How to make sure your building project does not become a non achievable project!!

We are familiar with public sector projects becoming abandoned white elephant projects….but this can be the fate of smaller private building projects.

The two major cost models relative to the project design are; Cost to design (CTD) and Design to Cost (DTC). Cost to design simply means putting up a design first and then estimating the total construction cost from the design usually without formally tying it to any budget while Design to cost entails stating your budget for the project first, then ensuring that the project is designed to be completed within that budget.

For instance using the recommended DTC model, a project owner can approach a designer/contractor with let say four Million Naira to construct a simple bungalow and achieve his/her desires within it in the following simple steps;

-          First, you discuss the development idea/concept with the designer/contractor

-          Thereafter you reveal your initial budget and retain the balance

-          Then request that the designer/contractor provide two or three design options that can be achieved within your budget and based on your specifications (e.g. It may consist of 3 beds -all rooms en-suite, French-style windows, an ante-room, slanting height, a court yard etc).

   However it is strongly recommended that you employ the service of a designer/contractor with good knowledge of both design, estimation and construction from the start as it is in common knowledge that most independent designers/architects aren’t good estimators or alternatively you co-engage a Quantity Surveyor to achieve your cost goal (You will have to pay for this service say around 5% of the total project cost).

-          Once the preliminary site investigation is completed and the building designs and cost estimates are ready, you then choose the most appealing design. Do not hesitate to pre-inform the estimator/contractor to simplify the cost estimates by breaking it into two main sections one showing the Material cost/schedule and the other, the labour cost/schedule (which will include the contractor’s profit so that it can be negotiated separately). You have to study the estimates carefully and compare for consistency with the design.

-          Because you may have to add some much desired features (like special finishes, fittings and fixtures, etc) within your initial retention budget. But don’t use all of it; keep a fraction for contingencies, and 

-           You are good to go.

However in the Cost-to-Design model, the project owner/landlord is highly disadvantaged in that the designer/contractor may come up with fabulous designs that may be far beyond your budget because there have been little or no communication  of the cost implication of the design at the initial stage.  

Think carefully and make the right choice of cost model to adopt for your next building       project.