Su that the price of the cubic foot wants only the fiftieth part of a penny to be 5s. 10d. This is the rate of the mas ter's price for the fir, exclusive of labour.
The foregoing are the methods by which the various parts of workmanship should be analyzed, in order to discover a legitimate ratio of prices ; but we regret to add, that no par ticular account of time has been kept, in which the execution of certain uniform portions of work have been done, and by which alone we are enabled to give accurate calculations. The method of lumping work by the square, is not to be depended on, in the general admeasuremcnt of buildings, as the surface is not always of a uniform description of workmanship ; thus, in hipped roofs, the greatest trouble is at the hips, in cutting and fitting the jack-rafters, which are fixed at equal distances thereon, and therefore such a price may be fixed upon the cubic quantity of hips and vallies, as will not only pay for the workmanship in themselves, but also for the trouble of cutting and fitting the jack-rafters.
It is impossible to fix a proper rate, including both materials and workmanship, as the one may be stationary, while the other is variable. With respect to materials, the value of any quantity may be easily ascertained, whatever be the price per load ; but the far greater difficulty lies in fixing proper rates of workmanship; however, admitting that the time of executing every species of work were known, there would be no difficulty in establishing certain nniform quan tities, which would give the real value at any time ; the fol lowing is a specimen of the several rates of workmanship, by which the prices may be regulated at any time, admitting them to be right for the present. Each rate consists gener
ally of three places of decimals on the right side of the point, and sometimes an integer on the left side. This table shows also the customary methods of measuring.
To the price of the common measure of any kind of workmanship, at any time.—Multiply the wages of the workman by the rate ; then, whatever denomination the wages is per day, the integers of the product, if any, will be of the same denomination, and the decimals will be parts of the same.
centering of cylindric vaults is 2.033 per square ; now let the wages per day be 5 shillings, or GO pence; then 2.033 x 5=10.165 shillings per square, and by multiplying the decimal parts by 12, we obtain the pence. Thu._