Accurate Building Costs Equals Profits For A Job
Author: home-lover | Category: Home ImprovementThe first thing you must do when planning to construct a building is to estimate how much it will cost to complete. Deciding on a budget and sticking to it is one of the pitfalls of the construction business. There are many unforeseen problems that may crop up on the job for which the budget did not plan for.
Estimating Costs Prepares You for Uncertainties
When you estimate the cost of a building, you must take several things into consideration. Resources must be listed in a hierarchical order. There are three main categories you must be concerned with when estimating the cost of a building. First, there is the cost of the land; second, you must consider building materials; last, you must figure in the cost of labor. You can break these categories down into sub-categories.
The total cost of the land will include the purchase price of the land, taxes, and the cost of brokerage fees, if any. Building materials is the second thing to consider. You must first know what type of construction you are planning as that will determine the type of material required as well as the total cost of materials. The quantity of material that you will need should be precisely estimated as this can account for escalating costs if there is a miscalculation. The materials include, steel, bricks, cement and mortar. You must also factor in a few miscellaneous expenses such as the transporting of materials and the equipment that is used in the construction process such as ladders and equipment.
The final estimate has to do with labor costs. Approximately 40% of the total building costs will be in labor. This will include the cost of the architect, the supervisor and any skilled as well as unskilled labor.
The building cost will largely depend upon what you are planning to build. In order to estimate the it one must have knowledge and experience in the field of civil engineering. If an architect was determining the cost of the building, he would be able to give you a fairly accurate cost just by being able to look at a sketch of the plan. If you are only planning on a do-it-yourself project such as building a kiosk or a porch as an addition to your house, then the total estimated cost will be included with the plans and the kit you will have at your disposal to construct the project. If you would want to put in a swimming pool or add room to your home, then you will have to have the services of a qualified engineer. Now it is time to get down to the basics of building and estimate the cost before you actually start to build.
Nick Hurd is the developer of LiteningFast Estimating. LiteningFast is an estimating program that helps you estimate faster, easier and more accurately. It’s integrated with QuickBooks to provide job cost.
It was introduced to be market in 1994 and currently has over 3,500 users in the US, Canada, and around the world.
You can find more information at estimating construction costs. You’ll be glad you did.
Tags: construction estimating, estimating building costs
