When you are looking at building a precast concrete perimeter fence, you might be left staring at the quote, wondering what you are paying for and what made your cost skyrocket past your budget. Or you might be wondering what will increase the cost of your perimeter wall before you start designing it.
Here are the five most common cost factors that the manufacturer will consider while putting together your quote.
Wall Height
The higher the wall, the higher the cost. This is mainly due to the cost of materials. Of course, with precast concrete perimeter walls, the unit cost (cost per unit of measurement) will be higher for a smaller wall than a taller wall. There are some costs, like the preparation costs, that will remain the same, regardless of the height of the wall.
We will say this a few times, but any customization will increase the cost. Stick with standard heights unless you have a particularly good reason for wanting something custom. Finding the right height could be a bit of a balancing act between your budget and the perimeter wall you need.
Length
This is one of the most straight forward cost factors. The longer the fence, the higher the cost. If the length of your fence requires custom molds, that will drive the cost up slightly. Just like with wall height, the cost per foot will be lower for longer fences.
Layout
Anything custom or unusual will cost more than basic structures. This typically is just because of the inability to reuse old forms to create the wall pieces. Also, if your wall runs close to a tree or a building, the cost will increase to account for the difficulties with installation.
Location
The location factor is multi-faceted. The location of your project could increase the time and gas cost to drive to your project location. If the project location is far away or hard to reach, this increase won’t be insignificant.
If your project location puts you in a municipality with strict permit requirements, this could also impact the final cost. Permitting costs should always be included in the final number you get. If the precast concrete company is helping you obtain those permits, a problematic permitting process will likely increase their pay.
Lastly, your location will dictate things about your location, which could increase the cost of installation. We will go into this more in the final section, but your location will impact things like soil type and terrain.
Ease of Installation
The harder your fence is to install, the higher the cost will be – the increased time to install, and the increased effort will both increase the cost. This comes down to a couple of factors—the first being how easy it is for the crew and their equipment to reach the location. If the terrain is steep hills, it’s much harder to install a wall versus with flat terrain.
The soil type will dictate not only the design of the wall and the support but how easy it is to dig holes for the supports. Heavy soil like clay can turn hard as a brick if it’s hot and dry, while a sandy or loamy soil is pretty easy to excavate.
Before your fence is ever installed you will need to know how much everything will cost to make sure your fence fits within your budget. Contact American Precast Concrete, Inc. today for a free cost estimate of your future project.