POETLAND CEMENT CONCRETE PAVEMENT?,. 25 
600 feet of rubber hose, with couplings $120 
20 wheelbarrows 100 
1 concrete mixer, with skip and distributing device 2, 000 
Strike board, tamper, mortar hoes, sledges, etc 100 
Total G, 875 
Ordinarily the method of paying for the work should enable the 
contractor to meet most of his bills for labor and materials after the 
first one or two estimates, so that the total amount of capital required 
for carrying on the work need not greatly exceed the cost of the 
equipment. For the average small project, where no very elaborate 
equipment is required to handle the materials, it seems that a total 
working capital of about $10,000 should be sufficient. 
COST OF CONCRETE PAVEMENTS. 
The cost of concrete pavements is almost wholly dependent on 
local conditions, and the conditions are seldom exactly the same, 
even for two projects in the same locality. It is therefore evident 
that a tabulation of cost figures for projects which have already 
been completed would be of little service in estimating the cost of 
new work, unless the conditions which affected the cost of the com- 
pleted work could be fully compared with those under which the 
proposed work is to be done. Furthermore, some of the conditions 
which affect the cost of work are extremely uncertain. Among these 
are the weather, the efficiency of labor, and what is commonly called 
the element of luck. These may all influence the cost of a project to 
a considerable extent, but their influence can seldom be expressed in 
definite figures. 
The most satisfactory method of arriving at the probable cost of a 
proposed pavement is first to ascertain by careful measurements and 
computations the quantities of the materials to be used and the va- 
rious kinds of work to be done. An itemized estimate based on these 
quantities and the unit costs which prevail in the community for such 
materials and work may then be made. To this estimate should or- 
dinarily be added a reasonable amount to cover unforeseen con- 
tingencies, and, also, if the work is to be done by contract, a fair 
profit for the contractor. From 15 to 20 per cent of the estimated 
cost is usually considered sufficient to cover these items. 
In order to appreciate the importance of considering the different 
items separately in preparing an estimate of cost, it is necessary only 
to consider briefly the great amount of variation in unit costs. 
The grading is usually paid for by the cubic yard of excavation, 
and the cost varies not only with the quantity but is greatly influenced 
by the character of the soil. In light, easily loosened soils grading 
may usually be done at from 25 to 40 cents per cubic yard. In hard 
earth containing more or less loose rock the cost per cubic yard gen- 
