Construction Costs - Tracking Inflation

Tracking construction costs is a full time job. There are many factors nation wide that affect construction costs in the labor market and materials. The demand on building materials can even be affected by the world market as seen last year in the price of steel due to the massive amount of construction on going in China. So how does all this affect you and the new school that you are planning to build next year? Your design professional must keep track of current events/trends in the construction market in order for you to effectively plan what you are going to design and build and be able to accurately project the cost of those projects. This is a difficult task and I often tell my clients that my crystal ball is a bit fuzzy... meaning that it is difficult to predict the future regarding where costs will be for construction. A major influence in cost escalation is the amount and intensity of hurricanes that hit the United States in a given year. Needless to say, predicting hurricanes and the damage that they will leave behind is an impossible task. The construction market for the past several years has essentially been flat due the recession. This year however, as the economy has improved, construction costs have been on the rise. Predictions of the construction cost index at the beginning of 2012 for the year have been exceeded already as the third quarter costs have been evaluated ending in Sept. Even though steel costs have gone down the past quarter, a total of -1.3%, cement has gone up 1.2% and lumber has gone up 2.1%. Wages for common labor and skilled labor have gone up .9% and 1.3% respectively for the third quarter. As smaller subcontractors have gone out of business due to the recession, those contractors still around have picked up more work and are demanding increased labor costs as they get busier. So what does my crystal ball say? We are planning for construction inflation to be in the range of 8% to 10% next year barring any major natural weather events. Plan to set aside as much funds as you can to offset the escalation and any unforeseen occurrences. Michael King AIA

Green Roofs

What if your facility’s roof could be usable space, more than just a place to set roof top units? What if you could use this area as an outdoor classroom, a small garden for a science class or even grow herbs or vegetables for the kitchen? Green roofs, or vegetated roofs, help capture stormwater runoff, reduce heat gain into the building and lessen the urban heat island effect outside of the building. Green roofs are roof systems that are capable of growing grasses, herbs, plants, flowers and even trees of various species, textures, and heights.

There are two different categories of green roofs. Extensive roofs can be placed on slopes up to 30 degrees. They are more lightweight (12-35 psf) with a growth medium of 1-6 inches. These are for low growing plants that typically require minimal maintenance and have little water requirements. Intensive roofs have a growth medium of 6 or more inches and can be designed to grow trees, shrubs, or gardens. These often are higher maintenance and will likely require irrigation. This design can only be used on low sloped roofs. Paver systems can also be integrated into these roof systems.

Our firm recently completed a football stadium for a school district that placed their locker rooms and offices below the bleachers and main concourse where fans entered the stadium and could access concessions. The roof for the locker rooms became a paver system that was supported by small pedestals at each corner. All joints between pavers allowed water to seep through to the sloped roof system below, where it was then drained to internal roof drains like a typical low slope roof system. This allowed the project to maintain a tight footprint on the existing site and maximize usable space, capitalizing on opportunities for fans to maintain a good view to the field from the concession lines.

When considering if these roof systems are a viable option for your project, here are a few things to think about. One, the added installation cost of the roof system and increased load on the roof structure will add to the construction cost. These roof systems may cost 20-50% more than single-ply or multi-ply roof systems. On the other hand, these roofs have longer life spans due to moderated temperature swings and can have lower maintenance (depending on plant species). These also provide a quality space from which students can learn more about their environment.