BSR 562

COSTING &
ESTIMATING II

DR NOREHAN HAJI MOHD NOOR

SENIOR LECTURER
 Building Cost Influence Factors

FIVE DESIGN-FACTOR INFLUENCE THE

BUILDING COST

1 Shape
2 Size
3 Circulation space/Planning Efficiency
4 Storey height
5 Total height of building
1.0 Shape
Example 1
There are two sites have be selected to build a two-storey house,
with 6.0 m height and 113mm thick wall.
Do a calculation of wall to floor ratio to make a comparison for the
best option of building cost.

Say,
a) Building A - L shape
b) Building B - irregular shape
c) GFA Building A & B = identical with Total Area = 420 m2
d) Assumes both building are 2-storey; hence
Total GFA = 420 m2 x 2 = 840 m2 each.
e) Ignore wall thickness
f) Wall height - 6 m.
 14m Example 1
8m

16m A 24.5m BUILDING A

8m

34.5m

8m

6m
B
11 m
3m 5m
4.5m

3m BUILDING B
14m 9.0 12m

6m
7.5 m 21m 3.5m

6m

32m
 14 m ANSWER 1
A 8m
16 m 24.5m
1

8m
2

34.5m

Building A

(i) GFA (Luas Lantai) = (14 m x 16 m) + ( 24.5m x 8m)

= 224 + 196 = 420 m²
(ii) Height = 2-Storey = 420 m² x 2 = 840 m²

(iii) Building Perimeter = 14 + 8 + 24.5 + 8 + 34.5 + 16 = 105 m

Wall height - 6 m
Therefore, enclosing area for Building A:

= =
- Bldg Perimeter x Wall height 105 m x 6 m 630 m²

The wall / floor area Ratio: = 630 m² / 840 m² = 0.75

 8m
Building B
6m (i) GFA (Luas Lantai)
11 m
3m 5m
= (6m x 8m) + (5m x 5m) + (9.5mx3m) +
4.5m
(21m x 6m) + (32m x 6m)

3m
14m 9.5m 12m
= 48 m² + 25 m² + 28.5 m² + 126 m² +192 = 420 m²
Total
m² GFA
6m (ii) Height = 2-Storey
7.5 m 21m 3.5m
= 420 m² x 2 = 840 m²
6m
(iii) Building Perimeter
32m 8 +11 + 4.5 + 3 + 12 + 6 + 3.5 + 6 +
=
32 + 6 + 7.5 + 14 + 3 + 6 = 123 m
Wall height - 6 m
Therefore, enclosing area for Building B:
- Bldg Perimeter x Wall height = 123 m x 6m = 738 m²

The wall / floor area Ratio: = 738 m² / 840 m² = 0.88

The comparison of the wall / floor area Ratio between:

The wall / floor area Ratio:
Building A 0.75
Building B 0.88

Analysis: Building A show ratio lower than B. So Building A is economic compare to B, is

uneconomical due to greater area of enclosing walls.
2.0 Size
Increase in the SIZE of building, produce reductions
in Unit Cost such as Cost per Square metres of
Gross Floor Area (GFA)
(Semakin besar saiz bangunan, semakin rendah
kos per m2 bagi seunit harga luas lantai kasar)

Example 2

15.0 m

S 8.0 m

30.0 m

T 8.0 m
EXAMPLE 2: ANSWER

Building S Building T

Floor Area (15 x 8) = 120 m² (30 x 8) = 240 m²

Length of enclosing wall 46 m 76 m

Length of wall / m2 of
= 46 m / 120 = 76 / 240
floor area
0.383 m 0.317 m

Analysis: Building T show lower ratio than B. Even Though the

GFA of Building T bigger than Building S
Example 3 - SIZE & STOREY HEIGHT / TOTAL HEIGHT
This situation is due to the fact that certain costs do not increase in proportion to the
increase in the size of the building plan, such as: - transport, - temporary buildings, material
storage, offices and workplaces, - supply of water and electricity, - temporary roads and
drainage, - site staff etc.

Average Cost /
House size Average Cost Percentage (%) Percentage
m2
(Nos. of Bedroom) (RM) Increase (RM) Reduction
1 22,803.00 447.5
2 28,050.00 22.8 416.0 12.88
3 34,240.00 50.2 402.1 15.98
4 43,246.00 89.7 393.5 17.60