MODULE 4: ESTIMATING ARCHITECTURAL MATERIALS
AND FINISHES
4.1. ESTIMATING FLOOR AND WALL FINISHES (TILES)
In Fig. H-1, the background area, with sides A and B
represents a surface which is to be finished with either
square or rectangular materials. It may be a floor, wall,
ceiling, etc., and the finishes could be tiles, bricks, marble
slabs, or other facing products
For easier understanding of the succeeding discussion,
when the finishing material to be used on the background
area is square, it is referred to here as Case 1, while Case 2
and Case 3 describe the application of rectangular shaped
finishing materials on the same space.
In Case 2, the width a of the facing material is made
parallel to the length B of the background area. In Case 3,
it is its longer side b that runs along the length 6, of the
area to be finished. Fig. K1 graphically illustrates these
conditions
Here are the suggested steps in calculating tiles required
for the given rough surface area, using any of the three
cases discussed above. Although tiles are the materials
mentioned in the formulas, these rules also apply when
estimating other kinds of square and rectangular materials
to finish a certain surface.
Case 1 - Tiles to be used are square, each side being a.
Case 2 - Tiles to be used are rectangular with a, the
shorter side laid parallel to side B of the floor or wall. The
Longer side b of the tiles is parallel to side A of the floor or
wall.
Case 3 - Tiles are rectangular with the tiles shorter side a
laid parallel to side A of the floor or wall; and its longer
side b is along side B of the wall or floor.
In using these formulas, first perform the calculations
indicated in each bracket separately before I multiplying.
Round up resulting decimals, in each computation, as
follows:
1. For decimal numbers less than 0.5, round up to
0.5.
2. For decimal numbers 0.5 up to 0.9, round up to 1.
When the shape of the area to be finished is a square, the
sides can be designated as A. A should be substituted for B
when using any of the foregoing formulas to calculate the
quantity of materials required to cover the given square
surface.
The formulas yield highly accurate counts of the number
of finishing materials required. However, an allowance for
wastage of 3% of the computed quantities should be
included to take care of breakage due to careless handling
and other causes.
When the shapes of the background area and/or the
finishing materials are not square or rectangle, the
formula to use in estimating the quantity required for the
latter is:
The dimensions to be used in the formulas should all be in
the same unit of measure. In using the last formula, an
allowance for wastage should be included by adding from
5% to 10% to the computed quantities of required
finishing materials
For easy reference in using the given formulas, Table H-1
and Table H-2 give the values of a and s in meters, and the
area in square meter, for various sizes of finishing
materials such as tiles, bricks, acoustic or insulation
boards, etc.

SAMPLE PROBLEM (see Estimating Floor and Wall Tiles
File)
4.2 ESTIMATING WALL AND CEILING FINISHES (PAINT)
PAINT
A mixture of a solid pigment suspended in a liquid
vehicle, applied as a thin, usually opaque coating
to a surface for protection and decoration.
LATEX PAINT
A paint having a latex binder that coalesces as
water evaporates from the emulsion.
BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT PAINTS
Paints, clear finishes and other coatings are applied on a
surface to impall a thin layer of adhesive film for its
protection, to give it color, seal its imperfections,
smoothen its uneven areas, etc. Painting is done with
brushes, rollers and spray guns. Some paints also come in
aerosol spray cans for ready application.
Paint is composed of:
a) Pigment -the coloring element which may be
opaque, white or colored; and
b) Vehicle - the oils or resins that hold the'pigment in
suspension.
Before the surface is painted or coated, it must be
thoroughly cleaned, allowed to dry or cured. Then, it is
given a coat of primer, sealer, conditioner, or any curing
agent appropriate for the surface to be painted. The
seater, primer or undercoating should be compatible or
suited to the topcoat finish to be applied.
ESTIMATING PAINTS
Paints and other surface coatings are estimated using the
formula:
The surface area to be painted is computed from the
measurements or scaled distances shown on the project
drawings. The calculations should be in square meters and
the areas of openings such as windows, fixed glass panels,
etc.; and those where the coating is of a different
material, should be deducted from the gross surface area.
Generally, the number of coats required consists of one
primer coat and one or two topcoats for previously
unpainted surfaces. For repainting works, the number
would depend upon the condition of the surface and the
old coat of paint, among others.
The coverage is the area which a given quantity of paint,
usually 4 liters, can cover per coat applied. It is expressed
as the number of square meters per 4 liters. The
spreading rate is ordinarily indicated on paint containers
but if the same is not shown, the information can be
obtained from the manufacturer of the paint specified for
the job.
The coverage of various kinds of paints is among the
information included in the brief specifications of paints
and others coatings found on pages 5.7 to J.lO. It is noted
that two values are given and these can be interpreted to
mean that the lower coverage is used when estimating the
materials for rough surfaces or thick paint film applied,
while the higher spreading rate is employed in calculating
for smooth surface materials of thin application of the
paint. One can also opt to use-the average of the two
values for general estimating work.
When the coverage used in the formula is in number of
square meters per liter of paint, the result obtained is the
quantity of paint required in liters, or the number of cans
each containing 1 liter of paint. When it is in number of
square meters per 4 liters, the answer is the quantity of
paint needed in 4 liters, or the number of cans each
containing 4 liters.
Primer and topcoat paints are sold in 16-liter, 4-liter and
the smaller 1-liter cans. To avoid, confusion and to make it
easy to convert the total quantity of paint required to its
equivalent number of either 16-liter, liter, I-liter cans, or
any combination thereof, it is desirable that the
calculations should give the total quantity required in
lifers. To achieve this, the coverage given in square meters
per 4 liters should be converted to its equivalent
spreading rate per liter by dividing both the given area
and the quantity of paint by 4. For example, coverage of
40 square meters per 4 liters of paint is converted thus:
SAMPLE PROBLEM (see Wall Finishes File)