The Job Of Estimating Building Construction Costs
An accurate construction estimate of the building construction cost of any project is vital for its successful implementation. Estimating construction cost has to be supported by a careful and intensive study of a cost of the project. In the rapidly growing construction industry, determining building square foot cost has become a full time job. Cost estimating differs from industry to industry and from building to building. Every building, whether it is a simple building or a deep tunnel, requires an estimation to know about the feasibility of its design and cost. Please remember, the process of cost estimating is essentially a collection of building construction cost data which influences the cost of the project (such as materials, labor and equipments). It can give you a close estimate of the cost of construction of the design and method employed by a construction firm.
In a construction project, the process of collecting and analyzing data begins by making a detailed survey of the site. Specific measurements are made available once the drawings are prepared. The cost-estimator makes a visit to the site of construction to evaluate the site's accessibility, availability of basic utilities such as water, electricity, drainage, sewage and other such requirements. After this, the estimator will make a survey of the quality and quantity of materials and services required by the project. This stage of cost-estimation is known as the take-off stage. This stage involves filling of all standard dimensions with unit, after the analysis of the accumulated data. If the estimation is for a general contract, then it will include the cost categories of all the materials. The details for this are provided by the contractor. If sub-contractor is making the estimate then the content of the report would include all the items which are required for a bid. The general contractor also prepares an estimate for a bid after analyzing the building construction cost of the sub-contractor. On the basis of this, the estimator would prepare a small cost summary of the entire project. This would put in sequence the categories of various costs involved, the process of construction according to that, the taxes and insurance payments and the overall profit margin of the construction firm in that project. When it comes to determining building construction cost, there are two kinds of estimators- one of them does the costing of entire projects while the other concentrates on specific areas of costing (such as excavation, concrete and wiring). Cost estimators are also hired by engineering firms specializing in developmental projects. The hiring of cost-estimator depends on the type of construction project. Different types of cost-estimator may be hired for massive projects, especially in the case of specialty construction. At the same time, a large project of building can be handled by a single cost-estimator only. |
