ᐅ Proportion of trades as a percentage of the total construction cost

Hello,

the plan is a new build using solid construction methods.

I already have a turnkey offer from the same building company, as well as an offer that covers "only" the shell construction.

Both offers are based on the same floor plan.

Are there any experiences or benchmarks regarding the cost share of each trade (shell construction, electrical, heating, etc.) in the total construction cost?

Thanks for the information.

_Nerz_ schrieb:
Hello,

the plan is for a new build using solid construction methods.

I already have a turnkey offer from the same construction company as well as an offer that includes “only” the shell construction.

Both offers are based on the same floor plan.

Are there any benchmarks on the cost share of each trade (shell construction, electrical, heating, etc.) within the total construction budget?

Thanks for the information

I’m also interested in this. Does anyone have information on this?

A meaningful comparison is only possible with multiple quotes that include the same scope of work. Construction projects are simply too different. The shell construction usually costs six figures, so a 10% variance corresponds to $10,000 (or more). This makes it impossible to compare, especially not different quotes.

For example, a shell with a basement costs significantly more than one without. A monolithic wall is considerably more expensive than a wall made of calcium silicate blocks, as the latter requires an additional exterior insulation system, which is not part of the shell construction. These differences can amount to several tens of thousands of dollars when asking about “shell construction costs.” It simply does not make sense.

Three quotes for the same floor plan resulted in the following average values for us (the providers differed by up to 3% in individual trades, but overall were very consistent):

Site setup 1.6%
Earthworks 0.9%
Foundation slab 9.4%
Ground floor 16.5%
Chimney 1.4%
Roof structure 6.8%
Roof covering 9.1%
Plumbing work 1.6%
Roof sheathing 0.0%
Windows 7.7%
Drywall 4.9%
Screed 1.7%
Interior plaster 3.8%
Interior doors 1.0%
Heating 9.1%
Ventilation 3.9%
Sanitary installations 3.2%
Electrical work 3.0%
Tiles 3.4%
Facing bricks 11.1%
100.0%

_Nerz_ schrieb:
Are there any experience-based estimates on the cost share of each trade (shell construction, electrical, heating, etc.) within the total building budget?

No, such estimates don’t really exist—not even for a specific category (e.g., detached single-family house of 120 to 130 sqm (1,290 to 1,400 sq ft))—because everyone has different preferences regarding both the shell and the finishing work. The more examples like the one in #4 you can collect, the closer their averages might come to your actual costs later on, but frankly, without any guarantee.

The finishing work varies more widely than the shell construction. Even choices like tiles and fixtures differ greatly in taste and price range. Electrical work is also a broad area with a big impact on cost. For example, I don’t care about designer lamps, but I hate cascades of extension cords and power strips; for me, wiring belongs inside the walls. Do you just want to switch lights, or should your freezer be able to send a text message if it switches to emergency power?

Also: where do you personally draw the line between shell and finishing work? Do you consider wooden stair treads as part of the shell construction because the staircase wouldn’t be complete structurally without them, or as finishing work because they are meant to match the flooring? Such examples of blurred boundaries are rare, but the cost impact of individual “standards” based on taste is significant and makes comparisons between different households quite difficult.

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11ant schrieb:
Examples of gradual boundaries like this are rare, but the subjective cost influence of individual "standards" is significant, making comparisons between Müllers and Meiers correspondingly difficult.

In addition, each construction company calculates costs differently. For the ground floor, the variance was about 3%. Besides individual "extras" that affect these figures accordingly, there are also fundamental issues. The brick facade is quite expensive, so with a plaster facade the costs would probably be only around 7%, with all other trades benefiting somewhat in return, and so on.