The Specialization Of The Construction Industry

Today’s Construction industry has become quite competitive. Contractors are required to me efficient, cheap, and punctual. For either a new construction project, or a remodel, contractors have the challenging task of assigning the exact price for the completed work. In addition to the obvious cost calculations for the material costs such as foundation materials, lumber, roofing, doors and windows, cabinets, carpet, paint, appliances, plumbing, electrical wiring, landscaping, and many other things, they also have to calculate the time for each task to be completed and determine the labor costs for the construction project. In the past, one contractors quote may have varied greatly from the next, simply because of the many variables involved. Construction time was usually the target that was missed the most.

Computers and software developed for contractors has enabled contractors to work more efficiently. With the use of specialized software, contractors are able to provide more accurate quotes, and determine these figures in a much shorter amount of time. The quotes provided are usually more uniform depending on the contractors own markup.

The construction industry has become so refined, that many teams of workers are assigned to their specific task. When that task is completed, their job is done, and in comes the next team. For example, once the foundation had been built, the framing team needs to come in, followed by the plumbing team and electrical team. Next is the drywall team, the carpet team, the paint team, etc. What is impressive is that each team has specific estimating software for their stage of the construction process. T

When the electrical contractor has the plans for the building, including all the square footage figures, and all the plans and electrical needs, he can simple input all that information into his electrical estimating software, including the pricing of specific electrical fixtures and the current costs of wiring, etc., and the software will calculate the final costs, including labor. Each subcontractor has a similar process and when all taken in sync, the contractor is able to provide a total estimate for the construction project.

All of this specification results in a very efficient construction industry. Of course, you can still hire a jack of all trades builder, they still exist. Just understand that it is impossible for one person to be an expert in every process, as well as being an expert in the use of all the software available. His estimates will be more variable. Either way, the numbers should make sense to you, and everything, including the time table, needs to be put into writing.