BCGBC4007A Plan building or construction work

Organise labour

Labour component for framing a house

Method 1 - per lineal metre 
Labour is quoted per lineal metre of timber framing. Check your copy of the house plan for the dimensions used in this example. Follow the worked example carefully as you will be doing a similar calculation in the topic activity.
Calculate the labour component of framing the top and bottom plates for the exterior walls of the house.

Step 1
To get the length of the top plate (or the bottom plate) total the lengths of the four exterior walls of the house. 
14,340 + 7,270 + 14,340 + 7,270 = 43,220 mm

Step 2 
Multiply this figure by 2 to include both top and bottom plates: 
43,220 x 2 = 86,440 mm.

Step 3
Divide by 1,000 to convert to metres: 86,440 ÷ 1,000 = 86.440 m = 87 m rounded to the next highest whole number of metres.

Step 4 
The number of lineal metres of timber you will require for the top and bottom plates is therefore 87 m. If the cost is $2.55 per lineal metre to frame the plates for the external walls of the house (labour only), you can now cost the labour.
The labour cost to frame the top and bottom plates for the external walls is 
87 x 2.55 = $221.85. There are additional calculations required to include the internal walls. This will be required in the topic activity.

Method 2 - per square metre of floor area
Labour is quoted by the floor area in square metres. This is the usual method of quoting by sub-contractors for a simple design.

Step 1
Calculate the floor area of the house: Area = length x width (use metres)
Length = 14,340 mm  = 14.340 m (divide by 1,000)
Width = 7,270 mm = 7.270 m 
Area of the floor = 14.340 x 7.270 = 104.25 square metres

Step 2
Multiply the floor area of 104.25 square metres by the charge rate per square metre to give the total cost of labour.
If the charge rate is $16.50 per square metre, the total cost of labour is: 
104.25 x 16.50 = $1,720.13 rounded to $1,720.15.

Method 3 - per square metre of wall area
The other method of quoting for timber framing is to use the wall area in square metres. There is a bit more calculation in this method than in the others.
Assume a wall height of 2.400 m.

Step 1
You can use the total lineal metre result from method 1 for the total length of the external walls, which is 87 m.
Remember that area = length x height
Area of walls = 87 x 2.400 = 208.8 square metres of external walls.

Step 2
If the charge rate is 18.90 per square metre of wall, the total charge for labour is:
208.8 x 18.90 = $3,946.32 rounded to $3,946.30
Note: this is an example for the external walls only. You will need to do more calculations to include all the interior walls for a full labour quote. This will be necessary in the topic activity.

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