130

4.2 BuiIding EIements

4.2.1 Sub-Structure
ITEM FACTOR IMPLEMENTATION
1 Functional
requirements
Different type of building to be erected to serve its
function requires different substructure cost.
2 Technical requirements Cost of substructure will be influenced in order to
comply with technical legislation to achieve that
building's functional requirement.
3 Size of building ncrease in the size of building will produce lower
substructure cost per square meter of GFA.
4 Owner /User
requirements
Vary shape of the building will result different
substructure cost per square meter of the GFA.
5 Plan shape An irregular shape will increase wall/floor area
ratio, accompanied by a higher foundation cost
per floor area.
6 Perimeter/Floor area
ratios
The lower the wall/floor area ratio, the more
economical will be the foundation cost.
7 Storey heights The increase in storey height will result more
costly foundation to support the increased load.
8 Total height of buildings Foundation costs/m2 of floor area will fall with
increase in the height of the building provided the
form of the foundation remains unchanged.
9 Number of storey For similar type of foundation, the greater the
number of storey will increase the area of upper
floors, thus result the lower the substructure cost
per m2 of GFA.
10 Grouping of building The grouping and arrangement of buildings such
as inter-linking buildings often result in saving in
costs of substructure as quantity of foundation
reduces.
131

11 oading The heavier loads applied to the structure require
the higher the cost of substructure as more
expensive foundation may be required.
12 Site condition Subsoil conditions will determine the choice of
correct and most economical type of foundation.
13 Type of foundation Type of foundation required influenced by :
O Type of structure to be erected
O The bearing capacity of the ground
O oads applied to the structure
O Proximity of adjacent buildings
O Method of construction
Table 4.2: Factors Affecting Cost of Sub-Structure















132

4.2.2 Frame
ITEM FACTOR IMPLEMENTATION
1 oading The heavier the loadings the higher the cost of
frame as additional cost for structural frame to be
designed to resist the increasing heavy load of
upper floors.
2 Sizes of Building Types of the structural frame are influenced by the
size of building required by the client; different
types of framework vary in economical aspect.
3 Height of Building ncrease of the height of building wall requires
various types of structural frame for cost
advantage.
4 Type and material Relatively cheap material which can be easily
formed into complicated shapes using suitable
formwork.
Economies in formwork can be obtained through
simplicity of shape, and repetition of units to obtain
the maximum number of uses.
Table 4.3: Factors Affecting Cost of Frame










133

4.2.3 InternaI WaII and Partition
ITEM FACTOR IMPLEMENTATION
1 Plan shape The simpler the plans shape of the building, the
lower the cost for the internal wall and partition
element.
Cost of internal wall and partition will be higher if
irregular shape and complicated shape.
2 Storey height Storey height has a direct influence on the cost of
internal wall and partition.
On large schemes even a small reduction in the
storey height can produce considerable savings.
3 Performance
requirement
f the internal partition carried the duty of bearing
the load, the options are as follow :
O Block work
O Brickwork
O n-situ concrete
O The cost will decrease if partition is not
carrying heavy load.
Table 4.4: Factors Affecting Cost of Internal Wall and Partition










134

4.2.4 ExternaI WaII
ITEM FACTOR IMPLEMENTATION
1 Plan shape An irregular shape and complicated shape will
increase wall/floor area ratio, accompanied by a
higher cost of external wall besides due to the
work being more complicated.
2 Size of Building The larger the size of building, the lower the
wall/floor ratio will be.
As a result, the larger the building size, the more
economical the cost of external wall will be.
3 Storey Heights The higher the storey heights, the larger the area
of walling required.
4 Openings Openings of building refer to any void in the
buildings mainly is for the ventilation purpose.
(e.g. : door and window)
Table 4.5: Factors Affecting Cost of External Wall












133

4.2.5 Upper FIoor
ITEM FACTOR IMPLEMENTATION
1 Number of Storey The greater the number of storey, the more
important the effect of this element on the building
cost.
2 Fire Protection and
Sound nsulation
Requires of additional cost for the construction of
special floor structure.
A minimum thickness of 125mm will meet these
requirements.
3 oading Assumption of loading of the building when
designing the upper floor as the cost would be
affected.
The heavier the loadings the higher the cost of
floor as additional cost to be designed.
4 Plan shape An irregular shaped building will have an adverse
effect on the cost of floor construction due to the
floor construction being more complicated.
5 Size of Building The larger the size of the building, the higher
upper floors costs will be.
Table 4.6: Factors Affecting Cost of Upper Floor









136

4.2.6 InternaI Doors
ITEM FACTOR IMPLEMENTATION
1 Functional
requirements
Different type of building to be erected to serve its
function will affect the requirement and selection
on types of windows and external doors.
2 Aesthetic requirements The requirement on aesthetic of design will
influence the selection of windows and external
doors.
Building with higher requirement on aesthetic
value intends to allocate higher budget on the
elements such as windows, doors and finishes.
3 Material used Cost will be differing due to the types of material of
windows and doors used.
Different types of material show significant impact
on the cost as well as the quality of door and
window construct.
4 ronmongery There are enormous variations in the quality, type
and cost of available ironmongery.
Table 4.7: Factors Affecting Cost of Internal Doors










137

4.2.7 InternaI WaII Finishes
ITEM FACTOR IMPLEMENTATION
1 Aesthetic requirements Cost of internal wall finishes will spend much for
aesthetic requirements as required by the client.
Factor to consider are its color, texture, pattern
and the way it meets and joins with other
materials.
2 Technical requirements nclude the acoustic qualities, fire resistance and
thermal insulation value of a finish material.
3 Functional
requirements
Based on the purpose of the building, types of the
project, such as school and hospital.
4 Acoustics requirements Acoustic materials are manufactured in three main
categories :
O Porous material for general sound absorption
O Resonant panels for absorption at low
frequencies
O Cavity resonators for maximum absorption
Acoustics requirements of internal walls
considered will require additional cost for the
structural cost.
5 Plan shape The lower the wall to floor ratio the more economic
will be the design.
The higher the wall to floor ratio, cost of internal
wall will be higher and followed by cost of internal
wall finishes.
6 Storey height An increase in storey height could affect additional
walls and partitions resulting higher costing
applying finishing to internal walls.
7 Numbers of storey The greater the number of storey, the more the
internal wall finishes to apply, thus affect the
building cost.
138

8 Total height of building Total height of building does not affect more
except for possibly slightly increased hoisting
costs and additional scaffolding.
Table 4.8: Factors Affecting Cost of Internal Wall Finishes

4.2.8 FIoor Finishes
ITEM FACTOR IMPLEMENTATION
1 Aesthetic requirements Cost of internal floor finishes will depend on the
aesthetic requirements by the client and the
suitable for the building.
2 Functional
requirements
Different project use different types of floor
finishes, depends on the functions of the building.
Choose suitable materials to function of the
building.
Table 4.9: Factors Affecting Cost of Floor Finishes












139

4.2.9 ExternaI Finishes
ITEM FACTOR IMPLEMENTATION
1 Aesthetic requirements Cost of external finishes would increase if the
aesthetic requirements need to be achieved by the
client.
2 Plan shape An irregular shape and complicated shape will
increase wall/floor area ratio, accompanied by a
higher cost of external wall.
3 Storey height An increase in the storey height of a building will
increase external finishes due to increasing in the
external walls of building.
4 Total height of building Higher building needs more hoisting costs and
additional scaffolding.
5 Number of storey An increase in the number of storey in a building
will lead to high external wall finishes.
Table 4.10: Factors Affecting Cost of External Finishes












160

4.2.10 Roofs
ITEM FACTOR IMPLEMENTATION
1 Type of building Type of building will define roof type to use for the
building and type of roof to be use will affect cost.
2 Classification of roof
O Pitched roof
O Flat roof
Different classification of roof have different of
function and cost for each roof.
Materials for build each roof between pitched roof
and flat roof are totally different materials.
Total cost of roof depends on the classification of
roof.
3 Roof trusses
O Aluminium roof
trusses
O Timber roof trusses
Weight of roof truss which is dead weight will carry
by the foundation.
Cost will be different for different materials.
Speed of work can save the cost.
High maintenance on finishes of timber will
increase the cost.
Choose of truss must depend on need of the
project and costing.
4 Plan shape Shape of roof depend on building shape, roof
must cover the building.
f the shape of roof is complicated, it will increase
the cost especially the pitched roof.
5 Size of building Big buildings enhance the cost because the area
that to be cover by roof is large area.
6 Total building height Additional building storey will effect on roof.
Choose the suitable roof for the best planning in
the further too.
7 Storey height Worker cost for higher building is more high and
expensive, need extra machineries.
161

8 Rainwater good system nstallation of rainwater good system depends on
design of roof.
Quantity and quality of rainwater good system
decision of costing.
9 Aesthetical requirement Aesthetical requirement would increase the cost of
roof.
10 nsulation/thermal gain The use of insulation or thermal gain is depending
on user and the location of the building.
t will increase the cost of roof.
11 Material of roof
covering
n market, there are many products for roof
covering; different manufacturer will provide
different price, quality and material of roof
covering.
Table 4.11: Factors Affecting Cost of Roof














162

4.2.11 ExternaI Water SuppIy InstaIIation
ITEM FACTOR IMPLEMENTATION
1 Storey height onger lengths of waste and vent pipes are
needed as the storey height increased.
2 Total height of building Beside longer lengths of pipes are needed, larger
pipes and additional valves will needed also.
3 Type of pipe work
arrangement
More economical to use a large pipe rather than a
number of smaller pipes which together produce
the same cross-sectional area.
4 Choice of material Steel pipe: Cheap, very strong, both for water
pressure and in resisting damage and it is
susceptible to corrosion so should always be
galvanized.
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC): Widely used for cold
water supply and for water main; and it is flexible,
tough and very light.
Copper: Mainly used for cold water services pipes
below ground, last a long time, it's durable, and
connects well to valves.
Table 4.12: Factors Affecting Cost of External Water Supply Installation









163

4.2.12 EIectricaI InstaIIation
ITEM FACTOR IMPLEMENTATION
1 Plan shape The more complex the plan shape, there will be
less reliance on natural lighting provision, thus the
costs of artificial lighting will be increase.
2 Total height of building Cost will be increase follow by the increasing of
the building height due to the need for heavy
mains and switchgear.
Table 4.13: Factors Affecting Cost of Electrical Installation

4.2.13 PIumbing InstaIIation
ITEM FACTOR IMPLEMENTATION
1 Total height of building onger lengths of pipes are needed, larger pipes
and additional valves will needed.
2 Storey height onger lengths of waste and vent pipes are
needed as the storey height increased.
3 Position arrangement of
sanitary fitting
Extra cost can be reducing by the careful grouping
of sanitary appliances to restrict the number of
vertical pipe runs and by the use of single stack
plumbing.
Table 4.14: Factors Affecting Cost of Plumbing Installation







164

4.2.14 Air Conditioning and VentiIation System
ITEM FACTOR IMPLEMENTATION
1 Plan Shape The square plan that produces a very deep
building requires artificial ventilation and air-
conditioning.
2 Temperature of the air
Humidity of the air
density
Air movement and
distribution
Control required
Will influence both the cost of the installation
initially and in use.
3 Type of system used for
example :
O Fan coil system
O Variable refrigerant
volume (VRV)
O Variable air volume
(VAC)
O Constant air volume
(CAV)
The installation cost, running cost will vary
according to the type of system used.
Becomes competitive in capital cost where the
units are positioned on an external wall.
Running costs are relatively low.
Has high installation and running costs.
Adaptability to meet revised partition layouts in
office building.
Economical for areas or zones where air will run at
the same temperature throughout.
Table 4.15: Factors Affecting Cost of Air Conditioning and Ventilation System






163

4.2.15 Fire Protection InstaIIation
ITEM FACTOR IMPLEMENTATION
1 Type of equipments New technologies like fire linings and sprayed
coating, automatic ventilation systems, smoke and
heat detectors, dry risers, sprinklers,
extinguishers, hose reels, alarms, etc.
Cost of this element will vary for different system
required.
Will influence the internal planning and the
mechanical ventilation in the building.
2 Type of buildings Components and installation will influence the
cost.
Design of the buildings such as the structure and
the fabric will require different fire protecting
system.
3 Aesthetic requirements The requirement on aesthetic of design will require
different type of equipment and thus influence its
cost.
4 Owner/user
requirements
Vary in owner or user requirements will influence
the type of equipment in use and its cost.
Table 4.16: Factors Affecting Cost of Fire Protection Installation








166

4.2.16 Fencing and Gates
ITEM FACTOR IMPLEMENTATION
1 Functional
requirements
Based on the purpose of the building, types of the
project; such as school, hospital and residential
houses.
Different building requires different level of
security.
2 Aesthetic requirements Cost of fencing and gates will spend less for
aesthetic requirements as it is more emphasis on
its functional requirement.
However, factor to consider are its color, texture,
pattern and the way it meets and join with other
materials is important for improving its durability.
3 Technical requirements Fire resistance and thermal insulation value of
gate and fencing are factors that needed to be
considered in selecting the suitable one.
Table 4.17: Factors Affecting Cost of Fencing and Gates











167

4.2.17 Lift and EscaIator
ITEM FACTOR IMPLEMENTATION
1 Storey height An increase in storey height result increased cost
of constructing lifts and conveyor installation.
2 Number of storey A lift is usually provided in blocks of buildings
exceeding four storey while in blocks over eight
storey, two lifts will be provided.
The increasing number of lifts will increase the
cost of construction of lifts.
3 Design features Some building need beautiful design for the lift
and escalator.
Special design for lift and escalator need new
technology or more expensive design fees or
other expensive cost included.
Table 4.18: Factors Affecting Cost of Lift and Escalator


4.2.18 Turfing
TEM FACTOR MPEMENTATON
1 Type of soil Grass need to plant on the suitable soil for the
grass to grow well.
2 The use of grass ocation of grass to plant with the type of grass
must be suitable.
Cost of grass depend on the type of grass
because some grass need to be import from other
country.
Table 4.19: Factors Affecting Cost of Turfing