62. Stonework. - Masonry will be discussed under two heads, stonework and brickwork. The work of building the foundations, piers, chimneys, etc., is usually a subcontract, and as such, the carpenter may have one or more masons figure upon the work and make their estimates the basis of his own, adding enough to reimburse himself for building the scaffolds, arch centers, and other work which the mason may require of him.

The items to be considered in estimating the mason-work of a building are as follows: -

Walls

Area.

Cesspools.

Cisterns.

Foundation.

Outside.

Partition.

Settings

Fireplaces. Furnaces. Hearths. Range.

Material

Broken stone.

Cement.

Gravel.

Lime.

Sand.

Miscellaneous

Arches.

Chimneys.

Cut stone.

Footings.

Labor.

Piers.

Stone cutting.

Tiling for drains.

The unit of measurement for stonework varies in different localities, cubic yard, perch, and cord being used. The following table will be found useful in estimating quantities.

In estimating the stone in a wall, it is customary to measure around the outside, thus reckoning the corners twice and allowing for the additional work and waste necessary to build them. This distance should be multiplied by the height and by the thickness of the wall in feet, the result being the quantity in cubic feet.

It is always wise for the contractor, before he sublets the foundation walls, to have an understanding with the mason, as usually local custom governs the measurements of openings. In laying a rubble wall, it is the common practice to measure all single openings as solid wall, as the extra work will make the cost about even. Of an opening larger than 16 sq. ft. a half usually is counted.

If the estimate is for stone in the wall, the price should be about a fourth greater, to allow for waste and extra work around openings.

One man and a helper should lay about 2 1/2 cu. yd. of rubble stone in a day, using 1 bu. of lime and 3 1/2 bu. of sand to each cubic yard of stone. If the stone is laid in Portland cement, it will require 1/2 bbl. of cement and 4 bu. of sand.

One man and a helper should lay 1 1/2 cu. yd. of ashlar per day, or about 40 sq. ft. of 12" wall. The mortar with which it is laid will cost from 25 to 30per cu. yd. of stone.

A stonecutter in a day should cut about 25 or 30 sq. ft. of bluestone or granite, rock-faced, pitched, random ashlar, with the beds straightened 3" back from the face; of coursed ashlar, the amount would be about a third less.

As the ashlars and rubble are the kinds of work commonly used, we will not discuss the more expensive and the less used tooled and draft methods of finishing stone.

63. Brickwork. - Under the head of bricklaying should be considered the items mentioned in connection with the preceding topic.

It is usual to measure a brick wall solid; however, in buildings where there are many openings, as in those of the slow burning or mill construction, in which about half of the wall is occupied by windows, it is generally safe to deduct for the openings about 25 per cent of the wall area.

If estimated as above, it is not the custom to make any allowance for pilasters, arches, or any simple detail in the wall; if an opening occupies over 100 sq. ft., it is generally entirely deducted.

A square foot of brick wall contains 7 1/2 bricks, if the wall is two bricks thick it contains 15, and if the wall is 13" or three bricks thick it will contain 22 1/2 bricks to the square foot of wall surface. This is called a cubic foot of brick if estimated in the wall; if a large mass of brick masonry is being estimated, it is the usual custom to calculate that one cubic yard of brickwork will contain 575 bricks.

There is a loss by breakage and waste of 5 per cent, which should be added to the quantity estimated as being actually necessary in the building.

To lay 1000 bricks, it will take 3 bu. of lime and 12 bu. of sand; for pressed brick, it will need about \ of the above quantities, as the joints should be only J", while upon ordinary acceptable work they are 5/16" or 3/8"

Under average conditions, a man should lay 1000 bricks a day, but upon some kinds of intricate work this amount may be reduced to 200 or less; if face brick are being laid, a man will lay only about a third as many as of the common brick.

64. Carpentry. - Under the head of carpentry we will discuss only the framing of a building, and its preparation for the outside finish, roofing, and lathing.

Some contractors make out a bill of the material as they estimate it, giving the dimensions for each piece as for the final list. This method has a high degree of accuracy to recommend it, but as a piece of dimension timber must generally be cut from lengths of multiples of two feet, it is plain that the time spent in making such an accurate list is often wasted, as it is a very low estimator who is awarded more than one in five jobs on which he figures and for which there is much competition. The approximation method herein described is much quicker and the results will vary but little. (See Topic 60.)

For the purpose of subsequent checking and reference, a record should be kept of the quantities and dimensions included in the estimate.

The items which should be considered in connection with the framing of a building are as follows: -

Plan Members

Floor joists.

Girders.

Headers.

Plates.

Sills.

Tail beams.

Trimmers.

Trusses.

Under floors.

Roof Members

Collar and tie beams.

Common rafters.

Cripple rafters.

Curb plates.

Hip rafters.