Estimate Construction

Have you ever asked someone for an estimate of something, and when the final bill arrived in the mail you were shocked to find out that you ended up getting charged for a lot more than you bargained for?  This may happen when you take your animal to the veterinarian and ask for an estimate on perhaps a dog’s dental care, but it may also happen when you take your car to the mechanic because it is making that strange noise again, and you will need to get if fixed once and for all, before the engine suffers some kind of permanent damage. In both cases, the cost estimates had to be revised once the vet or the mechanic got involved in the job and took a few things out or apart and realized that another problem was just around the corner and needed to be fixed so that in the long run you would not have to be charged even more money for follow up services. In some ways it is the same when you try to estimate construction costs.  Except in this case the price tag is a lot steeper than with your dog’s dental care that might require an extra tooth to be pulled.

When you ask a builder to estimate construction costs, her or his figures are not absolute guarantees.  Yet to get you the closest figure that she or he can arrive at, you will need to make some decisions prior to the onset of the building project.  For example, if you are hiring someone to redo your kitchen, you will need to decide ahead of time what materials you want to have used for the flooring, the walls, and also for the cabinets. Will you want the kitchen to be wallpapered or do you want it painted?  If you are building a house, you will need to take into account the number of contractors you will be working with.  In these cases, it might pay to hire a general contractor who will take this headache off your hands so that you can focus on the details rather than trying to coordinate work crews.

Of course, when it comes to asking a general contractor to estimate construction costs, these figures will only be as good as the input you give to the builders. If you change your mind midway through the project and suddenly add options to the original construction plan, the odds are very good that the original written estimate construction costs will hold very little water.  As a matter of fact, you will find out quickly that the little tweak here and the extra lumber there will add up significantly over time!  For this reason it is important that you are happy with the home you are building before you commit to the ground breaking. In addition to the foregoing, please keep in mind that your contractor – in order to accurately forecast and estimate construction expenses – will rely on there being no theft of materials, and no damage to materials from weather related incidents.  If you want to give yourself a bit of leeway, it may be wise to include a slush fund that will cover a few extra thousand dollars in case already made expenditures will need to be repeated.