Many of Hermanson’s clients – both owners and general contractors – continuously seek to understand the trends impacting Mechanical Construction Cost.

Hermanson’s Estimating team has long tracked key construction cost indicators as part of our continuous effort to provide accurate costing information. Now, every quarter, we are publishing a basic Mechanical Construction Cost Index to help our clients understand mechanical market conditions and to plan their projects.

Hermanson’s Mechanical Construction Cost Index is based on a comprehensive, representative Puget Sound region project. A complete estimate for this baseline project was completed is Q4 2017, and is updated with current pricing following the end of each quarter. Through 2018, an overall increase of 4.0% was realized. A number of factors influenced this increase:

• Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum impacted both Sheet Metal and Equipment pricing.

• Cast Iron saw a significant increase – 8.0% - due to difficulty finding raw materials for this product.

• The first major labor rate adjustments since “the Great Recession” for both HVAC & Plumbing went into effect in the latter half of 2017 & 2018.

Hermanson’s baseline project estimate contains Puget Sound pricing the following components: