Do You Need a Quantity Surveyor For Your Project?
April 20, 2023
Since founding the practice, we have always sought to provide a better service for our clients in respect of risk management for time and cost. We prefer to be realistic and not optimistic about the likely cost and timescales for a project, and seek to be as open and honest up front and throughout the process about these areas. It doesn't do anyone any favours to work up ideas that ultimately cant be built. We all know that construction costs have gone up, and there are a few ways of managing costs. We've previously written about two-stage tendering projects, and here we think about what a Quantity Surveyor (QS) / Cost consultant can bring to a project. We tend to work with a QS for projects of around £500k or more in construction value – for example a new house or small development project. On our Community-led and Cohousing projects they are an essential part of the team.
So What Is a QS, and What Do They Do?
Quantity surveyors (sometimes referred to as cost consultants) provide expertise on construction costs. They work with us to ensure that proposed designs are affordable and offer best value for money, helping you to assess and compare different options, and then they track variations, ensuring that costs remain under control as the project evolves.
Things a QS might do, can vary depending on the nature of the project, but they might include:
Benchmarking costs against similar projects.
Initial cost appraisal (studies of options prepared during the feasibility study stage).
Assessing and comparing options.
Helping define the project budget.
Checking developing designs against the project budget.
Creating an Elemental cost plan (prepared during the concept design stage and carried through to detailed design).
Assessing value for money.
Preparing cost plans, estimates and cash flow projections.
Advising on procurement strategy.
Preparing 'bills of quantities' to enable pricing.
Preparing tender pricing documents.
Collating and issuing tender documentation.
Assessing tenders.
Estimating the cost of variations.
Preparing valuation statements for interim certificates.
Assisting with the valuation of claims.
Preparing regular cost reports, including out-turn cost and cash flow.
Completing the final account.
Other than initial cost appraisals, these activities, generally all relate to the construction cost of a project (rather than wider project costs that the client might incur, which could include; fees, equipment costs, furniture, the cost of moving, contracts outside of the main works e.g. the garden and so on). It is important therefore that you make clear what costs should be monitored by the quantity surveyor and what will remain within your control!
Tender information for costing purposes
Why Should You Use a QS?
You should seriously consider using a QS if working to a finite budget is important to you, and you don't have access to additional finance, or the capability and resources to manage and undertake the construction work yourself as a self-builder to save money. A QS local to a project site could to be involved from very early in the project to help assess a site, provide high level cost per metre advice, and bring local knowledge of suitable contractors, and the local economic market for materials and labour. Some firms provide this sort of initial advice for a relatively low fee, or even for free, on the basis that they could be likely to get involved as the project develops.
Having them available during the early design stages to corroborate our advice, analyse design options on the basis of cost, and advise on the overall construction and project budget can be invaluable. Their input can avoid wasting time developing unaffordable design options and help make things progress smoothly. We are currently working on a range of new homes, housing and community projects where the services of a QS have been invaluable during the design process, and now during the tender and construction phase.
