T&T opens in Warsaw as Polish market recovers                                                                                                                                           By David Matthews

Consultant Turner & Townsend has opened an office in Warsaw as it looks towards eastern Europe’s buoyant construction markets.

Jon White, managing director for Europe, said that the office would initially have 10 staff, most of whom would be Polish.

“It’s part of our global expansion and a...

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Construction and Prices
By Eduart Gjokutaj

It would be a great social benefit if the Albanian builders will get out of their hands a satisfactory amount of houses. If their price from year to year will become more appealing to customers, probably a part of new constructions history would be different. But so far none of these did not happen in the real world Albanian builders.

And what we have in this country?
- A "saga" construction with scary quality
- Number of ...

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Senior Quantity Surveyor
By Angela G. M.

A senior quantity surveyor is a professional who ideals with construction projects and costs. The senior quantity surveyor estimates the cost for product manufacturing, construction projects or services. Some senior quantity surveyors specialize in specific products or services.

Different Levels and Positions

There are several different levels of quantity surveyors. At the bottom of the ladder is the entry level. Above that i...

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Frequently Asked Questions About Building Construction
By Peter K Zeller

How much money should I pay my contractor in advance?

• It depends on whether you are talking labor or materials. If you are dealing with a weak contractor, you may be asked to pay for the materials in advance...This is risky, however, you may want to take this risk to get a lower overall price. Make the check payable to both the contractor and the supplier. And...

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Paying More to Get Less in Construction - It's a Cultural Thing
By Craig Getchell

The culture in the real estate industry is creating obstacles that are driving up initial construction costs and negatively impacting sustainable operations. Architects & engineers are hyper-focused on the construction effort, and technology is less than 5% of that effort. These professionals have bigger concerns; even a 15-20% swing in such a s...

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Quantity Surveyor Employment and Job Opportunities
By Angela G. M.

A Quantity Surveyor has a very important job in the construction industry. Their job is to control costs. These include costs for the building, as well as the cost in hiring people. In order to be a Quantity Surveyor, one needs to be smart, know how to do math rather well, and of course have proper schooling and training.

When there is a job that a company is going to begin...

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Basics of Taking Offs

As we know Taking Off, sometimes spelled as "taking-off" or "takeoff", is a main part for creating a BOQ in cost estimation process in construction industry. Quantity Surveyors/Estimators are use construction drawings and start taking off quantities of items they will need from those drawings in order to prepare a estimation. They can use drawings, either manually or electronically.

Take off happens in different ways,

• Some do manual takeoffs from field sketches
• Some d...

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