Material costs
Audio for slide 1 (mp3 |6|KB)
To estimate material costs, you need to start with the following information from your site assessment documents:
- floor covering type and quantity
- underlay type and quantity
- hardware and trims.
Then you multiply the unit price for each of these items by the quantity required.
Finally, you add an allowance for consumable items, such as blades, nails, glue, joining tape, and so on.
Audio for slide 2 (mp3 |6|KB)
An example
Say you had a carpet installation that required the items and quantities set out below:
| Carpet | 100% nylon high-low pattern - 3660 mm: 17.6 lineal metres |
| Underlay | foam - 1830 mm |
| Trims | T capping - gold |
| Carpet gripper | Smooth edge pre-nailed concrete |
The best way to set out the cost calculations is to use a table format, like the one below. This allows you to see the individual figures easily and double-check all your sums.
| Material | Unit price | Quantity | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carpet - 100% nylon high-low (3.66 m) | $45.00 l/m | 17.6 l/m | 792.00 |
| Foam underlay (1.83 m) | $8.35 l/m | 35.2 l/m | 293.92 |
| Gold trims | $2.00 l/m | 2.5 l/m | 5.00 |
| Smooth edge pre-nailed carpet gripper | $1.45 each | 41 | 59.45 |
| Consumables (blades, joining tape, etc.) | $15.00 | ||
| Total material costs | $1165.37 |
Learning activity
Audio 3 (mp3 |6|KB)You have completed a site assessment and measure-up for a flooring installation at Sunnyvale. The materials required to complete the job are shown below.
Work out the total cost of materials, setting out your calculations in a table format.
For the purposes of this exercise, we'll say that all prices exclude GST. We will talk more about GST later in this section.
| Product | Price (exc. GST) | Quantity |
| Vinyl planks 'Beech' finish | $35 per m2 | 9 boxes (2.5 m2 per box) |
| Ardit K15 smoothing compound | $67.55 per 20 kg bag | 3 bags |
| Anchor-weld UF1 adhesive | $57.40 per 15 L drum | 1 drum |
| Consumables | $20 allowance |
Go to Labour costs