Formula for nesting plank tonnage

Today, I am going to unveil a useful formula to calculate the weight of the nesting meranti plank to be procured for the BH.

It is a very simple formula, and is widely used by the timber suppliers and subcontractors to calculate the tonnage of the timber given the dimension and length. It can be used as a guide to estimate the quantity of planks if you DIY your BH.

For a 22’ x 80’ BH, if the spacing between the nesting planks is 19”, then total length of planks to be purchased for one floor shall be

= [80/ (19/12)] + 1

= 52 length of 22 feet planks

and 2 length of 80 feet planks (this long wise plank is optional in some BHs).

As the plank dimension is 1” x 6”,

Weight = {1 x 6 x [(52 x 22) + (2 x 80)] }/7200

= 1.087 mt (metric ton)

Take into consideration of 5 % wastage,

The weight of plank per floor should be roughly = 1.087 x 1.05 = 1.14 mt

And the price of plank in market is ranging from RM 2000 to RM 3000

Say, we take it at RM 2500 per ton

Therefore, the material cost per floor = 1.14 x 2500 = RM 2850.