Drawing up specifications and calculating the required amount of materials is an important design stage. In order to avoid unpleasant surprises when the construction has already begun, it is necessary to calculate in advance how many and what products will be required during its maintenance. For your own peace of mind to build a house is best to provide a reserve. In the manufacture of light concrete walls, the main task becomes the question of how to calculate the amount of foam block per house.
Initial data
To calculate how much it is necessary to purchase foam blocks for building a house, you need to prepare the initial data. They can be taken from a project or sketch. The more accurately the drawings are developed, the more accurate the calculation of the quantity of materials will be.
To calculate the blocks, you need to know the following values:
- wall dimensions (length, thickness, height);
- dimensions of door and window openings;
- number of door and window openings;
- foam block dimensions.
Walls
To perform the calculation, you need to know the volumetric characteristic of the masonry walls. This will require their width, length and height. In this case, it is worth considering separately the walls and partitions, if they are also made of foam blocks. In calculating the amount you need to consider absolutely all the walls of the house that will be completed at the construction stage.
The very first stage of work is the calculation of the volume of masonry without taking into account the opening. A fairly simple task. The total length of the walls of the house of foam blocks will need to be multiplied by the width and height. The number is recorded and the transition to the next stage takes place.
Calculation of the volume of all openings
It will not be difficult to accomplish this task if it is planned to produce windows and doors of the same size at the construction stage. To do this, multiply the width of one opening by its height and the thickness of the wall of the house from the foam blocks in which it is arranged.
Further, the calculation involves multiplying the volume of one opening by their number. If there are several sizes of windows and doors, the task is complicated. In this case, it is necessary to find the volumetric characteristic of each species and multiply by the quantity.
To calculate the total volume of openings needed to calculate the amount of foam block for building a house, you need to add up all the values for windows and doors.
Calculation of masonry volume without openings
The calculation at this stage is as simple as possible. To understand how many foam blocks are needed for construction, it is necessary to subtract the volume of openings from the total volume of walls. Calculate this value is necessary to understand the total volume of masonry. Having calculated this figure, we can proceed further.
Material Quantity Calculation
The calculation of materials for construction begins with the determination of the volume of products. This takes into account not only blocks, but also the masonry seam. To do this, add to the height of one element of the masonry as much as the thickness of the seam.
To find the blocks that are required for construction, the height (including the seam) of the length and width of one product is multiplied. The resulting value will be the volume of one part of the material.
To understand the number of products that will be required to perform the work, it is necessary to divide the volume of walls without taking into account openings into the volume of one masonry element.
The resulting value is rounded up, it shows how much material is needed to complete the construction of the building.
Calculation Example
In order to more clearly understand how to calculate how many elements will be required for the work, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the example. It is necessary to count the blocks for a one-story house with a floor height of 3 meters. The total length of the walls is measured and is 42 meters.
The thickness of all walling is 400 mm. For the construction will be used blocks of standard sizes:
- width - 200 mm;
- length - 600 mm;
- height - 300 mm.
The house has one external door, the dimensions of which are 1.1x2.7 m (made in the wall with a thickness of 0.4 meters). In addition to the outside, there are 3 internal dimensions of which 0.8 x 2.1 m. The windows are all the same 1.3 x 1.7 m, 6 pieces.
The calculation does not take into account those doors that are installed in the partitions (in this example they are made of drywall). If partitions are planned to be made of lightweight concrete, it is recommended to count the blocks separately for walls and for non-load-bearing fences.This will allow you to determine the volume of materials separately for each type and not get confused during the calculations. The initial data are known, you can begin to complete the task.
- First we find the volume of the walls, excluding openings. Here you will need to perform the following actions: 42 meters (length) * 3 meters (height) * 0.4 meters (thickness) = 50, 4 meters cubic.
- We find the volume of the outer doorway: 1.1 m * 2.7 m * 0.4 m = 1.2 cubic meters.
- We find the volume of internal doorways: 0.8 m * 2.1 m * 0.4 m * 3 pcs. = 2.02 cubic meters.
- We find the volume of window openings: 1.3 m * 1.7 m * 0.4 m * 6 pcs. = 5.3 cubic meters.
- We calculate the total volume of openings in the walls: 1.2 + 2.02 + 5.3 = 8.52 cubic meters.
- We find the volume of walls excluding openings: 50.4-8.52 = 41.88 cubic meters.
- To count the blocks you need to know the volume of one product. We do this on the basis of the initial data, which show the dimensions of the standard masonry element: 0.2 m * 0.4 m * 0.6 m = 0.048 cubic meters.
- Knowing the volume of one product and the total volume of masonry, taking into account the openings, you can most accurately determine the required consumption of products. It is required to perform the last action - division in order to find the desired value. Data is required to be taken from points 6 and 7: 41.88 / 0.048 = 872.5 pcs. The value is rounded to the nearest integer. The final result is 873 pcs.
In order not to waste time on the purchase of blocks at the stage of building construction, it is recommended to take into account the reserve for unaccounted expenses. On average, this value is taken within 3-5%. How many percent to choose depends on the design documentation. With the detailed development of the project, you can take the minimum margin. If there are no detailed drawings (only sketches), it would be better to take into account a margin of 5%.