Go to your school's library and look for the R.S. Means books. There are different books for different types of construction.

spoon in uk. they do have unit cost / sm. also might just pick a recent aj with similar building type unit cost. great source. real number-current

When you use the R.S. Means book, dont forget to add 30% to everything you calculate.

i don't

Do your actual construction costs match your design estimates? If so, congrats.

Sometimes they are high, sometimes low. I am not known for estimating...
But tough game we all play, you know, isn't it?
I think that things are so dependant on anything but averageable numbers. The Big Oops can happen here and there.

on the back of an envelope write down the sq footage. multiply it by $175. you will be very close.

or by $250, $350, $450...

Google 'Building Journal'. They have a free cost estimating software, that you can use on line to get estimates, for a particular building type, based on sq ft, and for the State and nearest city, the project is in. Its not a bad tool, for getting a general idea of costs.

Anything you enter will prob. be wrong. You need allot of experiance to determine the real cost, not some majic formula

Agreed. Professionals make a lot of money estimating building costs, and in the last two years even they have been commonly 30% under. Costs have spiked so much recently that most printed material you find will be very out of date.

Also depends on where you are. Here in California we estimate about $225/sf for common medical office buildings, and anywhere from $275 to $450 for schools and college buildings, but then everything costs more in California.

What is the building type?