Explore the intricacies of general conditions in construction projects, often referred to as GCs, which encompass the costs associated with staffing, managing, and operating a project. Learn about the difference between general conditions and general requirements and how they impact the overall cost of a construction project.
Key Insights
- General conditions are the costs associated with staffing, managing, and operating a construction project. They can fluctuate based on the size and requirements of the project, potentially including costs of field offices, equipment rental, and project staffing.
- General conditions differ from general requirements. While general requirements are necessary for the delivery of a project, general conditions are subject to what the contractor deems important for timely completion. A client's additional costs, such as a separate trailer for meetings, may be considered a general requirement rather than a general condition.
- The presentation of general conditions can sometimes be influenced by a client's request to show them as a percentage of the total cost. This could artificially inflate the appearance of the GC cost. Therefore, it's important to distinguish and separate general conditions from general requirements.
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We talked about how the schedule can affect the general conditions, so now let's talk about the general conditions themselves. General conditions, often referred to as GCs, define the cost to staff, manage, and operate a construction project. General conditions are typically an accumulation of monthly costs associated with the construction of a project.
Obviously, they could be annual on a large project, or they could also be weekly costs depending on the project size. General conditions can be found in MasterFormat section 007200 if you want to look up more information on your general conditions. They are sometimes also referred to as general requirements, but understand that general requirements are typically absolutely required for a project to be delivered, whereas the general conditions are subject to what the general contractor feels is important to complete the job in a timely manner.
A client may sometimes require additional costs be added to the project such as a separate trailer with a meeting room in it just for the owner and the Architect to have their meetings. This could then be considered a general requirement, not necessarily part of general conditions. They're all costs to the project, but what would be the difference between the two? Keep in mind that sometimes a client requires the general contractor to provide their general conditions as a percentage of the cost. So, if the requirements roll up into the same cost, it could make your GCs appear larger than they actually are based on a percentage.
It doesn't always make a difference, but in some instances, you should ensure that you keep your general conditions separate from your general requirements. Field offices, small tools, equipment rental, daily cleanup, and project staffing are typical examples of GCs. General conditions would also include meeting costs associated with owners, architects, inspectors, and safety meetings with the subcontractors.
On a larger project, you may have office trailers, job site trailers, and equipment required for all trades to use. Or, if you're self-performing, you'd have your own equipment as well. Those would be part of your general conditions.
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Let's say it's on a smaller project where you're doing tenant improvements. You wouldn’t necessarily need a trailer, but you would need phones or perhaps a pickup truck to add to that cost. You may want to set up a temporary office in one of the offices within the building itself.
You still need a place to work out of. So regardless of the size of the project, there's going to be some sort of general conditions. Also keep in mind that if you're a superintendent on a project, you certainly want your cost to be included in those general conditions as well.
