If you want to carry out a building or redevelopment project having a realistic budget at the outset may make the difference between getting the building of your dreams and a building that you have had to make compromises on at every stage of construction.
Having a quantity surveyor as part of the building team from day one can help you to meet both your build objectives and your budget, and may ultimately save you money too.
At Timms Eida and Associates, we have been providing quantity surveying services for almost fifty years. We provide a full range of services from early budget estimates, cost plans and bills of quantities through to tender documents, contracts, and final account negotiations and dispute resolution.
Every building project is different, so we take the time to fully understand your specific scheme objectives. This means that we can give bespoke advice, set a reliable budget, and help you to make informed decisions.
For example, you should know how much your building work is going to cost before approving plans. A contractor may be able to provide you with a ballpark figure based on previous experience or a guestimate based on some basic general assumptions, but an estimate that is based on guesswork, will always be just an estimate.
An Architect and a Quantity Surveyor working in partnership from the design process stage onwards is the ideal way to help provide you with the cost certainty you need. We will work to your Architect’s plans, scope and site specifics and use our industry knowledge and expertise to produce an early budget cost known as an Order of Cost Estimate (“OCE”). Once signed off, the OCE becomes your starting budget and reference point for comparison as the project and costs develop.
Monitoring the construction phase
During the construction phase it is important to monitor cash flow and ensure works are on budget. An unexpected budget overrun could stretch your financial resources to the extent that the project must be delayed or shelved. In the worst-case scenario, unexpected variations and increased costs could lead to a legal dispute.
Timms Eida & Associates carefully monitor the construction and ensure that the building work is progressing satisfactorily by constantly checking progress against costs.
The importance of a realistic budget
An inadequate or unrealistically low budget means that there is a huge risk that the actual costs could exceed your financial resources, this will mean that sacrifices and economies will have to be made during the design and build stages. This can waste time and the variations that need to be made to the original design can result in a loss of amenity.
Equally, if the budget is set too high, you may abandon the project altogether because you feel it’s unaffordable or not worth the investment involved.
Using a quantity surveyor like Timms Eida & Associates to set a reliable and adequate budget and monitor the construction will allow your funds to be allocated effectively leading to successful completion of the project and providing value for money for the build.
