If you’ve ever worked on a building project of any scale, you’ll have an idea of how costly and difficult it can be to turn your vision into reality. Large construction projects require a high level of expertise and organisation from all parties involved. In this article, we’ll be looking at the aspects of large commercial building projects and what makes them so costly to produce.

Location, location, location:

One of the most relevant and determining factors of any construction project is of course its location. If one were to build an office space in a rural area prone to flooding or earthquakes, you may find that the cost of building on the land can be relatively cheap; but this would come at a higher potential cost down the line due to the natural disaster risks involved. On the other hand, a similar type of construction project in central London, for example, may cost you far more to begin with but considering the amount of commercial activity and low natural disaster risk in the area, you’ll likely make a better return on investment.

Labour recruitment and building materials:

Hiring the right professionals and sourcing the right materials is likely to be your biggest expense. Finding the right architects, electricians, builders, and developers for a new commercial building project is easier said than done. Then the other piece of the puzzle will be sourcing the right building materials which comply with building and safety standards at reasonable prices without exceeding a given budget. Thankfully, this has become far more easier to do in the last decade with the growth of E-commerce which allows construction workers to order all they need online from plumbing tools to power tools and have the majority of their materials delivered straight to their building site.

Complying with regulations

As with most construction projects, you will be required to comply with a variety of building regulations. This will be in the form of applying for a building permit, abiding by health and safety laws on site, following and observing building regulations set out by your local building control team.

In practice this will mean paying extra for building materials which comply with relevant building standards (fire resistant insulation, noise resistant plasterboards etc), hiring more people depending on the size and complexity of the work and ensuring everyone adheres to health and safety guidelines.

Following each of these steps will require careful planning and financial budgeting. Especially in the case of commercial buildings which tends to entail large projects involving many contractors.