Technical Cost drivers of structural steelwork

Understanding the cost

of structural steelwork.
Part 1: Initial estimates
CHRIS DOLLING SYNOPSIS
BEng, CEng, MICE Cost is a key consideration in many design decisions, so an understanding
Manager, Marketing and Technical of approximate costs and cost drivers is a professional skill that structural
Development, Steel for Life, Doncaster, engineers are advised to develop through their careers. This article is the
UK
first of two; it provides an introduction to initial cost estimates for structural
steelwork and the key cost drivers in the early design stages of a project. The
DAVID MOORE
BTech, PhD, CEng, MIStructE
second article will present some best practice design guidance for optimising
the cost of steel construction to provide best value during design development.
Chief Executive O cer, British
Constructional Steelwork Association,
London, UK

Introduction
For most projects, the decision on the
choice and form of the frame material
happens early in the design process,
often based on early design principles,
limited information and budget costings.
Once selected, the frame material is
unlikely to change, as this can have
significant programme implications
from the consequential impact on the
design of other major elements, such
as cladding and service installations.
Hence, it is vital to support informed
decision-making with realistic cost
information at this early stage, before
refining during the detailed design
stages.

Initial cost estimates

At the early design stages of any
project, cost models, benchmarks and
historic cost data are key tools to be
used in the estimating of all building
elements. At this stage, the cost of
the structural frame will usually be
expressed as a rate per m2 based on
the gross internal floor area (GIFA).
Typical UK cost ranges for different
frame types are given in this article,
but it is important to interrogate and
understand what those rates buy
and how the standard ranges can be
adapted to suit project-specific factors.
Key cost drivers
Function, sector and building height
Different building functions across
different sectors have varying typical
frame costs due to their different usages
of the created floor space. The usage
of the building will influence the design
ìFIGURE 1: loadings and the building function will
Simple low-rise
steel frame also result in different requirements for
clear spans and floor-to-floor heights.
This means that the average weight
of the steel frame will vary between
building types. For example, a low-
eaves industrial ‘shed’ building could
have a frame weight of 40kg/m2 GIFA,
while a city-centre office with a long-
spanning grid to provide future flexibility
and adaptability could have a weight of
90kg/m2 GIFA.
A requirement for fewer columns
will lead to longer-spanning beams
and heavier steel sections, which can
increase the overall weight of the frame
and therefore the cost range for the
building. Clearly, these factors need to
be considered when determining the
rate for the structural frame for early
estimates.
It is also important to remember
that the rate per m2 is based on GIFA,
which will not account for variances in
floor-to-floor heights. If for a specific
project these are outside the normal
range, a higher or lower rate should be
considered to tailor indicative rates to
the project.
Form, site conditions and complexity
The complexity of the structure is closely
related to building form and function, as
well as specific site conditions (Figures
1 and 2). The building form will have an
impact on the regularity of the structural

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 Cost drivers of structural steelwork Technical

estate site (Figure 4). typically accounts for around 10–15%

ìFIGURE 2:
More complex high-
grid, and the need to introduce non-
rise frame standard sections or a wide range of
different sections and connections in
order to achieve structural stability.
Complex structural solutions, such
as transfer structures, and fabricated
beams may also need to be introduced
to overcome project-specific features.
All of these will increase the weight of
steel per m2 GIFA.
The inclusion of non-standard
sections will also increase the overall
frame rate as fabrication costs are
higher. Complex connection details will
impact on installation costs, tolerances
and interfaces.
Location, logistics and access
The location of a project is a key factor
in price determination and indices are
available to enable the adjustment of
cost data across different regions. The
variances in these indices, such as
the Building Cost Information Service
(BCIS) indices1 in the UK, highlight the
existence of different market conditions
in different regions.
Not only is the geographic location
of the site an important consideration,
site-specific features also need to be
reviewed. While the designed frame
solutions of two buildings may be
very similar, the logistics and access
arrangements will vary significantly
between a congested city-centre site
îFIGURE 3:
Congested (Figure 3) and an easily accessible,
inner-city site isolated business park or industrial
Working in a city centre can mean
restrictions to working hours, noise,
deliveries and craneage, all of which
influence installation costs and
can result in an extended on-site
programme. As the frame construction
is generally a critical path activity, any
increase to the construction programme
will have an associated impact on
project cost.
Components of structural
frame cost
In addition to understanding the cost
drivers discussed above, it is also
important to appreciate the different
elements that make up the overall
cost of the structural frame, their
typical relative proportions and the
interrelationship between them.
It is often assumed that a frame
with the minimum tonnage will also
have the lowest cost. However, as
Figure 5 shows, the raw material cost
typically accounts for only 30–40% of
the total frame cost, with fabrication
costs also accounting for 30–40%.
So, it is very important to recognise
that the steelwork contractor’s overall
cost is driven just as much by the
time taken to fabricate the frame as
it is by the tonnage of material used.
An approximate rule of thumb is that
20 hours of fabrication time is roughly
equivalent in cost to around one tonne
of raw material.
The construction of the steel frame
TABLE 1: Indicative cost ranges (Q2, 2020) based on GIFA
Type
Low-rise, short spans, repetitive grid/
sections, easy access
High-rise, long spans, easy access,
Frame
repetitive grid
High-rise, long spans, complex access,
irregular grid, complex elements
Composite fl oors, metal decking and
lightweight concrete topping
Floor
Hollowcore precast concrete composite
fl oor with concrete topping
of the total frame cost. It is therefore
necessary to consider whether there are
features of the proposed building that
will significantly affect the erection cost,
as this will see a corresponding impact
on the total cost of the frame.
The extent of repetition, piece count,
the type of connections to be used and
access can all have a significant impact
on the cost of constructing the frame.
For example, a long-span layout may
have a higher overall frame weight, but it
will be erected faster than a short-span
frame due to the reduced number of
beams and columns. Similarly, repetitive
structures not only bring cost savings
during fabrication, but a repetitive grid
with standard components will also
reduce erection time.
In summary, while steel material has
to be used economically, a similar level
of design development should also be
applied to ensure the resulting structural
elements can be easily fabricated, and
efficiently protected from fire and erected
on site.
Indicative cost ranges
Table 1 seeks to give some current
indicative UK cost ranges for structural
steel frames for three key building types:
Ò| low-rise and short-span buildings,
typically 2–4 storeys
Ò| high-rise and longer-span buildings,
typically 10–15 storeys plus
basement
Ò| industrial buildings, split into low
Steelwork GIFA rate (£/m2)
(kg/m2) @ Q2, 2020
BCIS index 100
55 102–124
90 171–193
110 193–228
N/A 62–95
N/A 102–144

Factory-applied intumescent (60 minutes’

N/A 15–20
resistance)
Fire
protection
Factory-applied intumescent (90 minutes’
N/A 17–29
resistance)

Large-span single-storey building with

30–40 75–98
low eaves (6–8 m)
Portal
frames
Large-span single-storey building with
40–50 86–119
high eaves (10–13 m)

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 Technical Cost drivers of structural steelwork
eaves of 6–8m and high eaves of
10–13m.
Cost ranges for two types of single-
storey industrial building are also
provided.
Costs are expressed as a cost/
m2 on GIFA and include allowances
for a concrete core. Indicative cost
information is also presented on floor
types and fire protection. The rates have
been developed from cost models of the
different building types and for each the
average weight of the structural frame
has been given.
To use Table 1:
Ò| identify which frame type most
closely relates to the project under
consideration
Ò| select and add the floor type under
consideration
Ò| add fire protection if required.
For example, for a low-rise, short-
span building with a composite
metal deck floor and 60 minutes’ fire
resistance, the overall frame rate (based
on the average of each range) would be:
£113.00 + £78.50 + £17.50 = £209.00
per m2 GIFA
The rates should then be adjusted
using location indices; Table 2 contains
a selection of indices as published and
updated by the BCIS.
For the example considered above, if
the project were in Central London then
the overall frame rate would be:
£209.00 × (128/100) = £267.50 per m2
GIFA
Low-rise and short-span buildings
Low-rise buildings with a regular, short-
span structural grid are typical features
of business park offices and teaching
facilities. A key feature of these buildings
is flexibility, particularly for speculative
business park developments that
need to appeal to as many potential
Technical steel_TSE September 2020_The Structural Engineer 36
ëFIGURE 4:
Open-access site with
minimal constraints
TABLE 2: BCIS location ceiling heights and increase flexibility for ëFIGURE 5:
the building fitout, cellular beams may be Breakdown of costs
factors (at Q2, 2020) of steel frame for
adopted with openings through the web typical multistorey
Location BCIS index for the distribution of services (Figure 6). commercial building
City-centre buildings are generally
Central London 128
constructed on existing confined or
Manchester 99 irregular sites, which influence the building
Birmingham 96 form, are likely to prevent the use of a
Liverpool 94
regular column grid and may result in
alterations to floor plates on the upper
Leeds 93
storeys.
Glasgow 93 In mixed-use schemes, transfer
Newcastle 92 structures may reduce the wider grids of
Cardiff 95
office or retail areas at lower levels to a
more rationalised residential grid on upper
Dublin* 97
floors (Figure 7).
Nottingham 104 All these factors contribute to a higher
* AECOM index average weight of the steel frame (typically
75-90kg/m2 including fittings) and, along
with the increased complexity, result in
occupiers as possible. significantly higher structural frame cost
These buildings often need to be ranges than for the simpler, more regular
easily subdivided into smaller units and low-rise buildings.
have large floorplates. They are typically The rate range given in Table 1 is
two to four storeys with a uniform grid generally applicable for buildings up to
of 6–9m that provides largely column- about 15 storeys; tall buildings above 15
free space and relatively high floor-to- storeys start to have fewer comparables
floor heights of 3.75–4m. in terms of benchmarks and are likely
The lack of complex steel structures to have a much higher proportion of
needed to construct the regular grid complex elements, non-standard sections
contributes to keeping the average steel and complicated logistics, especially
frame weight down (typically 50–60kg/ when constructed on tight city-centre
m2 including fittings), but this category sites. The rate range for tall buildings can
íFIGURE 6:
can cover a lot of building types and be 15–20% higher than the top of the Cellular beams to allow
functions. This central assumption standard range. service integration
therefore needs to be reviewed with the
design team. Due to the low-rise nature
of these buildings, the fire protection
requirements are not as onerous
as for high-rise developments and
30–60-minute fire protection would be
considered standard.
High-rise and longer-span buildings
High-rise construction (10–15 storeys) is a
typical feature of city-centre construction.
These buildings will often require longer
structural grid spans to achieve more
open space in the lettable floor areas,
increasing the weight (and unit weight)
of the steel frame. To maximise floor-to-
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Industrial buildings
Industrial buildings can cover a range of
uses, including warehouses, non-food
retail, science parks and distribution
centres. The most common building
form is a single-storey warehouse with
varying proportions of office space on a
first-floor mezzanine level. The traditional
structural frame for an industrial building
is a steel portal frame, as flexibility of the
internal space is a priority, necessitating
regular column spacings and long spans
for a clear internal area.
There can be variants on the standard
frame design, however. For example,
a steel portal frame incorporating
‘northlights’ would need consideration
when adjusting the standard cost
ranges. The use of a northlight frame
can increase the frame cost by as much
as 30%. The grid of the main frame
should also ideally be selected to suit
an economic layout for the secondary
steelwork, i.e. the purlins and side rails.
Fire protection requirements may
also be considered as part of industrial
building frame costs. The most common
situation in which fire protection is
required in single-storey buildings is
where it is necessary to satisfy boundary
conditions. Generally, single-storey
buildings do not require fire protection,
but if they do, then member design and
fire protection should be considered
together to optimise the overall cost.
Another key factor in determining the
Technical steel_TSE September 2020_The Structural Engineer 37
Cost drivers of structural steelwork
éFIGURE 7: Transfer structure
éFIGURE 8: Portal frame ‘shed’ with high eaves
íFIGURE 9:
Portal frame ‘shed’
with low eaves
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Technical
frame cost of industrial buildings is the
storey height of the warehouse space.
While the GIFA may be the same, the
weight of the steel frame of a high-
eaves, single-storey industrial building
(Figure 8) will be greater than for a
low-eaves building (Figure 9), resulting
in a higher overall frame cost per m2
GIFA. However, beware of minimising
eaves height to the point where fitting
in services and edge beam details
becomes problematic.
Typical structural steel frame
weights for low-eaves buildings (6–8m
high) are about 30–40kg/m2 GIFA
overall including fittings; for high-
eaves buildings (10–13m high), these
are about 40–50kg/m2 GIFA due to
increased bracing and column sizes to
resist sway and buckling.
However, ranges for high-eaves
buildings are generally wider than for
low-eaves buildings as they can have
a much higher proportion of upper
floor areas, across as many as three
mezzanine levels; the frame rates for
these buildings therefore need to be
looked at carefully on an individual
basis.
To be continued…
The second part of this article will
present best practice design guidance
for optimising the cost of steel
construction to provide best value
during design development.
Acknowledgments
The information presented here is based
on a series of articles commissioned by
BCSA, written by Gardiner & Theobald
LLP and more recently by AECOM,
and originally published in Building
magazine.
REFERENCE
1) RICS (2020) BCIS Construction
[Online] Available at: www.rics.
org/uk/products/data-products/
bcis-construction/ (Accessed:
July 2020)
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