Los Alamos National Laboratory Building Cost Index

The Los Alamos National Laboratory Building Cost Index indicates that actual escalation since 1970 is near 10% per year. Therefore, the Laboratory will continue using a 10% per year escalation rate for construction estimates through 1985 and a slightly lower rate of 8% per year from 1986 through 1990. The computerized program compares the different elements involved in the cost of a typical construction project, which for our purposes, is a complex of office buildings and experimental laboratores. The input data used in the program consist primarily of labor costs and material and equipment costs. The labor costs are the contractural rates of the crafts workers in the Los Alamos area. For the analysis, 12 field-labor draft categories are used; each is weighted corresponding to the labor craft distribution associated with the typical construction project. The materials costs are current Los Alamos prices. Additional information sources include material and equipment quotes obtained through conversations with vendors and from trade publications. The material and equipment items separate into 17 categories for the analysis and are weighted corresponding to the material and equipment distribution associated with the typical construction project. The building cost index is compared to other national building cost indexes.