Estimating Software for Stonemasons

Cladding, walling, paving and feature stone are almost always measured by the square metre, and MTH’s automated quantity takeoff reads these areas directly from an uploaded PDF plan or drawing, so you are not scaling elevations or paving layouts by hand for every job.

Even though it is all “stone”, a single job often needs several separate area line items rather than one blanket rate — a feature wall, a full elevation clad in a different stone, and an external paved courtyard will each carry their own material cost, cutting complexity and labour rate, even though the measured technique (area in m2) is the same for all three.

Freestanding and retaining stone walling is measured the same way but usually needs its own line item again, because coursing, foundation preparation and pointing add labour that a flat cladding panel does not.

• Feature stone walls (fireplaces, entry statements, internal accent walls)
• Full elevation or partial cladding runs
• External paving — courtyards, paths, pool surrounds
• Freestanding or retaining stone walling

Benchtops are typically priced two ways at once — a linear metre rate for the edge profile (pencil, bullnose, mitred or waterfall) and a square metre rate for the slab area — and MTH’s rates library lets you set up both measurement bases against the one benchtop line item so neither gets forgotten in a quote.

Cutouts for sinks, cooktops and tap holes are usually priced as separate item-based lines rather than folded into the square-metre rate, since the labour and breakage risk do not scale the same way as flat slab area. Slab thickness also matters beyond material cost — a thicker slab is heavier to handle and often needs extra people or lifting equipment, which belongs in your labour or plant rate rather than being absorbed silently into the material line.

• Edge profile options (pencil, bullnose, mitred, waterfall) priced per linear metre
• Slab thickness options priced per square metre
• Cutout allowances for sinks, cooktops and tap holes
• Installation labour scaled to slab weight and handling difficulty

Natural stone typically carries a higher cutting and wastage allowance than standard building materials because of grain, veining and breakage risk during cutting, transport and installation, and heavy handling — often needing craneage or mechanical lifting for large slabs and feature stone — adds a real cost that is easy to leave out of a quick verbal quote.

Skilled labour rates for stonemasons are also generally higher than for general building trades, reflecting the training and precision the work demands, and that loading needs to show up explicitly in a rate build-up rather than being buried in a single “labour” line that undercharges for the skill involved.

• Cutting and wastage allowance on top of net measured quantity
• Craneage or mechanical lifting for large slabs and feature stone
• Sealing as a distinct line item, not assumed into material cost
• A skilled labour rate that reflects stonemasonry training, not a general trade rate

Heritage restoration and repointing jobs need to be quoted on the condition of the existing stone and mortar rather than a single blanket rate, because raking out old mortar, repointing, indenting damaged stone and matching an existing finish all carry different labour and material costs, sometimes on the same wall.

Stone selection matters more on restoration work than on a new build — sourcing a matching stone, or having one cut to match colour, grain and finish, takes more time than ordering a standard product, and mortar mix often needs to meet a specific composition for heritage compliance. Sealing after restoration is frequently priced as its own line rather than assumed into the repointing rate.

• Raking out and repointing existing mortar joints
• Indenting or replacing individual damaged stones
• Matching stone selection and a compliant mortar mix
• Sealing as a distinct post-restoration line item

The example below shows how a mixed stonemasonry job — feature cladding, external paving and a benchtop — comes together as a priced quote once quantities are measured and rates are applied. Every rate shown is illustrative, entered by the stonemason into their own MTH rates library, not a default MTH figure.

Notice that the job needs several different units on the one quote — square metres for cladding and paving, linear metres for the benchtop edge, a percentage-based wastage allowance and item-based lines for craneage — all totalled together automatically rather than combined by hand across separate spreadsheets.