Quantity Surveying in West Malling

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.

.Typically, quantity surveying involves the calculating and management of the costs relating to projects, starting with assisting with the initial estimates to finalizing the overall requirements of the budget. Quantity surveyors normally work in land management, property as well as construction industries. Generally, 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. In other words, they’re often involved on the site up until the completion of the construction project helping to monitor both the forecasted and actual expenses while also being required to quickly determine the best line of action to take to deal with problems  as well as changes in specifications with updated costings and feasibility reviews.

As a quantity surveyor, you’ll be required to perform a series of roles on a daily basis. This may involved having to work in an office in one day and the next, you’d probably find yourself on a construction site meeting with clients or consulting with a construction personnel. Each project is unique as there’s always a great deal of variety which can be not the most pleasant activity especially for someone who doesn’t like routine works. On a daily basis, quantity surveying normally involves 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. Apart from all the aforementioned, site visits also represents a big part of quantity surveying as you’re required to make assessments on the financial projections for the future activities.

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.

If you wish to work as a quantity surveyor or perhaps you’re just looking to hire one, then one of the first things that comes to mind is the qualifications to look out for. To work as a quantity surveyor, you’ll normally require a degree in quantity surveying or commercial management which is accredited by the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors). However, in the event whereby your degree as an undergraduate happens to be in a different subject, there’s still a chance for you to become a qualified quantity surveyor. To achieve this, all you need do is to take a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors accredited post graduate conversion course. Degrees that this applies to includes the following: Economics, building or construction, geography, civil or structural engineering, mathematics, project management ( construction) as well as urban and land studies.

Typically, the post graduate course will take about a year to complete ( on a full time basis), whereas it takes about 2 years on a part time basis. What’s more? There are some employers that will recruit some graduates as “non-cognates ( meaning those with a non RICS accredited degrees ) and support them financially through the accredited post graduate course. Furthermore, you can as well take a RICS accredited degree apprenticeship whether undergraduate, PGDip or Masters, in quantity surveying as well as project management that combines work with part time study at a university.

However, if you’re without a degree, there’s still an option. Simply start work as a technical surveyor ( also referred to as surveying technician ) and then apply for a part time study while working to qualify as a quantity surveyor.