We as Quantity Surveyors and Cost Consultants specific to various niche forms of building or fit out sectors have various ways to assess costs and avoid unnecessary cost bias in preparing budgets for contract works.
Building works costs can be found on various platforms suggesting rates £/m2 for types of product or finished elements or composite works. The difficulty is knowing how to interpret these and use these to help plan or budget for your project. What do the stated costs include/ exclude and how reliable is the basis for the cost provided?
The first is to ensure the project has clear stated principles around its fixed and variable or revenue cost structures, for example capital cost purchase of equipment vs revenue cost of lease hire of equipment. Of course this is easier when reviewing a project that has repeat replication of fit out across various locations, but nevertheless having structures that are clearly articulated can help with budgeting.
The second is to keep options open and not be constricted to thinking that one solution or finish is ‘the perfect’ optimum solution to a design. This can be tiered to expected category and return on a project location. We do this with coffee shop fits out where we might have a prime finish and then a range of regional or suburban options and finishes to achieve the same ‘look & feel’ but at a reduced cost.
Getting these processes working can produce more, comparable options for the same cost, or reduce the total cost of your project fit out altogether. Talk to us about your requirements and costs for your fit out.
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