Building Construction is becoming more expensive for many reasons. Knowing the situation of things in the Country and how unstable our market is—for instance, there’s a rapid increase in the cost of raw materials and the price fluctuations of gas and fuel plus the costs of running heavy machinery and other related mechanical equipment. Thus, setting up a building isn’t cheap, and sometimes it can be way above our budget.
In construction, it’s not really advisable to cut corners because you may end up spending more due to some errors that might occur in the future. Building construction requires a significant capital investment.Shelter being one of the most important needs for man leads us to write this article on ways to lower the expenses on constructing a building without skipping the various necessities for the construction.
BELOW ARE SOME OF THE THINGS TO CONSIDER IN BUILDING AT A REDUCED COST.
1) Professional Layout Plan: Just like this popular quote from Benjamin Franklin which states, “Failing to plan is planning to fail,”. So, for one to reduce expenses in their building construction, it has to start with a professional layout plan. This plan must be realistic and include all the costs for the construction. This will help provide you with the necessary information you need to reduce the costs and also achieve the project within the required budget. A professional layout plan help create a detailed scope of work that can lead to less money being spent on the project.
2) Services of Professionals:In erecting a building construction, it’s highly recommendable you seek the service of professionals. This is to avoid unnecessary issues that may lead to more expenses in the future if things go wrong.
Some of these professionals include:
Architect: This professional helps draft out your plan on a sketch. The plan layout is called schematic designs; it involves a rough layout of the floor plan and other specific views of the building.
Engineer: We also have the structural engineer and services engineer under this section. The structural Engineer oversees the building structure and design. He ensures that the building is designed in a way to suit and withstand both its loads and superimposed loads to avoid collapsing.
The Services Engineer is responsible for the mechanical and electrical fittings of the building. He monitors and makes sure everything is perfectly fit and functioning. He oversees the plumbing works and accessories, electrical works and other interior accessories.
The next professional is a Quantity Surveyor and others.
3) Budget: Before starting your building project, it’s important to plan out the process, this is something that all successful construction teams always do first. Meanwhile, to help reduce costs, the planning must include a budget limit and you must find ways to remain within the confines budget of the project.
Then, immediately the project gets started, all procedures should continually be in-line with the construction budgetary plan.For instance, if the plan outlines a certain limit for manual labor, then also for hiring the service of personnel is the main concern. Budgeting goes a long way with the managerial aspect of the building construction. Properly executing the job within a particular timeframe and the productivity of the workers. This certainly helps your building project stay in the green.
4) Building Material Alternative: You need to have other building materials alternative for your project, don’t just concentrate on one option. You should have other alternatives as far as they can serve the purpose you truly need. Like the quality must be trusted for that option to be considered. This is obviously one way to reduce costs in building construction. You can get other cheaper but trusted alternate materials for effective work.
For example, when it comes to the roofing aspect of the building, you can consider various types of roofing sheets which may be right for your project, check their price difference and know how to reduce cost. For instance, we have the Aluminium roofing sheet which is most popular in different homes in Nigeria due to its ability to resist corrosion and it’s also durable. It can last for 25 to 50 years.Also, we have the Industrial or normal roofing sheets, Metra, Stone Coated, Shingles, and many others roofing sheets you can consider.
5) Eliminate Change Orders: Change order simply means the process of changing or fixes things at the last minute. This can arise from different sources, it can be as a result of final review, or because the building owner wants something else or opts for another different option. Whatever the case, it’s always advisable to avoid them if possible.
Rather, a good method is to take change orders for critical issues like emergencies or fatal errors. Other smaller options like requests and upgrades should all be implemented much earlier from the beginning of the project to reduce the impact they have on your time, money, resources and even supplies.
6) Get your supplies Dynamically: Most times, you see contractors getting their supplies and materials from the same source or company. Building construction companies tend to use a particular supplier or distributor for their building project and most times may not be beneficial in the long run even though, those suppliers tend to offer discounts once in a while. The company may be losing out because they don’t get their supplies dynamically. Hence, don’t know the market price for the product or they’re not purchasing it at the best price.
Therefore, learn to purchase dynamically, or, ensure to make enquire from other base or shop and purchase based on product prices and availability. Don’t automatically assume that a supplier used earlier is selling at the best or lowest prices. Undergo thorough research on the products and know what supplies are available, also where and who has the best or lowest prices to offer.
7) Hire Multi-Tasking Employees: This part deals extensively with hiring workers that can successfully multitask and are willing to achieve more than what’s in their area of work. This comes with a lot of benefits as you get maximum productivity from your workers, hence get rid of worker downtime. It can also help to complete the building construction project on time even before the set date, thereby saving time and reducing costs as well.
Even though the budget required for the building may be high, this process may help reduce the high costs. You don’t need to worry about hiring new competent employees, you’ll focus on other important aspects of achieving your building project within the set time.
In conclusion, the cost required for building construction may be on the increase side, but it is very possible to lower the costs. All you need is just to focus on implementing these cost-efficient measures on your building project.
This content is written by Dennis Isong
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