Building Economics

Frontmatter

1. The Concept of Cost Control

Abstract

Cost control aims at ensuring that resources are used to the best advantage. With the alternating high costs and acute shortage of funds, the majority of promoters of building work are insisting on projects being designed and executed to give maximum value for money. A good illustration was the Housing Corporation formulating performance expectations in 1989, which prescribed the criteria which housing associations were expected to achieve in the provision and management of housing stock and emphasised the need for rigorous self-monitoring. Quantity surveyors are employed to an increasing extent during the design stage to advise architects on the probable cost implications of their design decisions and to assist in obtaining economical and efficient designs. As buildings become more complex and building clients more exacting in their requirements, so it becomes necessary to improve and refine the cost control tools.

Ivor H. Seeley

2. Cost Implications of Design Variables and Quality Assurance

Abstract

The costs of buildings are influenced by a variety of factors, some of which are interrelated. It is essential that quantity surveyors should be fully aware of the cost consequences resulting from changes in shape, size, storey heights, total height, fenestration and other building characteristics. The cost effect of the main design variables will be examined and compared in this chapter. The final design of a building will be influenced by a variety of factors, including user’s needs, planning and Building Regulations requirements, site conditions and aesthetic requirements. Other factors affecting cost include the form of contract, period for completion, structural form, extent of prefabrication and standardisation and consideration of maintenance and running costs, all of which will be considered in subsequent chapters.

Ivor H. Seeley

3. Functional Requirements and Cost Implications of Constructional Methods

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with the functional requirements and cost implications of alternative constructional techniques for different types of building and of building elements. A comparison of maintenance problems and costs associated with different materials and components is made in chapter 13.

Ivor H. Seeley

4. Influence of Site and Market Conditions and Economics of Prefabrication, Industrialised and System Building

Abstract

This chapter explores the effect of site and market conditions on building costs and the way in which they account for variations in the price of similar type buildings erected in different locations. The origins and forms of prefabrication and industrialised and system building are examined and the economics of these processes critically investigated.

Ivor H. Seeley

5. Economics of Residential Development

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with the problems associated with housing provision; the alternative forms of layout that can be employed to meet varying housing requirements and their comparative costs; the methods and economics of different forms of car-parking provision; and the considerations involved in a comparison of the relative merits of redeveloping or rehabilitating twilight areas.

Ivor H. Seeley

6. Approximate Estimating

Abstract

In this chapter we consider the function served by approximate estimates, the methods employed and the factors controlling their use. The various methods are compared and applied to practical examples.

Ivor H. Seeley

7. Cost Planning Theories and Techniques

Abstract

There is no universal method of cost planning which can be readily applied to every type of building project. Buildings have widely varying characteristics, perform a diversity of functions, serve the needs of a variety of building clients, and their erection is subject to a number of different administrative and contractual arrangements. Hence, it is not surprising that a wide range of cost planning techniques has been devised to meet the needs of a variety of situations.

Ivor H. Seeley

8. Cost Modelling

Abstract

A basic definition of a model is a procedure developed to reflect, by means of derived processes, adequately acceptable output for an established series of input data. This generalisation goes some way towards setting the parameters within which this chapter must be set. Ideally a model should be simple enough for manipulation and understanding by those who use it, representative enough in the total range of the implications it may have, and complex enough to accurately represent the system. Any model must be attempting to satisfy these seemingly incompatible criteria. The model is the black box which must be operable under a series of input data although the better models will be able to function with input data outside the original data used to formulate the model.

Ivor H. Seeley

9. Cost Analyses, Indices and Data

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with the compilation of cost analyses and other cost data for assessing costs and providing the basis for the preparation of cost plans of future building projects. It also examines the methods of compiling and applying cost indices as a means of updating past costs of buildings. The use of cost limits is also investigated.

Ivor H. Seeley

10. Practical Application of Cost Control Techniques

Abstract

In this chapter cost planning techniques are applied to a variety of practical situations involving the computation of building costs for a range of building projects.

Ivor H. Seeley

11. Value Management

Abstract

An outline introduction to this increasingly used and important technique, including its historical background, was provided in chapter 1, and this chapter aims to examine the process in greater detail to show the various approaches, the advantages to be obtained, a comparison with cost planning/cost management and some comprehensive case studies. Readers requiring a more comprehensive study of this subject are referred to Norton and McElligott (1995).

Ivor H. Seeley

12. Valuation Processes

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with the nature of value and investment, the construction and use of valuation tables and methods of valuation. Until quite recent years these matters were considered to be solely the province of the valuation surveyor, but it has now become apparent that the quantity surveyor also needs to be familiar with some of the valuation techniques and certain of the valuation tables, in order to be able to make feasibility studies and to deal satisfactorily with future costs.

Ivor H. Seeley

13. Life Cycle Costing

Abstract

With many projects cost planning cannot be really effective unless the total costs are considered, embracing both initial and future costs. This chapter examines the concept of life cycle costing, the various approaches, problems in application and its use in practical situations. A number of related issues such as discounting future payments, lives of buildings and components, the relationship of design and maintenance and energy conservation are also considered.

Ivor H. Seeley

14. Land Use and Value Determinants

Abstract

This chapter investigates the factors which influence land use patterns and land values. It is also concerned with the whole spectrum of matters which bear upon the development of land, such as site characteristics, planning and other statutory controls, encumbrances and easements.

Ivor H. Seeley

15. Economics of Building Development

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with the characteristics of property and the basic criteria for development undertaken in both the public and private sectors, problems of land acquisition, financial considerations and sources of finance. An investigation is made of matters contained in a developer’s budget and its practical application to various types of development projects.

Ivor H. Seeley

16. Environmental Economics and the Construction Industry

Abstract

In the final chapter we examine the impact of both public and private investment and of government action generally on the construction industry, together with the structure of the industry and the relationship of its output to demand and available resources. The economic aspects of urban renewal, building conservation and urban regeneration, and of new town and town development schemes are examined. Consideration is given to the philosophy and nature of cost benefit analysis and its application to a variety of environmental problems.

Ivor H. Seeley

Backmatter