Chapter 11

Pricing Concrete Work

Objectives
Upon completion of this chapter,
you will be able to:
Describe the job factors and the labor
and management factors that
influence the cost of concrete work
Calculate and compare the costs of
different concreting methods

Objectives (contd.)
Describe the factors that should be
considered when pricing concrete
materials
Identify the factors to consider when
pricing formwork systems
Calculate the price per unit area of
form systems
Describe the factors that influence
the price of reinforcing steel

Objectives (contd.)
Price miscellaneous items associated
with concrete work
Complete the recap and pricing of
concrete work using manual methods
Use Excel spreadsheets to price
concrete work
Adjust prices and productivities in MC2
ICE estimates

Cast-in-Place Concrete
Work Generally

Concreting activities categories:

Supply and placing concrete
Construction and removal of
formwork
Supply and placing reinforcing steel
Miscellaneous associated items

Supplying and Placing

Concrete

Costs include:

Cement
Sand
Aggregate
Water
Equipment to mix and transport
Concrete mixing and batching plant
Ready mix concrete

Productivity Placing
Concrete

Cost of placing concrete in

required position

Depends on a large number of factors

Job factors
Labor and management factors

Job Factors
Method of placing concrete

Pouring
Hand-operated or powered buggies
Concrete pumps
Conveyors
Combination of two or more methods

Ready-mixed concrete
Delivery rate

Job Factors (contd.)

Properties of the concrete to be
placed
Higher-slump mixtures: sloppier
Lower-slump mixtures: flow more easily
Superplasticizer additives: produce
high-slump
Fiber reinforced concrete: improves
tensile strength

Job Factors (contd.)

Size and shape of concrete structures
Large volume concrete pours cost less
Placing concrete continuously is more
economical
Size and shape will impact placing method

Amount of rebar in forms

Large amounts may call for high slump

Job Factors (contd.)

Concreting productivity rates
Most contractors maintain a database
of historic unit prices
Previous cost reports
Site observations of work in progress

Refer to Figure 11.1

Concrete Materials
Prices for ready-mixed concrete
Obtained from local supplier price list
Quotations usually have conditions and
extra charges attached
Several issues to consider

Waste factors
Allowances for waste and spillage
Increase takeoff quantities or raise price

Formwork
Wide range of methods
Number of costs to consider:
Building and maintaining the form
system
Setting up the system
Removing the system
Other costs (e.g., transportation, storage,
etc.)

Formwork Productivity
Items that impact productivity and
cost:

Potential for reuse of a form system

Complexity of formwork design
Use of fly forms (gang forms)
Number of form ties required for a system

Formwork productivity rates:

Refer to Figure 11.3

Pricing Formwork Materials

Material costs include:
Rental or purchase cost of all components
Form hardware cost

Total system price:

Expressed as a price per square foot or
square meter of formwork

Calculating price:
Use of computer programs

Reinforcing Steel
Includes welded wire mesh and
reinforcing bars
Additional cost constituents:
Rebar shop drawings
Raw steel bars
Handling, cutting, bending, and identifying rebar
Transporting the bars to the site
Spacers, chairs, saddles, and ties used
Labor cost of installation

Reinforcing Steel (contd.)

Reinforcing steelinstallation
productivity:
Affected by:
Size and lengths of the reinforcing bars
Shapes of the bars
Complexity of the concrete design
Amount of tolerance allowed in spacing of
bars
Amount of tying required

Miscellaneous Concrete Work

Items
Concreting operations

Several associated items

Pricing miscellaneous concrete

materials
May not be exactly clear
Example: items of setting slab screed

Wage Rates
Basic hourly wages

Equipment operator: $40.00

Labor foreman: $33.00
Laborer: $30.00
Cement finisher: $37.00
Carpentry foreman: $41.00
Carpenter: $38.00
Rebar rodman: $43.00

Examples
Concrete Work Recap and Pricing
Notes Example 1House
Refer to Figures 11.9 through Figure
11.11

Concrete Work Pricing Notes

Example 2Office/Warehouse
Building
Refer to Figure 11.12

Pricing Using MC2 ICE Software

Items measured in takeoff
Automatically priced from the unit
price catalogue
Can be modified
Labor rates: refer to Figures 11.13 and
11.14
Material prices: refer to Figure 11.15

Using the Drill Down Navigation

Bar
Estimate Maintenance window
Values may be changed
Set up to show all items measured in
takeoff

May be useful to focus on specific

parts of the estimate
Refer to Figure 11.17

Summary
Main categories for pricing concrete:
Supply and placing concrete
Construction and removal of formwork
Supply and placing reinforcing steel
Miscellaneous items associated with
concrete work

Productivity:
Influenced by several factors