In the modern construction industry, more and more innovations are appearing that are designed to make the work of architects and their clients much easier. In this article we will talk about such a tool as construction programs, which allow you to determine with the necessary accuracy the main costs, construction time and many other parameters.
Any Internet user can download construction programs for free. Most modern applications are developed and uploaded to the network by popular construction companies, which thus conduct a competent advertising campaign for their services on the domestic market.
As a rule, construction programs of any class have an intuitive graphical interface and many tutorials. Thus, any user of a personal computer can independently, without the help of an experienced designer or architect, create a 3D model of their dream home. A secondary program for construction calculations will help you estimate the cost of upcoming work with maximum accuracy.
It is not uncommon for many users, both private and corporate, to use illegal or “pirated” copies. It is important to remember that many construction calculation programs from the “hacked” class have an unlimited validity period, but a simplified and reduced set of tools. Because of this, many difficulties can arise not only with demonstrating the model, but also with its addition or re-development.
Before you turn your attention to free construction programs, you should note that professional applications for modeling and estimating a home have either paid or limited access. Therefore, if you do not need to delve into the basics of the architectural and design profession, you can use free services.
This section discusses the main parameters that construction design programs should have.
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The main requirement for any construction software is ease of use. That is, the software shell should not use complex construction terminology, control should be as simple as possible, system processing of the finished model should not take long, the interface should be based on the Russian language.
The My Estimate 2.0 application meets all these requirements. This program is designed for frequent use. Its main advantages are multifunctionality, simple interface, flexibility, support for several languages, including Russian.
Program for calculating construction estimates “My Estimate” Classic applications are controlled using the mouse, with which the user can move various elements of the future home. The program should also display error messages if the user has performed an incorrect action.
A standard program for construction drawing must comply with all real laws of physics and take into account the characteristics of each building material. A simplified version of this type of program is Home Plan Pro. Using this tool, the user can create a basic drawing of the house with pinpoint accuracy, as well as draw up a detailed plan of the interior. Basic skills in drawing and architecture are required to use this application. Thanks to the simple interface, the user will quickly get used to the presented professional environment.
House drawing in Home Plan Pro program And another important parameter of any construction software is a rich set of software tools. The program for construction drawings is equipped with a special designer, where each element is assigned a place in the appropriate category. Also, when constructing certain structures, any application should provide the user with the opportunity to see how a real model will behave under different weather conditions.
Regardless of whether you want to build a house from timber or brick, you definitely need calculation of building materials, which will be used for the foundation at the beginning and finishing at the end, not to mention the roofing.
You are about to build a house. This is a very serious undertaking and, undoubtedly, you decided to approach it with all responsibility. This means that it must be decided what the external and internal walls will be made of, what kind of ceilings and floors there will be (this is not always the same thing), what material will be laid on the roof. If the cottage is made of brick, this does not mean at all that you will not need boards or hardware. Therefore, we begin to compile a list of everything necessary in order to then calculate the building materials.
The foundation is the basis of everything, so let’s look at it first. There are options here. Most often, in order to save money, a tape type is made. That is, a ditch is dug strictly along the perimeter of the building, which is filled either with ready-made reinforced concrete blocks with additional cement filling, or simply with concrete mortar. Therefore, you at a minimum need sand, crushed stone and water in certain proportions. To lay blocks, which are quite large in size, into a trench, you will need to use a crane. A columnar foundation is less commonly used, which will save a lot of building materials; even less often, houses are built on wooden piles, which are separate beams or logs.
The calculation of rafter legs can be performed separately or combined with the calculation of the amount of timber for building a house. In addition, it is quite possible that the project will include metal trusses, which means it will be necessary to purchase hardware, at least a corner, or pipes with a square or rectangular profile. This will require additional calculations of rolled metal, especially with regard to the resistance of the structure to loads. The amount of roofing covering is calculated separately, based on the roof area and its shape, for example, a multi-gable version will require more materials due to the high percentage of waste.
The foundation of any building must be reliable, and if the cottage is built from ordinary brick or gas silicate, we discard the piles immediately. Let's focus on strip and columnar foundation options, without reinforced concrete blanks, so as not to involve equipment. Typically, pouring under a house is done in a ratio of 1:3:5 or 1:4:4 cement, sand and crushed stone, respectively. It is much more important to choose the right amount of water; for this, the W/C ratio is used, that is, dividing the volume of water by the mass of cement. You can also use the table of ready-made W/C results, thanks to which, knowing the amount of cement, it will be easy to calculate how much water is needed:
| Concrete grade | ||||||
| Cement brand | ||||||
| 300 | 0,75 | 0,65 | 0,55 | 0,50 | 0,40 | |
| 400 | 0,85 | 0,75 | 0,63 | 0,56 | 0,50 | 0,40 |
| 500 | 0,85 | 0,71 | 0,64 | 0,60 | 0,46 | |
| 600 | 0,95 | 0,75 | 0,68 | 0,63 | 0,50 |
The volume of the strip foundation is determined by the formula V=SL, Where S is the cross-sectional area of the fill, and L– its length, consisting of the perimeter of the building, added to the lintels for the internal walls. A columnar foundation is defined in a slightly different way; the formula looks like V=SHn, Where S– cross-sectional area of the support, H is its height, and n– number of pillars. The cross-section of a square or rectangular base is determined by the formula S=ab, Where a And b– lengths of the sides. The round cut of the support is calculated as follows: S=πR 2, Where R is the radius, and π – constant equal to 3.14.
The number of blocks that will be needed to build walls can be calculated in several ways. It is usually known in advance how many units of ordinary brick or gas silicate are in a cubic meter. Now it is enough to find out the volume of the walls, for which we multiply the area of each by the thickness and subtract from the result the sum of the areas of window and door openings. However, in this case the result will be slightly overestimated, since we did not take into account the angles. In order for the calculation of building materials to be correct, we determine the error. It is enough to carry out the same calculations for the area of the internal walls and subtract the second result from the first. Now all that remains is to multiply the total by one cube, and we get the total amount of materials. You can also use the table:
Number of blocks in 1 m2 of masonry
Type of masonry | Brick size | Quantity excluding mortar joints, pcs. | Quantity including mortar joints, pcs. |
|---|---|---|---|
0.5 bricks | single | ||
one and a half | |||
1 brick | single | ||
one and a half | |||
1.5 bricks | single | ||
one and a half | |||
2 bricks | single | ||
one and a half | |||
2.5 bricks | single | ||
one and a half | |||
If you want to build a good-quality log house or a small bathhouse, you will need to determine the height of the building in the crowns, which will build up the walls row by row. But, first of all, it is recommended to find out how many beams or logs, given their dimensions, are contained in one cubic meter. If the cross-section is large enough, rest assured that the number of woodworking products will amount to only a few units. Let's start by determining the volume of one product, with an eye to the cross-sectional shape.
For timber, the formula will be simple: V=abl, Where a And b– sides of the section, and l– length of lumber. For a log, the calculation will be different: V=πR 2l, Where R– section radius. If all parameters are taken in meters, then the result will be in cubic meters. When purchasing, you should do the full calculation, as some sellers tend to reduce the volume to whole numbers if the end result is a decimal.
We have a formula of the form V=HPb, Where H– height, and P– perimeter. The total number of beams is calculated by dividing the result by the volume of one product with a rectangular cross-section. With a log it is somewhat more complicated; here you should multiply the number of crowns by the number of walls, including internal ones (a typical option is a five-walled structure), and then by the volume of one rounded lumber. There are usually as many logs in the crown as there are walls in the building. For more complex cases, you will need a building materials calculator.
Building a house is a responsible and complex process, the nuances of which are known only to professionals. But the cost of building a house is primarily influenced by the amount of building materials used and the size of the building, so it is possible to roughly estimate the cost of construction for the selected project using online calculators.
Using a calculator and a house project, you can imagine its approximate cost Source zen.yandex.ru
There are several types of calculations, and a specific construction calculator is usually created for one of them. To understand what results to expect from the calculations, you need to understand what type of calculations are used:
By total area of the house. A very approximate method of calculation - you indicate the linear dimensions of the building, the estimated number of floors and material for the walls, and the calculator gives an estimated cost.
By project type. A more complex method of calculations, which is carried out in several stages - based on architectural, structural and engineering projects. The cost of building the “box”, finishing work and the cost of laying out utilities are shown separately here. The accuracy of the calculations depends on the number of templates included in the calculator.
Foundation calculators. Allows you to roughly imagine the amount of building materials (concrete, reinforcement, boards for formwork) that will be required for the work. The accuracy of the calculations also depends on the number of templates included in the calculator.
Interface of the online foundation calculator Source nkkconsult.ru
Universal calculators that allow you to include in the calculations the types of floors and the material from which they are made (blocks, bricks, wooden beams, or even). In some cases, you can even consider houses designed using half-timbered technology.
In this video we will discuss what the cost of a wooden house consists of:
Depending on the templates and formulas included in the construction calculator, as a result you receive a calculation of the cost of building a house as a whole, or part of the work, so that you can choose the best option.
To properly use an online construction calculator, you need to clearly understand its pros and cons. At the same time, first of all you have to focus on the shortcomings:
Lack of flexibility. Any calculator makes calculations solely based on its built-in templates and formulas. If you need to calculate data for which the calculator is not provided, then you won’t be able to reconfigure it and you will have to do everything manually.
Low transparency of calculations. Even if the calculator contains exact formulas, the user has no way to check what exactly and how correctly he thinks, since everything is hidden behind the user interface intended exclusively for entering primary data.
Behind the user interface, the formulas by which the calculations are performed are not visible - only the initial data and the result Source nkkconsult.ru
Despite such significant disadvantages, various construction calculators are still very popular - this is due to the following positive aspects:
Based on the initial data that the calculator requires, you can still imagine the progress of the calculations and what to look for when choosing a project or communicating with the specialists who will perform the work.
Based on the results generated by the calculator, you can compare the cost of work with different materials or compare the price of houses built using different technologies.
As a result, the main task of a construction calculator is to clearly show the user how approximate calculations are made and what the difference is in the cost of houses built using different technologies.
At the same time, it is not recommended to use a building materials calculator for building a house for any precise calculations, since it is often unknown what formulas and with what tolerances the calculations are made.
In order to carry out the most correct calculation of the main building materials for the construction of a building, it is necessary to decide in advance on the design of the house that will be built. When the configuration of the future cottage is known, this data can be used in an online calculator to calculate the amount of materials needed.
An example of a finished wooden house project Source nkkconsult.ru
The foundation accounts for approximately a third of all construction costs. Laying out the foundation is one of the first stages of work and calculations usually begin with it. To calculate the amount of building materials, it is proposed to select or manually set the following data:
type of foundation - strip or pile-grillage (it is impossible to calculate a completely pile foundation online, since too many variables must be taken into account);
foundation shape – usually rectangular or with additional load-bearing walls;
linear dimensions - depending on the accuracy of the calculator;
solution proportions - concrete grade;
thickness, and in some cases, the desired length of the formwork boards;
type of reinforcement.
After calculations, the calculator displays the volume of future pouring, the amount of reinforcement and wire for tying, and the cubic capacity of boards for formwork
The nuances of the calculation that arise can be clearly seen in the example of calculating the amount of mortar for pouring a strip foundation measuring 5x6 m for a small country house with two rooms.
A strip foundation is a concrete foundation laid along the perimeter of the house frame under all its load-bearing walls and transferring the load from the cottage to the ground.
Strip foundation Source lyfo.ru
On our website you can find contacts of construction companies that offer house design services. You can communicate directly with representatives by visiting the “Low-Rise Country” exhibition of houses.
When calculating the volume of fill, the width of the base (for example, 40 cm) is multiplied by its depth (50 cm). The resulting cross-sectional area is multiplied by the length of the walls (3 x 5 m and 2 x 6 m).
The simplest calculation could look like this: 0.4x0.5x((6x2)+5x3)) = 0.4x0.5x27 = 5.4 cubic meters. m of solution.
But there is one nuance here that must be taken into account - when the 6 m sides are filled with concrete, then part of the 5 m wall volume is also “captured”. If you do not pay attention to this point, you can order more concrete than necessary. In fact, the calculation will be 0.4x0.5x((6x2)+(4.2x3)) = 0.4x0.5x24.6 = 4.92 cubic meters. m of solution.
Correct calculation of the volume of a strip foundation Source nkkconsult.ru
As you can see, even on a small foundation the difference is noticeable - a mistake of half a cube of solution, and that’s 1.5-2 thousand rubles...
To find out the approximate cost of various types of foundations, use the following calculator:
Since bricks and building blocks have a rectangular shape, the calculation of building a house is carried out with approximately the same initial data, so most calculators for calculating walls can be used for each of these materials.
To calculate the number of blocks or bricks, the online construction calculator will request the following data:
the total length of all walls of the house (perimeter, m);
area of door and window openings;
the thickness of the building walls (the thickness can be half a block, as well as 1, 1.5 or 2-2.5 blocks);
The width of the masonry is 2 bricks Source azbuka-stroy.ru
weight and price of one block (kg and rub.);
thickness of the mortar in the masonry (cm) - usually this indicator ranges from 3 to 10 mm;
height of walls at corners (cm);
type and size of future blocks: length, width and height (mm), and some calculators allow you to take into account the voids of blocks, which is used in a number of calculations.
Building Blocks Options Source nkkconsult.ru
Important! In some calculators, the thickness of the masonry joint is not indicated separately. This means that either it is not taken into account at all, or the “format” rule applies, in which the dimensions of a unit of building material are increased by 1 cm (by the standard seam thickness).
Based on all these indicators, the total area, weight and cost of the masonry are calculated. Approximately the cost of constructing block (brick) walls will be 1/3 of the cost of building the entire house.
The video provides an example of manual calculation of the number of bricks:
The frame-type house construction calculator allows you to pre-calculate the approximate amount of materials before contacting the specialists of the selected construction company.
To prepare an estimate, the following parameters are calculated:
foundation (for the construction of ordinary frame houses, a pile foundation is excellent, and in the case of unstable soil or for a heavier cottage, a strip or slab foundation);
the amount of material required for insulation - calculated depending on local climatic conditions;
roof dimensions - there is a significant difference between a regular roof and an attic roof;
parameters of utility networks and other communications - not a single calculator can provide all the nuances;
amount of wind and vapor barrier materials;
external and internal finishing of the future building - depending on the selected materials.
To correctly select the foundation and type of roof, it is necessary to perform a detailed calculation of the specific gravity of the walls, floors and roof. Depending on the size of the cladding material, the dimensions of the building and the roof structure, builders select a transverse or rack beam for the load-bearing structure of the house.
Source market.sakh.com
The basis of any frame house is the upper and lower frame, which also need to be calculated - both in terms of strength and in terms of the volume of building materials used. The cross-sectional area of the timber is usually taken as the basis here.
An online calculator will help you make an approximate calculation of materials, as shown in the following video:
To calculate the construction of a house, it is important to determine the amount of finishing material for the walls. One of the most common materials is various types of lining, using an example of which you can consider the nuances of calculations.
The first parameter that affects the price is the type of lining (wooden or plastic), which determines its dimensions.
Wooden lining is a natural material that is durable and has a long service life. The only drawback of this building material is its high susceptibility to moisture content in the air, which is why it is necessary to include various impregnations, varnishes or paints in the estimate. The dimensions of the lining vary in the following ranges: length - from 210 cm to 600 cm; width – 8, 10, 11, 12, 15 cm; thickness: 1.3 cm, 1.6 cm, 1.9 cm, 2.5 cm.
Plastic lining has an increased service life and absolute moisture resistance, making it excellent for finishing the exterior surfaces of a house. For this type of lining, the dimensions will be as follows: length - from 300 cm to 600 cm; width – 10, 12.5 or 15, 20, 25 cm; thickness: 5, 7, 8, 10 mm.
Calculating the amount of lining using an online calculator Source iapplenews.ru
To calculate the required amount of lining, the following data is used:
number of windows, their height and width;
number of doors and their sizes;
building perimeter and wall height.
Knowing the area of the building facades and the area of a unit of facing material, you can calculate the amount of lining or other type of siding by dividing the first by the second. The same thing happens when calculating floor coverings inside the house.
Such a building materials calculator will also help calculate the number of specific elements, for example, cornices, strips (starting or finishing), soffits, trims, and other things.
Also, when calculating finishing materials for interior work, the volumes and quantities of paint or wallpaper, flooring and plaster are taken into account.
Video example of calculating the amount of linoleum required:
The consumption of many of them (for example, primers or paints) is indicated on the label by manufacturers. Therefore, you only need to know the coverage area (height times width, minus the area of windows or doors).
To determine the approximate cost of the entire construction, a universal, easy-to-use construction calculator is used. This program is designed to perform a preliminary calculation of the price of a house, taking into account the basic parameters.
Online calculator for calculating building materials Source apkpure.com
By choosing a specific construction technology using a construction calculator, you can quickly compare the cost of building a building in different configurations.
When calculating the cost of construction using an online calculator, the following indicators are taken into account:
foundation type;
area of the house;
number of storeys;
type of roof;
type of floors (material used for their construction);
types of construction and finishing materials.
In universal calculators, it is possible to enter the dimensions of the building (height, width and length), as well as window and door openings, certain dimensions of each room, the depth and width of the foundation, the angle of the roof and the type of heating.
An example of an online calculator for calculating the cost of a turnkey house Source nkkconsult.ru
For example: building an economy option (a one-story cottage with an area of up to 80 sq. m) can cost 1 million rubles or more. Basic two-story houses with an area of 150 square meters. m, will cost at least 2 million rubles. The highest price will be for the construction of large and spacious premium class mansions with a total area of more than 350 sq. m. m – from 5 million rubles.
The main purpose of using an online calculator is to save time. The program makes it possible to calculate the approximate cost of building a house quickly and easily. However, it is worth considering that such software implies a considerable error in the calculations. Accordingly, accurate results can only be obtained from a specialized company.
Using an online calculator, it is easier to decide on a suitable project for your future home. The process of calculating the cost of a house is not influenced by the human factor, and the application itself is often free and accessible to everyone. And yet, in order to reduce errors in calculations to a minimum, it is recommended to contact specialized companies with experienced craftsmen.
Today, the construction of houses made of foam concrete is gaining momentum. And this is not surprising, because this material has such parameters that cannot but attract buyers. There are several opinions on how to correctly calculate the cost of building a house made of foam blocks.
We will focus on this issue in this article.
First of all, let us remind you: do not confuse foam concrete with aerated concrete. One of the articles on our website discusses in detail the fundamental differences between these two materials. It is worth noting that the price of foam concrete is more favorable.
A foam block is a small “block” made by mixing a concrete mixture with special foaming components. It is the foam that forms cavities in the concrete, which reduce its weight and increase its thermal insulation parameters.
Its standard size is 200*300*600 mm. For clarity, look at the photo below and imagine how much time you can save on laying foam blocks.
Houses made of this material cost significantly less than houses of the same size made of brick or, for example, timber. And if you are not lazy and build everything yourself, then the savings will exceed even your wildest expectations.
Having an attractive price, foam block houses or cottages are in no way inferior in their parameters to stone or wooden ones. Another attractive feature of the material is its environmental friendliness.
There are few of them, but they are still present:
So, our main task is to calculate the cost of building a house from foam blocks. It cannot be done separately from clarifying the stages of construction. After all, only by analyzing the entire process in parts can you take into account every detail.
The calculation of foam blocks for building a house should be based on the area of the walls. Foam blocks are sold in cubic meters and to find out the quantity you need, simply multiply the thickness of the block by the area of the walls.
Related articles:
The full cost calculation for building a house made of foam blocks is as follows:
So, calculations for building a house from foam blocks showed that we need 981 blocks. There are 27.7 blocks in one cubic meter. With a simple calculation we find out that we need 35 cubic meters.
The cost of 1 cubic meter is about 3,000 rubles. As you can see, a house of a given size will cost a very modest amount. Of course, this is just the frame of the building, but you must admit that the same brick would cost 2-3 times more.
It is worth noting that these instructions are approximate and accurate calculations are only possible with a thorough knowledge of the project.
Advice!
Remove possible unevenness immediately with a plane.
Another little tip: to cut the blocks you need to use a special hacksaw for foam concrete with large teeth.
If you cut correctly, you will avoid crumbling of the material.
As you can see, calculating the construction of a house made of foam blocks cannot be called a very complicated process. But this in no way detracts from its importance when planning work.
To further understand the process of constructing a foam block building, pay attention to the video in this article. See you again on the pages of our website.
