=29.= The following method of estimating the cost of cut stone is
employed by many practical stone men. It is based on the fact that
most ashlar walls have about the same number of sills, belt courses,
lintels, water-tables, etc. in proportion to their volume, and
therefore all the stonework, both the ashlar proper and the other
cut stone, may be lumped together at one price per cubic foot. For
estimating purposes, stone may be divided into two classes: _soft
stone_, such as the sandstones, and _hard stone_, such as the granites.
=30. Soft Stone.=—Indiana limestone may be taken as an example of soft
stone. In the Eastern Pennsylvania district, where the stone cutters’
wage rate is 50 cents per hour, the cost of this kind of stone is about
as follows:
Rough blocks, per cubic foot $ .75
Sawing, jointing, cutting, rubbing, waste in stock 1.50
-----
Total $2.25
If the work is tooled, which is preferable for this material, 20 cents
per cubic foot should be added. Thus the value in the yard, but ready
to set, for an ashlar front, including water-table, sills, lintels,
belt courses, all ordinary moldings, and plain cornices, is $2.45 per
cubic foot.
Consoles, dentils, panelings, and similar ornamental work, mantels,
and interior work have no fixed prices, but must be governed by the
estimator’s knowledge of time required to cut any particular kind,
sometimes reaching $5 per cubic foot. If moldings are deeply undercut,
an extra price will have to be charged.
In heavy work, where the amount of stock is large compared with the
amount of dressing, deductions may be made that sometimes amount to as
much as 20 per cent. Rock-face work is somewhat more expensive than
plain, dressed work because the projecting rock surface requires more
stock; therefore, about 10 per cent. should be added.
It is customary to leave stone roughly cut to shape for carving in
the wall, and therefore the sculptor determines the value from the
drawings and includes the cost of models, which must be approved by the
architect before the work is cut. Circular work, if plain, costs about
the same as square work, but if fluted or reeded, as in the case of
columns, it may cost as much as 50 per cent. additional.
=31.= Compared with limestone, the prices of other soft stones are as
follows:
COST OF FOR CUTTING
STOCK PER CENT.
Connecticut brownstone $1.25 20
Long Meadow brownstone 1.25 30
Portage red stone 1.05 30
Vermont or Georgia white marble 2.15 50
Pennsylvania blue marble 2.00 50
Bluestone .80 30
No definite price can be given for marble, as it comes in different
grades and varieties.
The prices of stock just given are for stones of common size. If
extra-large or extra-long stones are required, their price per cubic
foot will be greater.
The cost of transportation from the quarries also influences the price
of stone. This cost will vary according to the distance of the quarry
from the location where the stone is to be used. The cost of hauling
stone from the yard and setting it in the wall runs from 40 to 50 cents
per cubic foot.
=32. Granite.=—Final estimates of cut granite by the cubic foot
are seldom made, although approximate estimates are often made in
that way by comparing a proposed piece of work with a similar one
already completed. The reason for not making final estimates is that
every additional molding or break in granite work affects the cost
considerably, differing greatly in this respect from soft stone.
The first note to be made by the estimator is in regard to the cost
of material. Good granite, in dimension sizes, can be obtained from
southern quarries by rail for 65 cents per cubic foot, delivered. The
same expenditure will buy very good eastern granite where through
water transportation is available. If, however, the granite specified
is such that it must be obtained from eastern quarries having only
rail facilities for shipment, an addition of 40 or 50 cents per cubic
foot will be required. There are also some special grades of granite
that cost $1.50 or more per foot. In shipping granite, the railroads
usually allow 8 cubic yards to the car. Granite for monumental purposes
costs from $1.25 to $5 per foot, according to the size and quality. At
wholesale, the price first mentioned, namely, 65 cents per cubic foot,
will buy as good, substantial, and handsome material as will generally
be required.
=33.= Machinery is used extensively for cutting plain faces in granite,
and also to some extent for moldings and carved work. Every line in
granite is costly to cut and must be computed separately. For instance,
a plain face 12 inches wide, if cut by machinery, will cost 45 cents
per square foot, while if cut by hand, where the machine cannot be
applied, it will cost 60 cents. A 2-inch bevel, as shown at _a_, Fig.
3, will cost 50 cents per linear foot additional. A scotia, as shown at
_b_, or other molding, as at _c_, will cost 60 cents per linear foot
additional for each member.
[Illustration: FIG. 3]
All returns, no matter how small, must be counted as not less than 1
foot. Circular work costs from 50 to 100 per cent. more than straight
work. Flutes or reeds in columns are very expensive, and must be
calculated in each case according to the width and depth. All beads and
joints should be counted at say 30 cents per square foot. All notches
or rabbets are counted separately, according to shape and size.
The preceding prices are based on what is called patent-hammered,
six-cut work. Eight-cut work will cost 15 per cent. more, and ten-cut
work, which is seldom used in ordinary building work, brings $1 per
square foot. Rock-face work in granite is cheaper than hammered work.
A good, clean rock face should be counted at 20 cents per square foot.
Axed, or peen-hammered, work is between rock face and six cut.
Polishing plain surfaces costs $1 per square foot in addition to the
cost of cutting, surfaces having widths of 4 inches and under counting
as 6 inches, and those over 6 inches up to 12 inches counting as 1 foot.