Construction cost in Colombo, per square feet?

If the slab is already done, you may need Rs. 2500/- p.s.f

Hi Mal, slab ? you mean the pillar ? its there, its a open a terrace, there's some pillar in some places with tore steel sticking out ..
so 2500 rs, seems reasonable. does it include all labor and material. ?

Yeah it is including all the stuff. I got the info from our Engineer.

I don't think Rs.2500/= would work.

And also it is impossible to say the  structural compatibility without knowing the condition of the existing house. Perhaps new RCC structure  would require which will have columns from ground to first floor level in order to strengthen the existing building to withstand the impact of the extension. Now a days people think of having a small pool and a bath tub where dead load increases.

I would suggest as Rs. 5000/= is reasonable since the labour rates are almost 2.5 times more and any construction need to be expedited I mean, to be completed within a short period of time where specialized materials would involve.

Thanks,
Architect Omega

Hi.
My upstair slab around 2000 sqfts.  I would like to know how much it will cost for that  concrete slab?  If u give a reasonable price for that I like to continue with your company for my construction. I hope a good reply from you.  Thanks.
Roshan.

roshan aluthge wrote:

Hi.
My upstair slab around 2000 sqfts.  I would like to know how much it will cost for that  concrete slab?  If u give a reasonable price for that I like to continue with your company for my construction. I hope a good reply from you.  Thanks.
Roshan.

It will be Rs. 650/= per Sq,ft.
Thanks,
Architect Omega

I am going to build a 3 stories house in my 10 prc land in Kurunegala. What will be my cost in Rupees per square meter.
Thank you

This is basically depend on the quality of finishes, for semi luxury house approximately Rs. 54,000/= per sq.m would be reasonable.

1. You may need a good architectural plan, for the house. Good Architects visit the location stay overnight
and see the morning sunrise. Then they draw up the plan detail plan.
2. Soil test- no termites etc

3. Three quotations for construction is a  must, then appoint a structural engineer to visit the construction site and pay only only after certified by the engineer.

4. Cost of the construction is highly dependent the type of materials and the method of construction. It is important to get the certification of the work completed, before paying the contractor.

5 Construction industry is the most currupt industry around the world,

6 Spend lot of time on building plan and checking the Estimates from the contractors. Try to get quantities, material costs and labour costs per hour. Quantity surveyour will help to estimate the correct quantities.
Trust this information will be useful.

If fuel price is reduced, cost of basic materials also will be reduced since cost on transportation matters on material cost. Better to wait and see, hopefully until April 2015.
Thanks.

Generally Material cost is around 50% of the labour, Fuel prices have fallen agree but the
Material cost may go up or down depending on the stability of LKR,CB Governor has resigned.  Wach the movemnt of prices, check the price trend, inflation rates etc, 
Manel

In my long experience in Sri Lanka, constructing everything from small houses to small hotels, the TOTAL construction cost in Sri Lanka is PRESENTLY anywhere between Rs. 2000 to Rs. 4000 PER SQUARE FOOT for a fairly good quality construction, NOT using marble or expensive imported fixtures, but using local tiles and average priced bathroom fixtures, etc.

It is VERY important for you to have in your hand a very DETAILED B.O.Q. (Bill Of Quantities) which exactly specifies not only the quantities of materials used, but the EXACT TYPES of flooring, plumbing, etc. BEFORE you lay a single brick.

It would also be very advisable to involve a good LAWYER to draw up a contract, which specifies what type of reimbursement you will get if the construction is delayed for any reason by the contractors.

Finally, please DO NOT pay large advances, try to always pay for work, AS AND WHEN IT IS COMPLETED, in installments, because you would not believe the amount of cheaters there are in this particular field in Sri Lanka, who will smilingly take your money and use it for their personal enjoyment, and disappear when you try and find them!

The above prices are for using small to medium contractors, and for supervising the work basically yourself, or through your appointed supervisor(s).  If you wish to totally leave the construction in the hands of a very large and reputable company, then the cost can go as high as Rs. 6000 to Rs. 8000 per square foot, but you can relax and rest assured that you will get what you wanted, on time, at the end.

If you are going to go with the lower rates, please pay VERY CLOSE ATTENTION to the FINISHING STAGES, which is, the TILING, THE BATHROOM FIXTURES, THE PAINTING, etc. because bad workmanship at that stage can make your "dream" home look pretty bad!

Still, I find that Sri Lanka is probably one of the nicest places to construct, and surely, one of the nicest places in the world to live!

Good Luck!

Wish to find out if there Is there any Contractors Association in Sri Lanka.

Hi,

Thanks for sharing all your insights! Very appreciated!

We just got an offer from an engineer/contractor - they seem highly professional but I believe their fees seem very high:

We are going to build a house:
710 square feet per floor
3.4 floors (incl. roof top) -

their price per square feet would be 7000-7500 and their Project Management Fees would be 675.000 rupees per month (for 5-6 months).

Does that sound reasonable to you? They will be provided a plan.

This would mean that a house of around 2500 square feet would cost around 22.000.000 rupees?

Thank you very much for your help!

Hello Mali2013,

Just a quick advice, try to read through all the posts in a thread first before posting a message as you may already have your answer right there.

I believe that samsrilanka already provided the answer you are looking for in his post.

samsrilanka wrote:

In my long experience in Sri Lanka, constructing everything from small houses to small hotels, the TOTAL construction cost in Sri Lanka is PRESENTLY anywhere between Rs. 2000 to Rs. 4000 PER SQUARE FOOT for a fairly good quality construction, NOT using marble or expensive imported fixtures, but using local tiles and average priced bathroom fixtures, etc.

Thank you,

Shaazia
Expat.com Team

Hi Shaazia,

Thank you for your help!

Yes I saw Samsrilanka's post but it doesn't say what the project management fees normally are? I read it as being 6000-8000 if you want to "relax and rest assured that you will get what you wanted, on time, at the end." But the offer we got is with 675.000 on top, which seems very high?

Best,
Linisha

Linisha, I think you should be aware that your project of approx. 2500 square feet is comparitively small, compared to most construction projects presently ongoing in Sri Lanka, even including private homes.

There is really no need to get involved with Project Management Fees, etc., the costs that I have quoted INCLUDE supervision by Architects, Engineers, and Contractors.

My humble suggestion to you would be to find a very reputable Architect and get him to do all the necessary groundwork for you, and also arrange for "Project Management" which basically would mean supervision by qualified engineers, etc., and for such a small place, I find it hard to believe that you will need to pay more than Rs. 12 Million, approx. HALF of what you have been quoted.

If you look at some Property Sale sites in Sri Lanka, you can easily see that you can purchase PALACES of perhaps 5000 square feet plus, INCLUDING land, for what you have been quoted for only constructing a much smaller building, without land cost.

In fact, I sold my 10,000 square foot BEACH FRONT property, half-way between Colombo and the Airport recently, for only Rs. 28 Million, you can have a peek at SamSuites.com

Good Luck!

Hi Linisha,

I am just about to construct a 2,600 sqft house and contacted the architect Channa Horombuwa. Really nice guy and super idea's. His advice on cost was in the range "samsrilanka" mentioned and also same advice.

If you are interested to contact him architectssrilanka.com

Designs behance.net/channahorombuwa

You are going to spend too much for your build.

Regards,
Gehan

I just want to know cost for sqf.I want to nake 1616 s.q.f home in kurunegala.if u tell me ur lowest cost I can continue with you

The cost per square foot will depend on the quality of the house you are looking for. If you want a high quality finish with a contemporary design then you will need to contact a good architect who will design a modern house and then you tender for a good contractor to build the house. I am starting to build a 2600-2700 square foot house with the above specs and people and it is costing me around SLR 5,000 per square foot. This is with marble floors.

You can also build at almost 60% of the cost by giving it to a free Lance contractor but the risk is very high on if you will get a quality finish, you will ever complete close to your budget and as I have heard in most cases lot of them play you out and run away. Having said that does not mean you can't find good people but extremely rare and good luck.

Thanks samsrilanka for your valuable advise.

I plan to build a house around 3500 sq ft and intend to contract it to a reputed company. Having gone through their contract I dont see any retention fee allowed but only a warranty on the workmanship. Is it normal practice or if not what percentage and duration to reatin as per accepted norms.

Thank You

Hi. My advice is to go with cost + fix percentage contract term. select the material by ur self and pay to the contractor with agreed fix percentage of the cost for his profit. Then u can realize how much cost for ur building and how much profit getting by contractor.

Selecting material by your self has two type of benefits. Such as material quality can be maintaine and as per your budget amount you can select the material.

Make sure workmanship of contractor.

Hi,
I am planning to build a two stories reception hall with 6000sqf in each floor. Level one will be used as the reception hall and should not have any columns in the middle of the hall. The ground floor will be used as a restaurant and will have a couple of rooms as well. Carpet will be used in level 1 and tiles will be used on the ground floor.

Can you please advice me about the cost to build this type of building without any decorations such as lightings. And I need this project to be completed within one year.

Your help is highly appreciated.
Thank you.
Thisara.

Thisara, this should cost you approx. 36 Million or US$250,000

Good Luck!

Thanks a lot sam..   according to you it will cost me 6000 per sqf. Is it possible to get it down to 5000 as my whole budget is around 50 millions including land.

No, Thisara, you mentioned TWO FLOORS of 6000 square feet each, and if you divide Rs. 36 Million by 12,000 square feet, you will see that that cost I quoted is only Rs. 3000 per square feet, which is about the lowest that you can get today in Sri Lanka!

Cheers, Sam.

Hi,

Hi, I would like to know what would be the cost for the roof and the 1st floor for a 1500 sqft? (I got the ground floor completed with slab and with the stairs outside)

And also if you'll can advise me, if I will complete the 1st floor, can I keep the roof top open if so what kind of material should I use for waterproofing etc….

Thank you

Whats is the cost of sqft of a house with two stories in sri lanka? Each floor area will be around 1200 sqft or less than.

Minimum 72 lakhs , at the rate of 3000 rs per sq ft.

hi. thanks. what's the best application to the roof considering cost, finish and health ? i don't like asbestos sheet.

Can somebody let me know floor area for average  4 bed rooms double story  house (open plan ) ?

n_rajapakshe wrote:

Can somebody let me know floor area for average  4 bed rooms double story  house (open plan ) ?

That is open to interpretation as it depends on room sizes, number of bathrooms etc.

Perhaps a Google search will help you.

To ... Mali2013

for complete project do not pay more than 3500 per sq, feet.
That is bit higher end of semi luxury price.
2500 sqft is a small project and can be completed and delivered to you within 5 - 6 months.

Such a big thread it has become ! ,  useful info.