With the state of the current economy, the cost of everything is going through the roof, including the price of construction materials. When planning a construction project with a limited budget, you will want to do everything you can to try and reduce costs while not compromising on quality. You can reduce your project’s costs by project managing it yourself and liaising with the trades to organise them and source materials. Below are some tips to help you do this, which can save money on the overall costs of your project whilst ensuring you do an excellent job of completing your project to the highest standards.
Create A Materials Calendar
One of the first tasks is to create a materials calendar, which lists all the materials your project needs and when you will require them. When you use a general contractor for the work, they can assist you with creating a materials calendar, and there are also many tips online you can use. Once you have completed your materials calendar, you can start assembling a shopping list of required materials to begin shopping.
Creating Your Shopping List
The easiest way to create your shopping list is to assemble a spreadsheet with a separate page for each required material. You will need to get used to working with spreadsheets when managing projects, which can help you be more efficient. Each material will have a page, such as high-quality PIR insulation board, concrete, and bricks, and you will also want to include other information on each page. You want to compare suppliers, so you want to have information such as:
- Quantity Required
- Supplier Details – Name, Website, Address, Telephone Number, Email
- Unit Price
- Delivery Cost
- Free Delivery Availability
- Lead Time
Once you have done this for each spreadsheet page, you can start shopping and looking for the best prices possible.
Start Shopping Online
You can now start going through each shopping list page and looking for suitable suppliers online. You will find that many companies can offer multiple products, which can help you save money when purchasing from fewer suppliers and paying fewer delivery charges. You will want to find various suppliers for each material you require, and you can then work out which is the cheapest. However, looking for the lowest price can cost more if using too many suppliers, so try and use as few as possible.
Comparing The Prices
You can now start looking at the required materials and when they are needed and comparing the different suppliers to determine which is the cheapest. Compare the delivery costs and lead times and see if you can bunch as much into one order as possible, ensuring you have room to store everything, so the worksite is not too cluttered. You can start ordering the items you need, and you will likely find that you are making multiple orders per week. Keep revising the prices on the materials you require as they will change, so always do some last-minute checks before ordering. With persistence and determination, you can help drive down the costs of your construction project and ensure you do it on time and on budget.
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