Need help with formulas for measurements....

[nfrank101]

hello,

I am so lost. I am trying to create a spreadsheet (a functional itemized estimate to print out for customers) for a construction contractor. It needs to convert a rooms measurements into sq footage, linear footage, cubic feet, etc. I cannot figure out how to create the formulas to calculate lengthxwidth for sq ft, lengthxwidthxheight for volume, or # of cubic ft divided 27 to calculate cubic yards.

For example: Living Room (of a fire damaged home) is 10'11x14'6x8'. Insulation will be removed and replaced. It needs to calculate in sq feet. the molding will also be removed and replaced, it needs to be calculated in linear feet (within the same row).

Then, it needs to calculate cost of material.

Example: 158sq feet @ $0.47 a sq ft ( in the same row).

I appreciate any help...Thanks!

 

[dr_shivan]

Hi there, welcome to the board.

Is it possible for you to list out how to calculate each of the required values? i mean the formula. with the basic info, we might be able to come up with what you require...

c",)

 

[tactps]

Welcome. We work in metres here, but I think this will do it for you.

Assume that you have the following cells (using your example):
B1 = Length (feet) 10
B2 = Length (inches) 11
B3 = Width (feet) 14
B4 = Width (inches) 6
B5 = Depth (feet) 8
B6 = Depth (inches) 0

Cubic feet:
=(B1+B2/12)*(B3+B4/12)*(B5+B6/12)

Then for square feet:
=(B1+B2/12)*(B3+B4/12)

Then for linear feet:
=((B1+B2/12)+(B3+B4/12))*2

Multiply the answers by 0.47 for the cost.

 

[nfrank101]

Hello again,

Thank you for responding so fast! dr shivan, i'm not sure what you mean, maybe like this, to calculate sq ft you multiply length by the width. In this case it would be 10'11" x 14'6"= 158 sq ft . Or to calculate the volume of a room in cubic feet, you multiply width by length by height 14'6" x 10'11" x 8'= 1266 cf.

tactps, your notes were really helpful, however, when I entered the formula for cubic feet, it gave me a #VALUE! This is an error message, right?
This is just a rough draft of the worksheet following your example

A1 LENGTH FT B1 = 10'
A2 LENGTH IN B2 = 11"
A3 WIDTH FT B3 = 14'
A4 WIDTH IN B4 = 6"
A5 HEIGTH FT B5 = 8'
A6 HEIGHT IN B6 = 0"
A7 B7 has formula =(b1+b2/12)*(b3+b4/12) but shows error message after hitting enter.

Maybe I can find a Excel book for beginners. I can't find any topics in excel help for my problem.

 

[Mark W.]

A1 LENGTH FT B1 = 10'
A2 LENGTH IN B2 = 11"
A3 WIDTH FT B3 = 14'
A4 WIDTH IN B4 = 6"
A5 HEIGTH FT B5 = 8'
A6 HEIGHT IN B6 = 0"
A7 B7 has formula =(b1+b2/12)*(b3+b4/12) but shows error message after hitting enter.

Maybe I can find a Excel book for beginners. I can't find any topics in excel help for my problem.

Get rid of your inch (") and foot (') marks.

 

[nfrank101]

OK! I got the formula part to work!! Thanks so so much you guys! So now can I save that particular formula to that cell so when the measurements change it will automatically populate the Total cell with the new value??

MarkW,

I didn't put in the marks on the spreadsheet, I just used them in my reply to make it easier to read I was just putting in the wrong argument (??) into the formula. Thank you!