Questions, answered

A quantity surveyor manages the cost of a building project. That means estimating what it will cost before it is designed in full, measuring the work so contractors can price it on the same basis, running the tender, checking what is claimed against what has been built, and agreeing the final account at the end. The aim is that the figure at the start and the figure at the end are recognisably the same number.

As early as there is an idea and a budget. An initial budget estimate by functional unit or by area measurement will tell you whether the scheme is feasible before money is spent on design. Bringing a cost consultant in after tender means the cost advice arrives when almost every decision that drives cost has already been made.

It is not a legal requirement, but a private house is where cost overruns hurt most, because the client is usually funding it personally and has no contingency beyond their own savings. Independent cost advice gives you a budget you can hold a contractor to, and a measured basis for judging whether a variation is fair.

A Bill of Quantities is a measured schedule of every item of work in a project, so that each contractor tendering prices exactly the same scope. Without one, tenders are not comparable: a lower number may simply mean less work has been allowed for. Bills here are produced in CostX, at elemental level for early cost planning and at item-specific level for tender.

RICS is the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. A regulated firm is bound by the RICS Rules of Conduct for Firms, carries the required professional indemnity insurance, and is subject to RICS complaints and disciplinary procedures. It is the mark that separates a chartered practice from an unregulated cost estimator. K. Karakosta Q.S. L.L.C is listed as a Regulated by RICS firm in the RICS Find a Surveyor directory, and the listing can be checked independently.

See the RICS Find a Surveyor listing

Both, on different projects. Having represented the client and the contractor or developer gives a balanced view of where a claim is genuine and where it is not, which is the useful thing to have on your side when a variation or a final account is being argued.

It is the exercise of finding a cheaper way to achieve the same outcome, rather than simply buying less. That means interrogating specification, buildability and procurement route together, and testing each saving against what it costs in quality or in programme before it is adopted.

Life cycle costing compares options on what they cost to own over their whole life, not just to build: capital cost, maintenance, running cost and replacement. It supports the decision between a cheaper installation and a more durable one, and a life cycle costing exercise carries credits under both BREEAM and LEED certification.

Cyprus, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, with wider European project work delivered as part of corporate portfolios. The project schedule on this site lists every project by city.

Send the drawings you have, even if they are early, along with the location and what you expect to spend. An initial budget estimate can be produced from an area measurement or a functional unit rate before there is a full design to measure.