Article
20 Guaranteed Ways to Lower Your Construction Costs
1. Facilities Assessment
The easiest way to save money is to build only what you need. By conducting a facility needs assessment you can understand specifically what types, sizes and quantities of space are required. Building space you don’t need is an expensive luxury. A Certified Church Consultant can provide you with pre-printed forms to aid in the need assessment process.
2. Design and Structure
A Design Build Contractor works with four basic types of construction for the building shell; Masonry with red iron, Pre-engineered building, Concrete tilt up, and wood framed. The region you are located in has a great amount of impact on the type of structure you build. The type of architectural design also impacts the shell that you build.
The most inexpensive method to construct is the pre-engineered building. This, however, can also be the least attractive. Concrete tilt ups are becoming more cost effective but also create a square box type building. The most flexible is the masonry with red iron or the wood structure. They happen to be the most expensive, however, and prices fluctuate constantly because steel and wood are commodities that can vary 40-50% throughout the year. Once again, understanding your facility needs helps you determine the best type of construction to use.
3. Property
When building on a new property it is important to locate the utilities to be sure that the distance from the structure is as short as possible. Underground utilities can run up to $75 per linear foot. Misplacement of a building can create hundreds of thousands of dollars of wasted money. Have your Design Build Contractor create a “Master Plan” to locate the structure in the best possible location. Also check with the City and County on “off-site” improvements needed, who will pay to widen streets, or install sidewalks, etc.? Sometimes money is set aside by cities or counties to help pay for these.
4. Utilities
Some properties are located in Counties and others in Cities; still others are under future annexation to adjacent cities even though they are still technically in a county. This is important because without city amenities you must provide your own water (from wells) and Sewer (from septic systems) as well as gas (propane) instead of natural gas.
City annexation can sometimes be achieved during the planning process and allows the opportunity to use their utilities. This can save $75,000 to $500,000 of upfront costs depending on the size of the project. Check with the local building and planning departments to see if these options are available to you. They make take some time and money to research but in the end great savings can be achieved.
5. HVAC Equipment
Air-conditioning and heating has improved so much in the last 10 years that a system today can be 10 times more efficient than one installed 12 years ago. You can choose from energy sources like natural gas, propane, electric, as well as photovoltaic-solar panels. It is important you find the cheapest source of energy available in your area and purchase equipment that takes advantage of that energy source. Heating has reached exciting new levels of improvement that can even recapture lost heat from the water heater and use it to heat the facility. Proper sizing of ductwork by a profession “air balancer” properly distributes your heating and cooling, lending to energy savings of 10-15% per month.
6. Plans
The most expensive process most churches follow is to hire an architect and draw a set of plans with no input from the professional builders and subcontractors who construct the facility. One California architect once said that his favorite type of project was one that never got built. He stated that once the plans are complete he gets paid in full and if the job is never built he has no headaches or questions about his design.
Bringing in a design build contractor with the design build subcontractors at the very beginning helps prevent budget busting plans. They also provide excellent cost savings ideas. In addition, only simple elevations are needed for Capital Campaign efforts. These should only cost approximately $3,000. A color rendering is a great visual tool for raising funds.
7. Wall finishes
Interior finishes can be very expensive. The simplest finish is drywall with a light spray on texture and paint. Wallpaper is a great way to achieve a washable wall surface that can last years. The wallpaper must be a vinyl surface that can be cleaned with a light detergent to remove stains like fingerprints or other fluids. Most churches allow the volunteers to paint the children rooms with murals. Each grade can provide the paint and labor to do these rooms and the contractor can reduce his price by that amount. Remember that many different colored paints require a lot of extra touch up paint stored for future use.
8. Lighting fixtures
Lighting has reached new levels in our industry. Churches are doing more plays and performances and the type of lighting is essential for proper viewing in the congregation. Bad lighting bothers parishioners as well as wastes electricity. A lighting professional should be involved from the very beginning to ensure that the appropriate light is used in the correct places. There are natural florescent lights that are easy on the eyes and save 15-20% more energy than standard incadescent lights. Simply send the plans to a lighting supplier who can price several types of lighting and offer a great variety of options.
9. Electrical conduit
Audio and video equipment require lots of cable and electricity. During construction it is very inexpensive to run conduit through walls and ceilings. Once the walls are covered up it becomes expensive and messy to open up walls and install new wiring. Low voltage wire many times does not need conduit, but any wire with 110 volts or greater must be inside a protected conduit. Make sure any subcontractor who needs to install wire is on the site before any insulation or drywall is placed. Finally, before covering the walls make sure to check for cut or broken wires. Running conduit is cheap and some extra planning and additional lines makes it easier to change and expand the audio/visual later.
10. Plumbing fixtures
When choosing toilets, sinks and faucets it is best to get a total quantity list of what is needed and have several distributors provide prices for these items. Many times there can be as much as 50% difference between suppliers. Brand names can sometimes be deceiving and there are less known companies with products that provide the same warranties with much lower costs.
11. Flooring
It is imperative that the floor meets the usage. Carpet is a great sound buffer and works well in sanctuaries. It would be a disaster in bathrooms, however. Ceramic tile is very effective in restrooms and high traffic places that must be cleaned continually. Be sure to use dirt hiding grout colors so stains do not show up as easily. A new product that is less than $2-4 per square foot is sealed stained concrete. There are many colors to choose from and it can be sealed with a clear finish that is easy to clean and gives a great contemporary look. In comparison ceramic tile can cost up to $15 per square foot.
12. Exterior finishes
Comparing finishes like brick can be an eye opening experience. New red brick can cost over 40 cents each. There is a new type of brick that comes in larger precut pieces that cost half that amount. In addition, the labor to install the brick is half of what a standard brick takes. One church with a 15,000 square foot sanctuary saved over $55,000 by going with a pre-cast type brick tile.
Stucco is also a cost effective finish and much cheaper than any brick. It has the tendency to discolor, however, and usually requires paint to look uniform. Metal screeds are also installed to control cracking. Stucco should not be used in extreme cold conditions since the concrete can crack and pop with freezing temperatures.
13. Landscape
It can cost up to $10,000 to have a landscape architect design your site. Many nurseries have in house landscape architects that will design your plans for free providing you purchase your plants from them. Once you have a design you send out the plant list to local nurseries and negotiate the best price with your original nursery.
14. Water Meters
Most cities charge two different rates for water. There is a higher water charge for domestic water and a lower charge for landscape water. Therefore it is usually less expensive in the long haul to install two water meters; one for the domestic water use and the other strictly for landscaping. This can save thousands of dollars a year on water fees.
15. Parking Lot
The three basic types of surfaces for a parking lot are concrete, paving and crushed rock. Concrete is more expensive to lay (about $2 per square foot) as opposed to asphalt paving at $1.35 per square foot. Crushed rock is usually used for overflow parking and can be installed for only about .75 cents per square foot. However many cities do not allow this type of surface because it is not permanent enough.
16. Painting
Interior and Exterior paint is the most confusing selection for many owners. The two most popular types of exterior paint is either Acrylic or Elastomeric. Acrylic is the cheaper of the two and you can usually find a good 10-year paint for about $20 a gallon. The elastomeric is more expensive at about $30 to $50 per gallon and it takes a special high pressure sprayer to apply. The elastomeric is designed to expand and contract with severe weather and is supposed to give a longer lasting finish and better adhering to surfaces when applied with the appropriate primer. Interior paint is also confusing. The types of finishes are flat, eggshell, semi gloss, and gloss. As a rule of thumb the higher the gloss the easier it is to clean. Problems with high gloss however is that it shows every defect in the walls and can create a negative visual image of drywall lines.
17. Bathroom fixtures
Most churches require janitorial services to keep the bathrooms clean. Towel holders, toilet paper holders, and soap dispensers can be very expensive to purchase and install. Contact your local janitorial supplier and when given a contract for supplies they may provide the bathroom fixtures for free. Once again, negotiating the prices of supplies are important before signing any contracts but with the amount of fixtures needed it is very possible to save over $3,000 by getting these fixtures for free.
18. Cabinets
The need for cabinet space is essential to any good church design. Most clients hire a custom cabinet maker and spend $50,000 to $100,000 on custom cabinets. Today every major lumber and or hardware store has a cabinet supplier that allows you to get plans made for free and several qualities of cabinets made in a modular design. These suppliers provide great warranties and quick deliver services, (about 4 to 6 weeks). In addition the cabinets come painted with a factory baked on surface that is impossible to duplicate in the field. Savings range from 20-50% compared to custom cabinets.
19. Permits and fees
Most clients assume that there is nothing that can be done to change the fees on the project. Actually investigation can save thousands. Many sites are in special empowerment zones that reduce or even waive development fees. School fees should also be reduced or waived for churches. Contact your local School District. Impact fees for sewer and water may also be affected because most churches only meet on Wednesday and Sundays. Great investigation work has been known to save upwards of $75,000 on overall project fees.
20. Energy
With today’s rising energy costs it pays to think about different types of energy sources. It starts with constructing the building with proper insulation to reduce heat and cooling loss and continues with energy efficient operating equipment. Designing the building to take advantage of the natural heat of the sun and providing shade for exterior walls to aid in summer cooling are just a couple of the many ways to reduce energy consumption. Contact your local energy provider for their free printed materials to help you spend less by better planning during the design phase. There is almost always some sort of rebate for purchasing energy saving equipment.
A special thanks to CHAREST CORP for providing this article (Volume 1, Issue 2; October 27, 2004).