Quantity Surveying in Shefford

Generally, you wouldn’t need to get in touch with a quantity surveyor prior to purchasing a property, unless of course your property is a very unique and unusual one. After making a commitment to buying a property or to kick start a construction project, then you might want to start taking into consideration getting in touch with a quantity surveyor. The best time for a quantity surveyor to carry out an inspection of the property is right after settlement and just before the tenants moving in. This is to ensure that the quantity surveyors do not disturb the tenant and they also get to fully go through what you’ve purchased as well as the condition it’s in.

Quantity surveyors will help you by working with architects, accountants, engineers, building owners, builders, developers, financiers, government, insurance underwriters, loss adjusters, sub contractors as well as solicitors. What’s more? The in depth knowledge quantity surveyors possesses when it comes to construction costs enables them to carry out a number of useful tasks to help you.

Prior to construction, quantity surveyors can prepare a feasibility study, estimate to defined the project budgets, carry out an analysis to refine the budget as the design documents develop, prepare Bill of Quantities so as to help with the tender process and also to carry out a review of Builder’s tender submissions. While the construction is ongoing, they can help provide cost control services, carry out an assessment of the builder’s progress claims and also undertake an assessment of variation and delay claims. Finally, after the construction, they can assist with the determination of the final project cost, prepare the tax depreciation reports for both investors as well as property owners and also prepare Expert Witness reports to assist in the settlement of building disputes.

Generally, quantity surveyors are tasked with the calculation as well as management of the costs relating to projects, starting with assisting with the initial estimates to finalizing the overall requirements of the budget. Normally, they work in land management, property as well as construction industries. Quantity surveyors are usually engaged at the start of a project, consulted and brought in to take a look at a planned construction’s feasibility or repair needs, they then subsequently supervise the remaining activities during the capital expenditure phases of the project development.

Quantity surveyors will help you by working with architects, accountants, engineers, building owners, builders, developers, financiers, government, insurance underwriters, loss adjusters, sub contractors as well as solicitors. The extensive knowledge they possess about the costs related to construction allows them to undertake a number of meaningful tasks to assist you with your project.

Before the construction work commences, quantity surveyors can help with the following:

• Preparation of a feasibility study
• Estimation to define the project budgets
• Carry out an analysis to refine the budget as the design documents develop
• Preparation Bill of Quantities so as to help with the tender process and also to carry out a review of Builder’s tender submissions.

During the construction process, quantity surveyors provide the following services:

• They can help provide cost control services
• Carry out an assessment of the builder’s progress claims
• Carry out an assessment of variation and delay claims.

Finally, after completion of the construction project, quantity surveyors can assist with the following:

• Determination of the final project cost
• Preparation the tax depreciation reports for both investors as well as property owners and;
• Preparation Expert Witness reports to assist in the settlement of building disputes.

With all the aforementioned responsibilities of quantity surveyors, you may be tempted to think that they’re only involved in large construction projects, but this is totally wrong. Quantity surveyors are able to offer their services to both residential clients and small business owners, asides from working with local authorities, commercial businesses, consultancies as well as property developers.

If you’re thinking about hiring the services of a quantity surveyor for your next building project, then you might probably want to know how much its going to cost to enable you set a budget and start to plan. However, there’s no single and straightforward answer to this question as the price of a survey is dependent on a wide array of factors. The primary drivers include the scope of the construction, the complexity of the property, the level of skill required to make appropriate assessment of the property as well as the level of liability that will be covered by the quantity surveyor. In a more simpler terms, the cost of a quantity surveyor is determined by the size, age, condition, complexity and to some extent agreed purchase price.

Generally, most quantity surveyors are charged out at a rate of £100 per hour. And as a result, the price of a quantity survey is related to the number of hours that’s going to take to make an in depth assessment of the property. Typically, several quantity surveys will take up to half a day on site with a further half going to the production of the survey report. Consequently, it would be totally fair to say that a quantity survey would cost you anywhere within the range of £600 to £800 plus VAT. For a less detailed and simpler survey such as RICS Homebuyers Report and Valuation, you can expect to use only a couple of hours on site which will also be topped by a few hours of work in the report production. As a result, the normal cost of a Homebuyer survey would be between the range of £400 to £500 plus VAT. However, you should take note that the prices can vary on a geographical basis.

Primarily, quantity surveying is all about the calculation and management of the project related costs, which usually commences with helping with the initial estimates right down to assisting with the finalizing of the overall requirements of the budget. The work is done both on the site as well as in the office with the main goal of minimizing expenses and also to keep them within the set limits of a budget. On a day to day basis, a quantity surveyor is expected to undertake a number of activities which includes preparing tender and contract documents, carrying out analysis, monitoring costs variation and preparing reports, determining the client’s requirements and taking on feasibility studies, distributing work to sub contractors as well as making the necessary payments.

From the start of a building project, quantity surveyors are charged with carefully monitoring all unexpected changes which can lead to fluctuation in costs. Over the course of the project, however, they’re expected to tackle crucial tasks such as outcome analysis, work evaluation as well as progress reports. What’s more? It’s also very common for surveyors to carry on extra responsibilities which includes allocation works to subcontractors, ordering of construction materials as well as seeing to the arrangement of payments. Generally, the list of what they can handle can be limitless, it all depends on the project as well as the employer.

It’s highly likely to believe that quantity surveyors are only involved in large construction projects, but this is actually not the case. Apart from working with local authorities, commercial businesses, consultancies as well as property developers, quantity surveyors also offer their services to small both residential clients and small business owners. They’re very flexible and can capitalize on many different services like providing an initial maintenance schedule for Strata managers and many more.