 10 10 800 0.40
22 W16x31 30 31 20,460 10.23
4th floor
5. SPECIAL RISK CONSIDERATIONS
Qty Size Le ngth Unit Wt. Tota l Wt. (lbs.) Tota l Wt. (tns.)
8
4
W24x55
W36x135
30
30
55
135
13,200
16,200
6.60
8.10
When estimating the cost of structural steel there is signifi-
8 W21x44 30 44 10,560 5.28 cant risk to mitigate. These risk items include the following:
8 W8x10 10 10 800 0.40
22 W16x31 30 31 20,460 10.23
7. MISCELLANEOUS
PERTINENT INFORMATION