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Do I want to hear this? You need to hear this.

Even as a Quantity Surveyor , the figures and bottom line can be helpful / confronting / depressing.To cut to the chase, I am talking about wanting to build a new home, refurbish your existing one or add on to it but the costs seem to high.It happened to me with my own home a little while ago!I didn't like the final figure much, however a couple of interesting things happened because I costed out each item and had an accurate picture of what parts of the build cost ....

Hourly rates are good...... aren't they?

I had recently come across a line in a building contract which read " you will only be charged for the hours that are used".I was stunned for a while after reading that. I must have read it wrong. No, I read it again and the self-evident statement was still there.It is a relief I suppose, that you will only be charged for the hours that are used. Right?There were also some rates noted in there , which were quite reasonable as well. ...

Cost impact of incomplete design in buildings

Recently, a client approached me with a predicament. They had signed a contract with a group housing company to build a new house, but there was a significant issue – the design work had not been completed at the time of contract signing. As a result, much of the geotechnical and civil engineering design work was done well after the contract was agreed upon. This late-stage design change significantly altered the scope of work initially agreed upon, and with it came a host of potential problem...

Can I help you?

Why do I do this? Why do I? Why am I a quantity surveyor?Unlocking the Role of a Quantity Surveyor: Beyond the NumbersEver wondered why I chose to become a Quantity Surveyor, often referred to as a cost estimator? In essence, my role revolves around helping individuals and businesses achieve their building goals while staying within a realistic budget. Let me shed light on what this profession entails.At its core, being a Quantity Surveyor means being the guardian of budgets and project feasibil...

Residential Quantity Surveying

I was visiting the site of a new residential house build the other day and talking to the Builder he opined that “with people currently struggling to afford the amount they have to borrow to build nowadays, then they have the extra expense of a Quantity Surveyor on top of that”.I had a wait-a-minute” moment then, and it got me thinking. How does the involvement of a Quantity Surveyor add value to the building of this home.Firstly, i thought this a bit rich, as my fees for this are a f...

Advantages of using a Quantity Surveyor

Although often considered a service more likely to be used by a commercial project or large-scale projects, there are many potential benefits that can be had for the Residential build or even the home Renovation project. Here are a few points to consider and to view as an alternative way to manage and interact with your proposed residential build as opposed to the traditional "Get quotes from a builder or two" method. Enjoy !A Schedule of Quantities sets out the quantity, as well as quality, of ...

Perfect Storms & Supply Chains

2022 could be crunch time for the building industry in New Zealand beginning with the real and immediate issue of material supplies for building.Recent feed back from local residential builders and building companies finds them waiting weeks and several months for common building materials that used to be standard stock items not so long ago.Houses that normally might be expected to take, say 4 months to build might now reasonably take 6 or 8 months to complete for instance....

Do a Cost Estimate Early in the Design

We are in the middle of a renovation of our own home at the moment, and, being an Estimator, I thought it would be wrong not to do my own Cost Estimate of the renovation works as a guide to obviously, how much this would cost and how much I needed to borrow from the Bank to complete.Like many of you who have gone through a building or renovation project, I didn't like the result. That was more than I wanted to spend!In fact, in the previous 12 months, I had whittled down my grander visions by co...