ABSTRACT
The professional practitioner will normally be required to provide the client with an estimate of project implementation costs, that is to say, the expected cost of converting finished design proposals to a built landscape. Ensuring that estimates are broken down into a reasonable amount of detail will also enable the client to omit certain elements, or phase certain parts of the project, in the event the estimated implementation costs substantially exceed the available budget. An estimate should set out any conditions and qualifications that must be considered. An estimate should be abundantly clear whether the rates used are inclusive of what are expected to be the contractor’s overheads and profit. The first stage in preparing estimates of project implementation costs is the utilisation of one or more methods to measure approximate quantities and areas from the project drawing(s).
