The Development of Cost Data
The staff at RSMeans continuously monitors developments in the construction industry in order to ensure reliable, thorough and up-to-date cost information. While overall construction costs may vary relative to general economic conditions, price fluctuations within the industry are dependent upon many factors. Individual price variations may, in fact, be opposite to overall economic trends. Therefore, costs are continually monitored and complete updates are published yearly. Also, new items are frequently added in response to changes in materials and methods.
Costs $ (U.S.)
The US National Averages are given in U.S. dollars. The RSMeans Location Factors can be used to adjust costs to a particular location. Canadian Location Factors can be used to adjust U.S. National Averages to local costs in Canadian dollars.
Material Costs
The RSMeans staff contacts manufacturers, dealers, distributors, and contractors all across the U.S. and Canada to determine national average material costs. If you have access to current material costs for your specific location, you may wish to make adjustments to reflect differences from the national average. Included within material costs are fasteners for a normal installation. RSMeans engineers use manufacturers' recommendations, written specifications and/or standard construction practice for size and spacing of fasteners. Adjustments to material costs may be required for your specific application or location. Material costs do not include sales tax.
Labor Costs
Labor costs are based on the average of wage rates from 30 major U.S. cities. Rates are determined from labor union agreements or prevailing wages for construction trades for the current year. Rates along with overhead and profit markups are listed in PDF format in the References area.
Labor costs reflect productivity based on actual working conditions. These figures include time spent during a normal workday on tasks other than actual installation, such as material receiving and handling, mobilization at site, site movement, breaks, and cleanup. Productivity data is developed over an extended period so as not to be influenced by abnormal variations and reflects a typical average.
Equipment Costs
Equipment costs include not only rental, but also operating costs for equipment under normal use. The operating costs include parts and labor for routine servicing such as repair and replacement of pumps, filters and worn lines. Normal operating expendables such as fuel, lubricants, tires and electricity (where applicable) are also included. Extraordinary operating expendables with highly variable wear patterns such as diamond bits and blades are excluded. These costs are included under materials. Equipment rental rates are obtained from industry sources throughout North America including contractors, suppliers, dealers, manufacturers, and distributors.
Crew Equipment Cost/Day
The power equipment required for each crew is included in the crew cost. The daily cost for crew equipment is based on dividing the weekly bare rental rate by 5 (number of working days per week), and then adding the hourly operating cost times 8 (hours per day). This "Crew Equipment Cost/Day" is listed in Subdivision 01590.
Mobilization/Demobilization
The cost to move construction equipment from an equipment yard or rental company to the job site and back again is not included in equipment costs. Mobilization (to the site) and demobilization (from the site) costs can be found in Section 02305-250. If a piece of equipment is already at the job site, it is not appropriate to utilize mobilize/demobilize costs again in an estimate.
General Conditions
Cost data is presented in two ways: Bare Costs and Total Cost including O&P (Overhead and Profit).
General Conditions (when applicable) should also be added to the Total Cost including O&P. The costs for General Conditions are listed in Division 1 and the Reference Section. General Conditions for the Installing Contractor may range from 0% to 10% of the Total Cost including O&P. For the General or Prime Contractor, costs for General Conditions may range from 5% to 15% of the Total Cost including O&P, with a figure of 10% as the most typical allowance.
Overhead and Profit
Total Cost including O&P for the Installing Contractor is displayed on the current estimate in the last column on the right. This figure is the sum of the bare material cost plus 10% for profit, the base labor cost plus total overhead and profit, and the bare equipment cost plus 10% for profit. Details for the calculation of Overhead and Profit on labor are shown in the Reference area of the software (See How to Read Unit Cost Data for an example of this calculation).
Factors Affecting Costs
Costs can vary depending upon a number of variables. Here's how we have handled the main factors affecting costs:
Quality: The
prices for materials and the workmanship upon which productivity is based
represent sound construction work. They are also in line with U.S. government
specifications.
Overtime: We
have made no allowance for overtime. If you anticipate premium time or
work beyond normal working hours, be sure to make an appropriate adjustment
to your labor costs.
Productivity:
The productivity, daily output, and labor-hour figures for each line item
are based on working an eight-hour day in daylight hours in moderate temperatures.
For work that extends beyond normal work hours or is performed under adverse
conditions, productivity may decrease. (See How
to Read Unit Cost Data for more information on Productivity.)
Size of Project:
The size, scope of work, and type of construction project will have a
significant impact on cost. Economies of scale can reduce costs for large
projects. Unit costs can often run higher for small projects.
Location: Material
prices are for metropolitan areas. However, in dense urban areas, traffic
and site storage limitations may increase costs. Beyond a 20-mile radius
of large cities, extra trucking or transportation charges may also increase
the material costs slightly. On the other hand, lower wage rates may be
in effect. Be sure to consider both these factors when preparing an estimate,
particularly if the job site is located in a central city or remote rural
location. In addition, highly specialized subcontract items may require
travel and per diem expenses for mechanics.
Other factors:
season of the year
contractor management
weather conditions
local union restrictions
building code requirements
owner's special requirements/restrictions
safety requirements
environmental considerations
availability of:
adequate energy
skilled labor
building materials
Unpredictable Factors: General business conditions influence "in-place" costs of all items. Substitute materials and construction methods may have to be employed. These may affect the installed cost and/or life cycle costs. Such factors may be difficult to evaluate and cannot necessarily be predicted on the basis of the job's location in a particular section of the country. Thus, where these factors apply, you may find significant, but unavoidable cost variations for which you will have to apply a measure of judgment to your estimate.
Rounding of Costs
In general, all unit prices in excess of $5.00 have been rounded to make them easier to use and still maintain adequate precision of the results. Please see the Rounding Rules topic for a table showing the RSMeans Rounding Rules.
Final Checklist
Estimating can be a straightforward process provided you remember the
basics. Here's a checklist of some of the items you should remember to
do before completing your estimate:
Choose the correct Location factor
Read the background information on techniques and technical matters that could impact your project time span and cost
Include all components of your project in the final estimate
Markup the entire estimate sufficiently for your purposes
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