Estimating building materials cost in ur

This paper presents a new approach in estimating the cost of building materials for the housing industry. It aims at assisting the various actors involved (client, builders, property developers, sub-contractors and jobbers, municipal officials in charge of issuance of building permits, administrative officials in charge of definition and orientation of housing policy, etc.) in mastering the use and cost of building materials as well as to evaluate the cost of projects. In contrast to the classical method consisting in estimating costs on the basis of built surface area per square meter of materials, workmanship, and management, this paper is based on splitting up the total cost of the project into cost of materials, cost of man power, and cost of management (running costs). Furthermore, it shows the manner in which any user may proceed to estimate the cost of the materials: he shall, first of all, set up a materials quantity matrix, and then set up a unit cost matrix corresponding to the materials. The paper finally gives a comparative study, which can aid in decision making in view of solving the problem of urban housing shortage.