Part 1 of 2
Analysis of Rates
Last reviewed 16 Sept 2026 · 7 min read
Rate analysis — meaning and purpose
Analysis of rates is the determination of the cost per unit of an item of work (per m³, m², kg etc.) from the quantities of materials and labour required, their current rates, and allowances for tools, plant, overheads and profit.
Purposes
- Determine a reasonable rate for each item for estimates and tenders.
- Fix rates for extra/substituted items not in the schedule.
- Check the reasonableness of contractors' quoted rates.
- Revise rates when material prices or wages change.
- Prepare/update the schedule of rates.
Factors affecting rates
- Specification and quality of materials and workmanship.
- Location of the site — distance (lead) from sources of materials, transport facilities.
- Quantity of work (economy of scale).
- Labour rates and availability; local wages.
- Site conditions — working space, water, weather, height, depth.
- Profit, overheads and taxes.
- Season and time allowed for completion.
Components of a rate
| Component | Typical treatment |
|---|---|
| Materials | Quantity per unit of work (including wastage) × rate at site (cost + carriage + loading/unloading + storage) |
| Labour | Number of mason/mazdoor/bhisti days per unit (from output or task work) × daily wage |
| Tools and plant (T&P), scaffolding | Lump sum or small percentage of labour cost, or actual hire charges of machinery |
| Water charges | Commonly about 1% of the cost of materials and labour (or as per departmental rules) |
| Contractor's profit and overheads | Commonly about 10% for profit plus overheads, often combined in schedules as around 15% of the cost (as per the department's analysis) |
Percentages vary between departments and years; examinations commonly use water charges 1–1.5% and contractor's profit about 10%.
Schedule of rates and cost index
- Schedule of rates (SOR) — list of item rates approved by a department for a region and period, e.g. CPWD Delhi Schedule of Rates (DSR) and state PWD SORs, prepared by analysis of rates.
- Cost index — percentage used to update a base schedule (e.g. DSR) to the current cost level at a particular place and time; Estimated cost = base schedule amount × (1 + cost index %).
- Market rate items — items not in the schedule, analysed from market rates of materials and labour.
Material requirements
Concrete — dry volume
When dry materials (cement, sand, coarse aggregate) are mixed with water and compacted, the wet volume is less than the sum of the loose dry volumes — voids are filled.
Dry volume ≈ 1.52–1.57 × wet volume (commonly 1.54 for concrete)
For a nominal mix by volume:
Cement in bags (density of cement ≈ 1440 kg/m³; one bag = 50 kg ≈ 0.0347 m³)
Cement mortar
Dry volume ≈ 1.27–1.33 × wet volume (commonly taken as about 1.3, with some texts adding extra for wastage).
Brickwork
- Nominal (with mortar) size of a modular brick: 200 × 100 × 100 mm → about 500 bricks per m³ of brickwork.
- Actual modular brick 190 × 90 × 90 mm → volume of bricks in 1 m³ ≈ m³ → wet mortar ≈ 0.25–0.30 m³ per m³ of brickwork (commonly taken as about 0.25–0.30 m³, with the frog and wastage allowance).
- With traditional (non-modular) bricks, about 550 per m³ are commonly used in calculations; add wastage for bricks (often 5%).
Plastering
- Wet mortar = area × thickness; add for filling joints, uneven surfaces and wastage (commonly 20–30%) before converting to dry volume.