-
- Falmouth was one of the busiest Ports in Jamaica.
- Above Ground Swimming Pool in Jamaica
- I am Back after 7 months
- Jamaica has changed Significantly!
- Who is to blame for the chaos?
- Keeping the Team Small!
- Going Green in Jamaica
- Stop the Deceit!
- What Jamaican Construction Customers want, Now!
- We need to be seen by the Rest of the World!
- Our Quick Contractor Business Tip – Changed Mind? Change Order
- 3D Presentations of your Construction
- AutoCAD in Jamaican Architectural Engineering
- Your Jamaican Kitchen
- Villa Design in Jamaica
-
Making Money on the
World Wide Web
Get more Traffic: The key to residual traffic with these programs is to build a referral network...
Nov
15
I am Back after 7 months
Filed Under Main Content | Leave a Comment
Seven months ago, almost to the day, I last updated my JA Projects Blog and felt at the time I had to make my views heard regarding the change’s in Jamaica. Now seven months down the line I am still frustrated about the changes here in Jamaica. I have since had several clients and emails from you guys requesting me to give a more detail idea regarding the costing of labour in Jamaica.
Costing in Jamaica is a very serious thing, or should I say ‘ting’, and only after spending time in Jamaica can you see the difference on the working of an estimate in the construction industry in Jamaica. For you the foreigner about to build your dream Villa it could be costly or a lot cheaper than you think.
The different ways to do costing. Lets look at an example and lets see if it makes sense to you the property owner from the USA for an instance.
LETS BUILD A WALL
You are building a wall 12 feet high by 36 feet long.
Foundation Stage
The digging of foundation, approximately 18ins x 18ins deep (cost per foot), 3 rows of Steel lying at base of foundation and the vertical Steel every other block (cost per foot) and all this is cemented into place with a solid mix of concrete which is also cost per foot.Cost at this stage: Around JA$32,400
First Stage
A total of 372 blocks are used and the cost to lay each block is JA$40.Cost at this stage: JA$14,880
Second Stage
Then you have the columns, needed to lock the blocks together, a total of 5 columns were used. These have to be Boxed and Cast at JA$560 per foot.So 60 feet of columns at JA$560 per foot equal Cost at this stage: JA$33,600
Third Stage
Now it’s time to add the finishing touch which comes in many forms but lets go for the costing of the quickest and cheapest way, one coat of sand and cement which is measured in yards.45 yards of Wall (one side only) at JA$300 per yard equal Cost at this stage: JA$13,500
The above work would normally take 3 men, one mixes the cement, one puts it onto the wall and the other creates the finish work.
The cost for Labour only: JA$94,380
Keep in mind the above cost is for labour only. The guy that creates the finish work gets a whopping 77% of the cost! Also if you add the cost of a contractor your cost will go up even further and that’s just the costing for a block wall with a finish on one side.
JA Projects method of building
JA Projects tends to go for the other way of costing to give the client a fairer pricing, employ your men and pay them based on there experience, persons we can trust and will do a honest day work.Below is the steel work for a swimming pool we built for one of our clients, the cost here would be huge if the estimate was based on the costing of steel work alone, we saved the client over 1 million Jamaican dollars by using our method of costing.
Check with your Contractor if he pay’s his men for contract work or if they are employed, this would be the way to go to save you, the property owner, a lot of money.For JA Projects Website GO HERE
Val Barclay
JA Projects – Keeping an eye on your Construction in Jamaica.- val@japrojects.com
Build without always being in Jamaica.
"What a great way to to keep an eye on our new home in Montego Bay. We live in Massachusetts and now we feel we can build without always being there".
It works for me!
"Thank you, what a great way to save time and money, it works for me! Having already constructed the outside of our Villa/Hotel we wanted to fill it with Jamaican furniture.
We posted the style and discuss the arrangement, all through JA Projects, the database did the rest, knowing our discussion and pictures were private. It's a great way to do business!
