Bigscope Construction Services NDARUGU MACHINE CUT STONES Since the introduction of these stones, building construction industry has had numerous projects coming up. The stones are easy to work on meaning high production of masonry work. There has also been a tremendous cost reduction in other materials like cement and sand which translates to cost effectiveness. The speed of work is also realized because in a day, a mason can lay up to 150 pieces which equates to 200 feet. However, Mason's out put can Ss) O 2)BAG 1.05KB/s @ wil Ji) ‘(78% 8:12 PM € Bigscope Construction Servic... Bigscope Construction Services NDARUGU MACHINE CUT STONES Since the introduction of these stones, building construction industry has had numerous projects coming up. The stones are easy to work on meaning high production of masonry work. There has also been a tremendous cost reduction in other materials like cement and sand which translates to cost effectiveness. The speed of work is also realized aN1= BG) OB/s © wll 1) ‘CG 78% 8:12 PM e speed of work Is also realized because in a day, a mason can lay up to 150 pieces which equates to 200 feet. However, Mason's out put can significantly get affected by prevailing weather conditions and height of the walls under construction where safety cuations are Paramount. When a mason is working above six courses, work difficulty sets in because they require raised working platforms where the number of pieces a mason can lay in such a condition can reduce to around 135 in number (180ft). With these figures that a mason can manage in a day. You need to consider a few things to know the scope of work and the number of workers you require. 1) the number of pieces a lorry delivered to the site 2) the number of lorries delivered. Remember that different lorries have different capacities and therefore for ease of doing things, try to have lorries that holds same loading. Taking a physical count of number of pieces in a lorry is recommended. If the lorries have same capacities, multiply the number in each by total lorries received. Once you know the total number of stones at the site. Divide the total by the number of1= BG) OB/s © allt ‘CG 78% 8:13 PM stones a mason can lay in a day. This helps in scheduling your work and for budgetary purposes that you cannot ignore. QUARRY MALPRACTICES | have seen several cases where the lengths of stones are reduced by up to 40mm. Please note that the length of stones should be 400mm which approximates 1.5 ft. If the stones delivered are short of this you have the right to say no. Stones come with length of 400mm and depth of 200mm. The difference is only in width depending on the purpose intended. There are 3 different widths as stated 1)200mm(8") 2)150mm(6") 3)100mm(4") At the quarry, all different stones above are priced the same as long as they come from the same strutter. Remember we said that each stone has it's destined use. We shall discuss this another day. Going back to where we were about malpractices and implications to your final building cost. If a stone is supposed to have a length of 400mm but the cutter machine is adjusted to 360mm lengthwise, the stones produced will be as per the cutter adjustment meaning1= BG) OB/s © allt ‘CG 78% 8:13 PM as per the cutter adjustment meaning that each stone bought will be less by 40mm As customer of such building units you will be losing a stone in every 10 pieces you buy. In a case that you needed 1000 pieces, a loss of 100 pieces will be incurred. Here is what happens if you are not keen to realize. Around Nairobi a 200mm stone is delivered at around 50/= depending on quality. If a customers 1000 pieces had a short of 100pes. The amount lost will be 100x50=5,000Sh. The quality of stone is also a vital consideration. Apart from a sound structure, quality stones minimises losses which affects your wallet immensely. Imagine a situation where 10% load of stones will be wasted due to breakages during loading, delivery and off loading. If a lorry had a load of 1000pcs where 10% will be waste you then lose 1000x0.1=100 pieces 100x50Sh.=5,000/=lost. To avoid this, get a stone that is hard enough to withstand. One can visit a quarry to collect samples and approve the desired ones or the same can be requested from prospective suppliers. Note that quality of stone improves as you move to the core. Different strutters52B/s @ wil i (78% 8:13 PM you move to the core. Different strutters have different nature of stones. Stones from same quarry will have different qualities in strength and colour. A young quarry means uppermost strutter and stones are some how brittle. Stone in these zones of quarry are considered poor and they are cheaper. The colour is also not distinct as those of in-depth strutters. For uniformity of your external walls depending on your preffered finish. Consider the element of colour of your stones for outer walls that could be finished by pointing also known as keying. This is because stones of different themes will make your house appear to have patches which are not eye appealing. IDENTIFYING THE NUMBER OF STONES YOU REQUIRE To estimate the number of stones you need, begin by calculating area of walls of your building. These dimensions are clearly shown on architectural drawings. Multiply the length by the height which is also indicated on section part of your drawings. Remember that widths of walls are illustrated on plan too. Once you have total area to be constructed, get the area of openings like door ways,52B/s @ wil i (CG) 77% 8:13 PM get the area of openings like door ways, doors and windows and less from total area First let's know number of stones in one m2 If area of one stone is 0.4x0.2=0.08 And the area taken by building mortar is 0.015 per m2 Then we say 1m2 less area taken by mortar 1-0.024=0.976 Number of pieces in m2 0.985/0.08 =12.2 pieces Factor 10% to cover for breakages/waste 12.312x0.1 =1.231 12.2+1.20 =13.4 Example If you have a wall of 20m and the height is 2.3 Then 20x2.3 =46m2 Assuming a wall has three openings as one door and two windows Where a door area is 0.9x2.1 and each window has 1.2x1.5 Therefore Door 0.9x2.1=1.89m20.1KB/s @ wll.) ‘= 77% 8:14 PM mortar 1-0.024=0.976 Number of pieces in m2 0.985/0.08 =12.2 pieces Factor 10% to cover for breakages/waste 12.312x0.1 =1.231 12.24+1.20 =13.4 Example If you have a wall of 20m and the height is 2.3 Then 20x2.3 =46m2 Assuming a wall has three openings as one door and two windows Where a door area is 0.9x2.1 and each window has 1.2x1.5 Therefore Door 0.9x2.1=1.89m2 Window. 1.2x1.5x2=3.60m2 Total for openings=5.49m2 Then Total wall- total openings 46m2-5.49m2 =40.51m2 Number of stones 40.51m2x13.4pieces =543.644pieces Take 550 pieces S O