Hi. need some help

[NightsChaos]

Ok, so im 17 im in a 3 period construction class in highschool and my teacher has given me an assignment to do that we have not been taught (extra work since everything else is done) well i have to find out how much itd cost to frame and sheath a house (walls roof and floor?) umm the house is
height-24'
width 32'
768 sq feet
5 rooms,rooms are
10'-0"x11'-5"
18'-7"x15'-1"
12'-1"x8'-0"
8'-0"x11'-5"

5th room has no measurements.

Thats all the info i was given does anyone know formulas to figure it out or what, i looked though all my notes i got no formulas or any info on this, i have no idea how i will do this, Sorry if this isnt the right sections.

Umm if anyone owns jenish 31st edition fine homeplans book its on page number 194 plan number10-2-168. if needed I can draw the floorplan of the house and post it i remember what it looks like.

Thanks for any help that can be given :)

[Richard A Hetzel]

Where are you supposed to get price information from? Prices can vary widely from one region to another, or from urban areas to rural areas. I don't see how a price can be asked without knowing where, unless a price list for various construction items is given in your textbook.

What you have to do is a quantity takeoff...determine how many stud, how many joists, how many rafters, how many linear feet of plates, etc., to arrive at a lumber list. Then, if you have prices available, just multiply the unit price times the quantity. Example: if you need 1000 linear feet of 2x4s, and they cost $2 per foot, the cost for that part is $2000.

Then you somehow need to estimate LABOR, and that is the hard part. A reference book such as those published by RSMeans would help, but unfortunately, most of them cost $80 or $90.

[Rich]

For framing labor you can estimate anywhere from $5-8 / sf. A good crew should be able to do that pretty regularly. If the house is pretty cobbled up then go to the high side - simple go to the low side. Richard is right in that that labor and materials have very different costs depending on where you're at - but for this little exercise it should suffice. Then you'll need to look at markup as well - and that in itself is a whole topic of learning that takes years to become comfortable with. But again, for this exercise you can probably figure around 18-25% for a GC and upwards of 30-50% for subcontract work. And again for future use, these %'s vary widely with what location you are in and what that market is doing at the time. If everyone is hungry the markup goes down, etc..etc.

[NightsChaos]

Price information he told us we can go to any price site use any prices, i've asked for help he doesnt give it says to figure it out myself, He's been in a bad mood coming to the end of the year (alot of unsafe kids in my class) so just threw a plans book infront of me and told me to find the price.

Thanks for the info guys, but how will I figure out how many joists,studs,rafters and everything there is, all my plan shows is the floor plan and those measurements, thats my problem I was never taught how to find them threw just a plan, if I built a scale model I could find it but this seems a little trickier. or would it be done a similar way?.

[Don_P]

Many construction parts are placed on 16" centers, joists and studs almost always, rafters are either on 16's or 24" ctrs. A quick tip is to divide length of a wall or assembly by 4 and multiply by 3. For instance 20' of floor divided by 4=5, 5x3=15 add one for the starter, 16 joists will cross this area. Block, if the foundation is block and not poured are also 16" long. Typically for studs I use 1 stud per foot of wall to take care of cripples, culls and blocking. Don't forget to order 3 plates for each section of wall, one sole plate and 2 top plates. The floor system has the common joists and rims that box each end, they sit on treated lumber sills, I typically use 2x8 treated for those.

Plywood comes in 4x8 sheets figure # of 4' rows to cover an area and 8' pieces per row then multiply it out for # of pieces to cover floor walls and roof. I hate to do someone's homework, and will not, but we can help you over some of the rough spots if you put forth the effort and do the work. Begin your takeoffs and holler back where you get stuck? A sketch of the plan would help.

[Richard A Hetzel]

I hate to do someone's homework, and will not, but we can help you over some of the rough spots if you put forth the effort and do the work.
Same goes for me. =)

[NightsChaos]

Thanks Don P, Don't worry I wouldn't want it to be done for me even if its just for extra marks. just needed to know how to do it :). But i'll draw up a sketch of it and see how far I can get. Thanks alot guys your very helpful

[Pokey]

Something that would get the job done would be to see if you can get a R.S. Means book. While i'd never even start to rely on such a book for my work, it is practical for homework type stuff. From my memory it has all kinds of formulas for all kinds of labor and material items. My thoughts are if you can show your teacher that you can do a detailed takeoff of a project, and price it out you would more than pass.

[Richard A Hetzel]

In support of RSMeans, I will say that an up-to-date book used properly can produce a Statement Of Probable Cost for a project that is quite accurate. No, I would never use one for bidding a job, but for advising clients when they say "How much is this going to cost me?", it's a heck of a lot better than dollars per square foot. However, using it properly entails a little more than just looking up items.

[Don_P]

Main description is here;
http://www.jenish.com/plan_detail.php?plan_id=263
there's a click button on that page for the plan.
I've cropped, blown up and reduced density of the plan and attached it. If we need to, it can be saved by anyone into paint, doodled on and reposted.

NightsChaos, is that the extent of the plans and specifications you have or were you given any other info?

It would also help to know what state you are in so we can pull details from the appropriate code book if possible.

I guess we need to know your level of training NC. Can you visualize and describe the floor framing, how many and which way the joists run and what they rest on? Do you know what size joists to use and how to find that out?

I see a couple of framing options but lets go slowly and let NC evolve those, then give options?

[NightsChaos]

I'm acctually in Canada, not the states. the plans you found are what I was given, all I can really do with those plans is scale it down and make a exact model, All we really did in the class was build sheds(given the plans and built it) weren't taught how to find out anything really, we were just taught how to build it by the plans and design stuff on the computer, we also did electrical and plumbing into a scaled wall, which once again we were just given the plans. My level of training is I can build stuff by looking at a plan. that's why this is so confusing for me, If we were taught how to do this I could do it. tomorrow im gonna look through some textbooks in the class read them all thru look for formulas see if it tells me what to do, anything to figure this out. now its more of a I wanna know how to this so I'm trained more for when I do Co-op and eventually start and apprenticeship.

We really weren't taught much in the class Like I got my fall Arrest training done I'm a Level B First aid, we did all that but we didn't spend really anytime on learning what sized joists to use or how to figure it out, we built sheds to sell to ppl to make money for the construction department.

Ive learned more reading around these forums then I did in class. lol

[Don_P]

Your codes are similar to ours. This would be a "prescriptive" rather than an engineered building. this means you are allowed to use span tables and the methods prescribed in your building code to build it. Start by reading this page describing how your code works.
http://www.cwc.ca/DesignWithWood/BuildingCode/


Its basically our system so we should be able to field questions that far.

Some of our state codebooks are online and most are identical. I was hoping to point you to sections in the code to find prescriptive solutions to each section of the framing. I can't find a free online Canadian codebook, is there a classroom or library copy available? It can be bought here and might be worth thinking about if you've got the funds;
http://irc.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/codes/home_E.shtml

The CWC website has span tables and a span calculator.
Link to the spancalc is on this page;
http://www.cwc.ca/?Language=EN
(Save that in your favorites)
They also used to send out a free booklet with span tables, I have one on the shelf here that has Canadian and US spans. You may want to get one for future use although its all online as well nowadays.


I'll need to poke around and see what resources we can dig up to explain the floor system. You look too, lets make you figure out all we can. We're looking for a good explanation of joist and girder design and codes folks.

Start a file in your "favorites" labelled "building info" and start saving some references. Some may be over your head now but will become clear later, rainy day reading. A quick review, remember roughly what it is and where it is.
This one is about lumber, lumber grades and strengths. The stuff in there is how they come up with span tables and beam sizes;
http://www.cwc.ca/NR/rdonlyres/EEA75111-F1DC-432C-8C8D-DBF34CD0B436/0/Visuallygradedlumber.pdf

Gotta meet a log truck in the morning so I'm done for now... Oh, how long have you got for this assignment?

[Don_P]

Bookmark and read this thoroughly, this is how to size your joists and rafters;
http://www.awc.org/technical/spantables/tutorial.htm
Paul Fisette at U Mass, the author of that, is someone to remember.
You'll need to know the design floor loads for the floor and snow load for your area for the roof. The local building department can supply that info. It is usually best to call in their first or last work hours if its a small department. Introduce yourself and let him know what you're doing. This will come back to you later if you make a good impression. My building official wrote one of my license references... that is a huge help.

Also while on that page click "publications" and "Free download library"