In Situ House, Neil Kahawatte Architects
The ‘Construction Cost’ is the cost of contracting a builder to carry out the works, and should include for all fixtures, fittings, materials, labour, supervision and management. This cost should also include the Contractor’s overheads and profit for the job, but excludes VAT. The costs of any ‘Client Supply’ items, or other elements of the project commissioned outside of the main building contract (i.e. joinery or landscape), should also be included within the Construction Cost.
To this you would need to add the cost of any professional fees (Architects, Engineers, Surveyors etc.), fees for statutory approvals, and also VAT (where applicable). The ‘Project Cost’ is the total amount of money that you should allocate for the project, to include a reasonable allowance for all the costs listed above.
Contingency & Other Costs
You should also allow a contingency sum, typically of at least 10%, to cover any unforeseen variations to the scope of work, which may become necessary.
You may also need to factor in additional costs of temporary accommodation, storage and finance etc.
Quantity Surveyor
Architects are not able to provide detailed cost consultancy, however as part of our service we can assist you to create a strategy for when to commission estimate(s) and to engage a Quantity Surveyor (QS) for this work. There are two common points in a project when a cost estimate would typically be commissioned, firstly at feasibility stage to understand the general scale of budget likely to be required for a particular project, and secondly following development of the general arrangement scheme when specific areas and elements of the proposal can be measured. A QS can also assist with any cost reductions and with any assessment of contractor’s valuations & quotations.