An estimator needs to calculate the material cost of carpet tiles for specific areas in a new office building.

Task: What is the total material cost for the building?

- The building has 3 floors, and each floor has a rectangular area to be carpeted measuring 71.0 feet by 48.3 feet.
- The cost for the carpet is $120.7 per square meter.
- Include a carpet edge strip around 3 sides of the rectangular area: one long edge and both short edges.
- Waste percentage: 5.1% for the carpet tiles and 5.0% for the edge strip.
- Cost for the carpet edge strip is $26.8 per meter.
- Conversion: 3.2808 feet equals one linear meter.

Hints:
- Understand the difference between a linear meter and a square meter.
- Drawing a simple diagram may be helpful.
- Write down multiple calculations before totaling them.
- The terms "metre" and "meter" are both commonly used for measurement.

To carpet the new office building, the total material cost involves calculating the carpet tiles and edge strip costs, including waste percentages. The total area across all floors is approximately 1004.33 square meters with a cost of about $122,710.88. This includes the carpet edge strip along specified edges.

To calculate the total material cost for carpeting a new office building, follow these steps:

Calculate the total area to be carpeted for all three floors. Each floor has an area of 71.0 feet by 48.3 feet. Convert to square meters using the conversion 1 square meter = 10.7639 square feet.

Total area per floor (in square feet) = 71.0 feet * 48.3 feet

= 3429.3 square feet.

Convert to square meters: 3429.3 / 10.7639 ≈ 318.53 square meters.

Total area for 3 floors = 318.53 * 3

= 955.59 square meters.

Include the waste percentage for carpet tiles, which is 5.1%.

Waste area = 955.59 * 0.051

≈ 48.74 square meters.

Total carpet area including waste = 955.59 + 48.74

≈ 1004.33 square meters.

Calculate the cost of the carpet. The cost per square meter is $120.7.

Total carpet cost = 1004.33 * $120.7

≈ $121,275.59.

Determine the length of the carpet edge strip required.

The edge strip goes around one long edge (71.0 feet) and both short edges (48.3 feet each), for a total of:

71.0 + 48.3 * 2

= 167.6 feet.

Convert to meters (1 meter = 3.2808 feet): 167.6 / 3.2808

≈ 51.08 meters.

Include the waste percentage for the edge strip, which is 5.0%.

Waste length = 51.08 * 0.05

≈ 2.55 meters.

Total length including waste = 51.08 + 2.55

≈ 53.63 meters.

Calculate the cost of the edge strip. The cost per meter is $26.8.

Total edge strip cost = 53.63 * $26.8

≈ $1,435.29.

Sum the costs for carpet and edge strip to get the total material cost.

Total material cost = $121,275.59 + $1,435.29

≈ $122,710.88.