s design fees, where saving money on fees at the beginning of a project can be outweighed by very much higher ongoing costs through construction and occupation.
Life cycle costing (LCC) provides a methodology for the evaluation of combined capital, operating and end-of-life costs of a range of construction project alternatives, to ensure long-term value is delivered.
Often referred to as 'brick-and-mortar costs', hard costs refer to the cost of physical construction. Soft costs refer to those costs that, unlike hard costs, are not instantly visible or tangible, and are not directly related to labour or building materials.
Hard costs might include:
- Labour, equipment and materials required to complete the built structure.
- Site costs, such as utilities, drainage and so on.
- Landscape costs.
Soft costs might include:
- Land costs.
- Off-site costs.
- Loans, accounting fees and interests.
- Insurances and taxes.
- Public relations and advertising costs.
 Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Approximate quantities cost plan.
- Bill of quantities.
- Business plan.
- Capital cost.
- Construction price and cost indices.
- Contract sum.
- Contract sum analysis.
- Cost certainty.
- Cost consultant.
- Cost control.
- Cost information.
- Cost plans.
- Front-loaded costs.
- Life cycle assessment.
- Life cycle costs.
- Elemental cost plan.
- Final account.
- Hard costs v soft costs.
- Initial cost appraisals.
- International Construction Measurement Standards (ICMS).
- Operational costs.
- Outturn cost.
- Pre-tender estimate.
- Price certainty.
- Prime cost sum.
- Provisional sum.
- Tender pricing document.
- Sunk cost.
- Utilising life cycle costing and life cycle assessment.
- Whole life costs.
Featured articles and news
Survey reveals green skills gap.
America's economic collapse produced scores of PWA Moderne projects.
The benefits of glowing aggregates and cement.
Urgent need for open communication to address mental health issues.
Guidance offered on COVID-19 green recovery, building safety and more.
Providing strength and support above the joists.
Enforcer will test and investigate product safety.
Underfloor air conditioning comes to 24 St James's Square.
Consultation on public right to buy unused public property.
IHBC resource offers improved consistency.
New laws to ‘retain and explain’ historic statues.
The principles and art of the possible. Book review.