@Kaigangio

Do you real trust lawyers to do anything for you? Those guys are of a different mindset. It is better to have an expert in an industry dealing with the legal aspect of their specialist than to involve a lawyer who will understand nothing,will need guidance for every single step, might come up with his own interpretations, is very lazy, has the wrong attitude and dresses in a suit which is odd for sites. If you want to ask yourself 'How did I get into all this?', hire a lawyer.

Just wondering if one engaged all these professionals in a construction project what would be left for putting up the actual building.

Assume a construction project of 5M (residential home)


QS - 6% ?
Architect - 7?
Civil Engineer - 3%??
Mechanical Engineer - ??
Electrical Engineer - ??

Total - 20% Plus

Surely, maybe for projects in the Office of the President or so.
I sure agree with Kaigangio that all you need is the Civil Engineer and a fundi. Ingine ni vitisho.

Not to say they have no work but I think that they are very necessary in big building projects.

My 2 cents.

@ fundamentali,

We have some lawyers who have studied and specialized in construction laws and do interprete them for what they are in relationship to construction or construction disputes…I would not be worried if I engaged one for their services.

@ fantony,

It is not me who said that the project managers are not needed in any construction projects. I have so far not posted anything on project managers…please read the posts again.

Please note that questioning the role of a QS in a construction project does not amount to primitivity, but rather “thinking outside the box”.

You see fantony, as a construction client or developer it would be in my interest if I could reduce on professional fees while maintaining quality designs and construction works. It is therefore pretty in order for me to consider which professional contributions I would do without and still attain my desired goal without compromising on quality…

@ Pablo,

I think this is the scale on average,

Architect – 6%
Civil/structural Engineer - 3%
QS – 1.5%
Electrical/Mechanical Engineer – 1.5%

This makes 12% on fees alone, but does not include disbursements (project meetings and inspections) which may constitute another 10-15%... not economical for small scale projects!!!

@ Quantity Surveyors

What effect direct or indirect would the project have if there were no services of a QS?

What value does the QS add to the overall construction project management and functionalities throughout the project life?

@ FundamentAli- Not all claims are frivolous, there are some which are genuine which are caused by actions of either the client or his agents, (read: Architects, Engineers, PMs and rarely the QS) And this construction law specialist if they are worth their salt should be on board from the time the project commenced otherwise it will be hard for them to have any basis of their claims..and by the way, the various claims of course should be within the ambit of the contract document being used.

There are genuine contractors out there, the Chinese, Laxmanbhai, HYoung, Cementers just to name a few..

@ Kaigagio, read the 1st post by swaweru,am sure you shall see their value... in as much as you want to save on costs, rarely will you make any savings from not engaging a QS, unless its an SQ or a simple bungalow..for a commercial property or your dream home, costs for sure will escalate, without the QS on board...and yes, even if he is on board, the costs may still escalate depending on the architect and the client.

IMHO, dont try cut costs with the architects and engineers, since lives may be lost due to poor design and supervision. If you want you can omit the QS, at your own risk of course.