Building Cost Summary Data

 

UNIFORMAT II is one of the most widely used element-based classification standards in North America. Developed through an industry and government consensus, the standard is intended to reduce the effort in construction planning, scheduling and cost estimation in early design phases. Using it helps to ensure consistency in the economic evaluation of building projects over time and from project to project. It also enhances project management and reporting at all stages of the building life cycle—planning, programming, design, construction, operations, and disposal.

 

Elements are classified in three hierarchical levels of definition. Level 1 identifies seven Major Group Elements, such as the Substructure, Shell, and Interiors. Level 2 further subdivides Level 1 into Group Elements. The Shell, for example, includes the Superstructure, Exterior Closure, and Roofing. Level 3 breaks the Group Elements further into Individual Elements. Exterior enclosure, for example, includes Exterior Walls, Windows, and Exterior Doors.

Note: While DesignBuilder requires most of its data to be input using Level 2 elements, it reports costs using both Level 1 and 2 formats.

Building and sitework elemental costs are presented with cost analysis parameters providing an efficient tool for communicating economic information to decision makers in a quickly understood, concise format that helps them make project choices. Owners, developers, programmers, cost planners, project managers, schedulers, architects and engineers, operating and maintenance staff, manufacturers, specification writers, and educators use the classification.

 

A major benefit of performing an economic analysis based on an elemental framework rather than on a product-based classification is the reduction in time and costs for evaluating alternatives at the early design stage. This encourages more economic analyses and more economically efficient choices among buildings and building elements. Other UNIFORMAT II benefits include providing a standardized format for collecting and analyzing historical data for use in estimating and budgeting future projects; providing a checklist for the cost estimation process as well as the creativity phase of the value engineering job plan; providing a basis for training in cost estimation; facilitating communications among members of a project team regarding the scope of work and costs in each discipline; and establishing a database for automated cost estimating.

 

The latest version of the UNIFORMAT II standard can be purchased at: https://www.astm.org/Standards/E1557.htm and a useful report from NIST - NISTIR 6389.

 

The data that is not already included in the model should be entered on the UNIFORMAT II tab of this dialog. Much of the data is structured as a cost per area or per each followed by the area or the number of items in that category.

A Substructure

The substructure costs are defined in the model through use of zone cost per floor area data (A10) and the constructions themselves within the below grade constructions (A20):

 

• A10 Foundation: includes standard foundation, special foundations and slab on grade. The area used in the calculation is the ground floor area.
• A20 Basement construction: includes basement excavation and basement walls.

B Shell

The cost of the superstructure is defined within the model through the area of the various exterior surfaces making up the superstructure and the cost per area of their constituent opaque and glazed constructions.

 

• B10 Superstructure: includes floor and roof construction
• B20 Exterior enclosure: includes exterior walls, structure, windows and doors
• B30 Roofing: includes roof coverings and roof openings

C Interiors

The cost of interior construction (C10) is defined within the model through the area of the various surfaces making up the interior construction and the cost per area of their constituent opaque and glazed constructions.

 

C10 Interior construction: includes partitions, interior doors and fittings

C20 Stairs: includes stair construction and stair finishes

C30 Interior finishes: includes wall finishes, floor finishes and ceiling finishes

D Services

Note that HVAC costs (D30) are included in the model.

 

D10 Conveying: includes elevators, lifts, escalators, moving walks and other conveying systems

D20 Plumbing: includes plumbing fixtures, domestic water distribution, sanitary waste, rain water drainage, and other plumbing systems

D30 HVAC: includes energy supply, heat generating systems, cooling generating systems, distribution systems, terminal & package units, controls and instrumentation, systems testing & balancing and other HVAC systems and equipment. This data is included zone by zone in the model on the HVAC tab and so does not need to be entered again here.

D40 Fire protection: includes sprinklers, standpipes, fire protection specialities and other fire protection systems.

D50 Electrical: includes electrical service & distribution, lighting & branch wiring, communication & security and other electrical systems.

E Equipment and Furnishings

E10 Equipment: includes commercial equipment, institutional equipment, vehicular equipment and other equipment

E20 Furnishing: includes fixed furnishings and movable furnishings

F Special Construction and Demolition

F10 Special construction: includes special structures, integrated construction, special construction systems, special facilities, special controls and instrumentation. Renewables costs, (PV panels, distribution and electrical, solar hot water systems and wind turbines) are included here.

F20 Selective building construction: includes building elements demolitions and hazardous components abatement.

G Sitework and Utilities

G10 Site preparation: includes site clearing, site demolition and relocations, site earthwork and hazardous waste removal/remediation.

G20 Site improvements: includes roadways, parkings lots, pedestrian paving, site development and landscaping.

G30 Site mechanical utilities: includes water supply, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, heating distribution, cooling distribution, fuel distribution and other site mechanical utilities.

G40 site electrical utilities: includes electrical distribution, site lighting, site communications & security and other site electrical utilities

G50 Other site construction: includes service and pedestrian tunnels and other site systems.

Z General Requirements and OH and P

Z10 Design allowance: cost of design work.

Z20 Field Requirements, office overhead & profit: includes field requirements and office overhead & profits

Z30 Inflation allowance.

 

 

Published by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) , NRM1 provides guidance on the quantification of building works for the purpose of preparing cost estimates and cost plans. It is described by RICS as the cornerstone of good cost management of construction projects, enabling more effective and accurate cost advice to be given to clients and other project team members, as well as facilitating better cost control. It helps by providing a standard format and sequence for priced works for the purpose of providing best practice guidance on the preparation of order of cost estimates, elemental cost models, cost plans, cost analyses and benchmark analyses.

 

The latest version of this standard can be downloaded from the RICS website.

 

The data that is not already included in the model should be entered on the NRM1 tab of this dialog. Much of the data is structured as a cost per area or per each followed by the area or the number of items in that category.

Facilitating Works

• Toxic / hazardous / contaminated material treatment: Includes toxic or hazardous material removal, contaminated land and eradication of plat growth
• Major demolition works: Includes demolition works and soft strip works, temporary support to adjacent structures
• Specialist groundwork’s: Includes site dewatering and pumping, soil stabilisation measures and ground gas venting measures
• Temporary diversion works
• Extraordinary site investigation works: Includes archaeological investigation, reptile / wildlife mitigation measures and other extraordinary site investigation works.

Substructure

The substructure costs are defined in the model through use of zone cost per floor area data and the constructions themselves within the below grade constructions.

 

• Substructure: Includes standard foundations, specialist foundations, lowest floor construction, basement excavation and basement retaining walls

Superstructure

The cost of the superstructure is defined within the model through the area of the various exterior surfaces making up the superstructure and the cost per area of their constituent opaque and glazed constructions. The exception is the stairs and ramps cost which is entered on this dialog.

 

• Frame: Includes steel frames, space frame / decks, concrete casings to steel frames, concrete frames, timber frames or specialist frames
• Upper floors: Includes floors, balconies and drainage to balconies.
• Roof: Includes roof structure, roof coverings, specialist roof systems, roof drainage, rooflights, skylights and openings.
• Stairs and ramps: Includes stair/ramp structures, stair/ramp finishes and stair/ramp balustrades and handrails.
• External walls: Includes external enclosing walls above ground level, external enclosing walls below ground level, solar/rain screening, external soffits, subsidiary walls, balustrades, proprietary balconies and facade access/cleaning systems
• Windows and external doors: Includes external windows and external doors.
• Internal walls and partitions: Includes internal walls, partitions, balustrades and handrails, moveable room dividers and cubicles
• Internal doors

Internal Finishes

Internal finishes data is entered for each surface using inheriting defaults on the Constructions tab.

 

• Wall finishes
• Floor finishes: includes finishes to floors and raised access floors
• Ceiling finishes: includes finishes to ceilings, false ceilings and demountable suspended ceilings (be careful not to double count this in the construction costs).

Fittings, Furnishings and Equipment

• Fittings, furnishings and equipment: includes general, domestic kitchen and special purpose fittings, furnishings and equipment. In addition, it also includes signs or notices, works of art, non-mechanical and non-electrical equipment, internal planting and bird and vermin control.

Services

• Sanitary installation: includes sanitary appliances, sanitary ancillaries
• Service equipment
• Disposal installations: includes foul drainage above ground, chemical, toxic and industrial liquid waste drainage and refuse disposal
• Water installations: includes main water supply, cold and hot water distribution, local hot water distribution and steam and condensate distribution
• Heat source
• Space heating, air conditioning and ventilation (HVAC): includes central heating, local heating, central cooling, local cooling, central and local air conditioning, central and local ventilation, special ventilation and smoke extract or control.
• Electrical installations: includes electrical mains and sub-mains distribution, power installations, lighting installations, specialist lighting installations, local electricity generation systems and earthing and bonding systems
• Fuel installations: includes fuel storage and fuel distribution systems
• Life and conveyor installations: includes lifts and enclosed hoists, escalators, moving pavements, powered stairlifts, conveyors, doc levellers and scissor lifts, cranes and unenclosed hoists, carlifts, car stacking systems, tumtables and the like, document handling systems and life and conveyor systems.
• Fire and lightning protection: includes fire fighting systems, fire suppression systems and lightning protection
• Communication, security and control systems: includes communication systems, security systems and central control/building management systems
• Specialist installations: includes specialist piped supply installations, specialist refrigeration systems, specialist mechanical installations and specialist electrical/electronic installations.
• Builder’s work in connection with service

Complete Buildings and Building Units

• Prefabricated buildings and building units: includes complete building, building units and pods

Work to Existing Buildings

• Minor demolition works and alteration works
• Repairs to existing services
• Damp-proof courses/fungus and beetle eradication
• Facade retention
• Cleaning existing surfaces: includes cleaning existing surfaces and protective coatings to existing surfaces.
• Renovation works: includes masonry repairs, concrete repairs, metal repairs, timber repairs and plastic repairs.

External Work

• Site preparation works: includes site clearance and preparatory groundworks
• Roads, paths, pavings and surfacing: includes roads, paths and pavings, special surfaces and pavings.
• Soft landscaping, planting and irrigation systems: includes seeding and turfing, external planting and irrigation systems
• Fencing, railings and walls: includes fencing and railings, walls and screens, retaining walls, barriers and guardrails
• External fixtures: includes site/street furniture and equipment and ornamental features
• External drainage: includes surface water and foul water drainage, ancillary drainage systems, external chemical, toxic, industrial liquid waste drainage and land drainage
• External services: includes water main supply, electricity mains supply, external transformation devices, electricity distribution to external plant and equipment, gas main supply, telecommunications and other communication systems, external security systems, external/street lighting systems, local/district heating installations, builder’s work in connection with external services.
• Minor building works and ancillary buildings

Main Contractors Preliminaries

• Employer’s requirements: includes site accommodation, site records and completion and post-completion requirements
• Main contractor’s cost items: includes management and staff, site establishment, temporary services, security, safety and environmental protection, control and protection, mechanical plant, temporary works, site records, completion and post-completion requirements, cleaning, fees and charges, site services, insurance, bonds, guarantees and warranties.

Main Contractor's Overhead and Profits

• Main contractor’s overheads
• Main contractor’s profits

Project Design Team Fee

• Consultant’s fees: includes project/design team consultants’ fees or other consultants’ fees, site investigation fees and specialist support consultants’ fees
• Main contractor’s pre-construction fees: includes management and staff, specialist support services fees, temporary accommodation, services and facilities charges, and main contractor’s overheads and profits.
• Main contractor’s design fees: main contractor’s design consultant’s fees
• Other development/project costs: includes land acquisition costs, employer finance costs, fees, charges, planning contributions, insurances, archaeological works, other specialist fieldwork, decanting and relocation costs, tenan’s costs/contributions, marketing costs and other employer costs.

Risk Allowance Estimate

• Design development risks
• Construction risks
• Employer change risks
• Employer other risks

Inflation Allowance

• Tender inflation
• Construction inflation