How to Stay on Budget

When it comes to steel building projects, or any building project, there is always the possibility to go over budget in many ways. It’s important to know exactly how the project is going to look before, during and after the whole construction process in order to keep track of any money going out. You might hire a general contractor or construction team to take the reigns of the project, but it’s important to stay involved and close to the project to ensure it all stays on track!

There are a few ways the prices might change along the way. Something like a “change order”, when something in the design is switched around due to circumstance, can dramatically change the cost of the project. This is something you need to be fully aware of at all times. This is also why it’s important to get all the correct details of the desired project finalized beforehand to ensure that there’s no errors in the original design or contract that have to be changed later to incur more costs.

Going over your budget by about 15% is quite common, but can still be avoided. They come from things like time delays as well as change orders, weather, conditions of the job site, last minute project changes and so much more. Of course, these are all things that can largely be prepared for or discussed beforehand.

There are many negative impacts that this can have on the project as well as the owner of the building in question: Increased final costs, lower return on investment, completion date delays, potentially damaged relationship with the contractor involved, extra pressure if money was borrowed and ensuing financial difficulties.

One of the first ways to avoid many of these issues is by going with a general contractor who is very experienced that will know how to respond to and get around some of these common issues. They should be discussed long before the project even starts, so you can both decide on the best solutions and times when putting the extra money behind something is worth is and when it isn’t. An experienced contractor will always know where to find the most affordable additional required materials, tools, items and more.

You might be much better off looking for a more multifaceted team that can do the project from beginning to end depending on what you’re looking for. The designer and builder will work much more closely together to create your desired final project in a way that is both considerate of time as well as considerate of your budget in every way. If this isn’t possible, be sure to keep the lines of communication open and flowing between your designers and builders so that everything works perfectly together.

Staying under budget is extremely imperative since sometimes, these surprise costs can change the course of your entire project. It’s important to discuss with your contractor what other options you might have to get around some of the issues that pop up, if there’s a way to still be under your budget. If it will compromise the integrity of your end goal, then it might be a better idea to simply add a bit to the budget.

For more information on our steel buildings, call us at 1-888- 449-7756