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How did you find the information that you are publishing?
How easy is it to use your data as a benchmarking tool?
What is the lifetime M&R funding requirement for my building?
How is M&R costs estimated for an actual building?
How do M&R costs vary across metropolitan areas?
How will regional M&R costs change in 2007?
What will 2007 rates for construction trades be in my area?
What is the inflation rate for commercial M&R costs?
How are M&R tasks distributed between contract workers and staff?
What are the labor requirements for building M&R?
How sensitive are Whitestone estimates?
Where does Whitestone data come from?
 Our economists get our labor rates from Davis-Bacon, the U.S. Department of Labor, Statistics Canada, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Our analysts get our maintenance task data from U.S. Corps of Engineers, manufacturers, engineering firms (such as Jacobs Engineering), and data compiled from Whitestone consulting projects.
The MARS forecast system comes preloaded with 56 building models and cost data for 210 North American metropolitan areas. With almost no data entry, you can forecast costs for a variety of building types in all of these locations. The models provide benchmark values for future sustainment, labor hours and costs, deferred maintenance, as well as a number of other metrics. This enables you to easily compare your facilities with costs you would anticipate in an average commercial environment.
MARS also allows you the freedom to easily adjust the model parameters to more accurately reflect your true facility. You can change a variety of inputs into your maintenance program including, building age, in-house and contract labor rates, maintenance task frequencies, and overhead rates, to name a few. From benchmark forecasts with minimal data entry, to user-specific analysis from component-by-component model construction, MARS can forecast your maintenance and repair requirements at the level of detail you desire.
A model two-story office building in the Washington, D.C. metro area will cost an annual average of $2.51 per gsft. or 1.37 percent of replacement cost over a 50-year service life. Average costs for other building types varied from $8.82 to $.81 per gsft. Detailed cost profiles for 56 model buildings are shown in Chapter 2 of the Whitestone Building Maintenance and Repair Cost Reference.
The model buildings shown in Chapter 2 can be used as a point of departure for making more specific estimates. All of the information necessary is provided: adjust for a different location using the local cost index in Chapter 3.1; substitute different components with the data provided in Chapter 5; or put the entire forecast in a different base year using the appropriate index from Chapter 4.1 of the Whitestone Building Maintenance and Repair Cost Reference.
An index of local maintenance costs shows New York, NY has the highest average M&R cost in our 210-area sample, at $3.89 per gsft. for a typical office building; Beaufort, SC has the lowest rate at $1.56 for the same building. For a cost comparison among metro areas, see Chapter 3.1 of the Whitestone Building Maintenance and Repair Cost Reference.
Labor costs account for over 40 percent of M&R costs. Recent wage agreements indicate that the highest wage increases in 2007, averaging 4.8 percent, will be in New England. Construction wage changes are summarized by region in the Whitestone Building Maintenance and Repair Cost Reference.
The New York metro area has the highest contract labor rates of the 210 metro areas studied. A contract electrician in New York will cost an estimated $98.65 per hour, while a contract plumber will cost an estimated $93.49. A listing of contract labor costs by trade for each metro area are available in the Whitestone Building Maintenance and Repair Cost Reference.
In 2007, M&R costs for commercial and public buildings increased at an annual rate of 4.1 percent, military facilities costs will increase by 4.6 percent, and residential buildings costs will increase by 3.6 percent. By comparison, new construction costs will increase by 3.7 percent and consumer prices by 2.5 percent during the same period. To see current inflation rates visit our Facility Cost Indexes page.
For estimation purposes, we assume in-house staff members at shop rates perform preventive maintenance, minor repairs and unscheduled maintenance. We assume repair and replacement tasks are done by contract workers at predetermined rates.
Labor requirements, like costs, vary by building type, size, and location. A model two-story office building in the Washington, D.C. metro area requires an annual average of 5,121 hours over a 50-year service life. Labor requirements for other building types are available in the Whitestone Building Maintenance and Repair Cost Reference.
There is no straightforward answer, as estimates of M&R costs for entire buildings necessarily vary by location, components, and use. Also important are unscheduled maintenance multipliers, in-house markup rates and types of utilization. Different values for these factors can change M&R costs substantially.
Data sources, key assumptions, and the MARS forecast model.
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