Why Buy
| If you do any light commercial work, you are already in the world of the thin margin. You can cut costs only so far if your estimates are too close to the bone. Rather than compete on the basis of who can take the lowest guess at costs prices, use the 2012 RS Means Light Commercial Cost Data, 31st Edition to convincingly make your case. |
Plus
- Square Foot Costs – Over 45 square foot cost models for popular types of light commercial construction.
- Assemblies Costs – More than 150 commonly used light commercial construction systems with a wide variety of alternative specifications and pricing.
- Unit Costs – Light commercial unit costs covering more than 13,000 building material.
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Publ Info
Author: RS Means
Format: Softcover
Copyright: 2012
Pages: 868 |
Contents
What you’ll find inside:
- UPDATED! Over 13,000 unit costs and 4,700 assemblies costs for all types of light commercial construction.
- NEW! A complete sample estimate to guide customization and improve accuracy.
- City Cost Indexes and Location Factors for over 930 U.S. and Canadian locations.
- Equipment rental costs.
- Crew size projections, labor hours, and labor rates.
Contents
Unit Prices: (Organized in MasterFormat 2004)
- 1: General Requirements.
- 2: Existing Conditions.
- 3: Concrete.
- 4: Masonry.
- 5: Metals.
- 6: Wood, Plastics, and Composites.
- 7: Thermal and Moisture Protection.
- 8: Openings.
- 9: Finishes.
- 10: Specialties.
- 11: Equipment.
- 12: Furnishings.
- 13: Special Construction.
- 14: Conveying Equipment.
- 21: Fire Suppression.
- 22: Plumbing.
- 23: Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning.
- 26: Electrical.
- 27: Communications.
- 28: Electronic Safety and Security.
- 31: Earthwork.
- 32: Exterior Improvements.
- 33: Utilities.
Assemblies:
- A: Substructure.
- B: Shell.
- C: Interiors.
- D: Services.
- E: Equipment and Furnishings.
- F: Special Construction.
- G: Building Sitework.
Reference Information:
- Equipment Rental Costs.
- Crews.
- Cost Indexes.
- Reference Tables.
- Square Foot Costs.
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Estimating Tips
Before you start estimating, you need to understand some core principles. The business landscape is littered with the “bodies” of people who didn’t understand these principles. They did many things right, but the final result of their labor did not promote the business goals of their organization. Here are six tips to help you produce a more accurate estimate.
- Define the scope. Your estimate needs to be for a specific scope of work. Be sure your estimate articulates and defines this clearly so everyone understands exactly what's being estimated.
- Use a good cost data source. Well, here you are looking at the RS Means. You've got this one nailed.
- Don't include general "fudge factors." Include specific ones. For example, calculate the exact cost of a bad weather day. Then estimate how many such days are likely to occur. That's your bad weather cost estimate, not some arbitrary number like 10%.
- List constraints. These include time constraints, access issues, and anything else that might cause delays, produce extra work, or require additional resources. In a separate section of your estimate, include a cost breakdown of these. You won't need this information for the purposes of submitting a bid, but you will need it for purposes of risk assessment, project management, and T&C negotiations.
- Include testing and adjustment in your estimate. Cost over-runs are often due to failure to properly test as the work progresses.
- Don't forget daily mobilization and start-up costs.
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About RS Means
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A trusted name in construction costs for more than 70 years, RS Means offers cost data you can depend on. It's widely considered the gold standard in estimating, and with good reason. RS Means is passionate about providing accurate cost data, and that means your estimates and bids can also be accurate.
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