Units of measure for masonry
Each piece of masonry work has its own unit, and keeping them apart is what makes the estimate checkable. These are the units estimators use and how each is measured.
| Item | Unit | How it's measured |
|---|---|---|
| CMU walls | SF → block | Wall area less openings × 1.125 blocks per SF for 8 × 16 units. |
| Brick veneer | SF → brick | Wall area less openings × about 6.75 modular brick per SF with 3/8 in joints. |
| Grout | CY | Cells grouted per the structural drawings (solid or at reinforcing only). |
| Reinforcing and joint reinforcement | lb / LF | Vertical bars by spacing; horizontal joint reinforcement by course. |
| Lintels, flashing, ties | LF / each | At openings and per the wall sections. |
| Scaffolding | SF or weeks | By wall area and duration. |
How estimators take off masonry
- Measure wall areas by type. Separate CMU by size and grouting, and veneers by material, deducting openings.
- Convert area to units. Use units per SF for the unit size and joint (1.125 per SF for 8 × 16 block).
- Add grout and reinforcing. Work out grouted cells and bar lengths from the structural drawings.
- Take off accessories. Lintels, bond beams, control joints, flashing, weeps and ties from the sections and details.
- Price labor and scaffolding. Use units per crew-day for each wall type and height, then add scaffolding, mixers and winter protection.
Waste factors and order quantities
Waste covers cut-offs, breakage, laps and spillage, and it's added to the net quantity before rounding up to what the supplier sells. These are typical planning figures; your own job history is the better number.
| Item | Factor | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Block | 3 to 5% | Typical planning figure for breakage and cuts. |
| Brick | 5% | Typical planning figure; more with many openings or patterns. |
Crew production rates
Labor is quantity divided by production. These rates are per 8-hour crew-day for commercial work, from the same library as the crew-day production estimator: typical mid-range planning values with a low-to-high range, not a promise of output. Crew skill, layout, access and weather move them, and your own crews' records beat any library.
| Activity | Crew | Low | Typical | High | Labor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 in CMU wall, reinforced | 2 masons, 1 tender | 250 | 320 block | 400 | 7.5 hrs per 100 block |
| Brick veneer, running bond | 2 masons, 1 tender | 900 | 1,200 brick | 1,500 | 2.0 hrs per 100 brick |
- 8 in CMU wall, reinforced 250 to 400 block, typical 320
- Brick veneer, running bond 900 to 1,500 brick, typical 1,200
Worked example: 9,000 CMU blocks (about 8,000 SF of wall)
The activity is 8 in cmu wall, reinforced, with a crew of 2 masons, 1 tender at the typical rate of 320 block per crew-day:
- Crew-days: 9,000 block ÷ 320 = 28.1 crew-days.
- Labor hours: 28.1 crew-days × 3 workers × 8 hours = 675 hours.
- Range: 22.5 crew-days at the high rate to 36 at the low rate, a spread of 13.5 crew-days on the same quantity.
- Equipment: Mortar mixer and scaffold, about 28.1 equipment-days.
Multiply the labor hours by your burdened hourly cost to price the labor. The spread between the low and high rate is why production is the assumption to check first on a masonry bid: the same takeoff can carry very different labor. Run your own quantities in the crew-day production estimator, and get the burdened rate from the labor burden calculator.
What drives the cost
- Wall height and scaffolding. Every scaffold lift slows production and adds equipment time.
- Grout and reinforcing. Fully grouted walls cost far more than walls grouted at reinforcing only.
- Weather. Cold weather protection and heated enclosures are major costs in winter.
- Openings and corners. Cutting, lintels and corners lower units laid per day.
Common exclusions and clarifications
A masonry price is only as good as the scope it describes. These exclusions come from our scope library for masonry (CSI 04 20 00); list the ones that apply so the GC levels your number fairly.
- Lintels and embedded steel furnished by others.
- Cleaning beyond one standard wash.
- Waterproofing and sealants other than at our joints.
- Winter protection, heated enclosures and admixtures.
- Testing of prisms and grout.
Clarifications that often go with them:
- Lintels and embedded items furnished by others and set by us.
- One standard cleaning of face brick included.
Pick, edit and export these in the scope inclusions and exclusions library, or load them straight into a proposal with the bid proposal builder.
Free tools for masonry estimating
- Crew-day production estimator: turn masonry quantities into crew-days, duration and labor hours with the rates on this page.
- Labor burden calculator: find the true cost of a crew hour, with taxes, insurance and benefits.
- Scope inclusions and exclusions library: pick proposal-ready masonry exclusions and clarifications.
- Bid proposal builder: send a branded masonry proposal with the scope language loaded.