Book review: the building services bible

Whole-life economics of building services deals in depth with the strategic design and specification of every conventional building service.

Whole-life economics of building services deals in depth with the strategic design and specification of every conventional building service.

It looks in detail at the costs of installation, maintenance, life-cycle replacement and energy, and explains how, and why, such costs vary from one system option to another and in the different sizes and shapes of the buildings they support.

The 500-page manual, which is spiral-bound so it can open flat on the desk, includes sharp three-dimensional drawings showing the layout and general arrangement of each system and gives specification options for each component.

Although it deals with cost in great depth for the cost experts who will also be using the manual, all the key data is clearly abstracted into summaries and economic commentaries which highlight the components that drive the capital and running costs so engineers can also easily isolate the data relevant to their specific problem.

Written by Bernard Williams, Malcolm Lay and Ronald Hurst, who are recognised for their experience and technical knowledge in the field, the book provides detailed information on capital costs, life cycle replacement costs, maintenance costs and energy costs for four typical building designs.

Designers and premises managers need to be able to forecast costs associated with the operation, maintenance, and eventual replacement of building service elements.

This book provides useful guidance on whole life costs of building services.

Cost information is given for the four basic building designs and presented in a simple tabular format, which provides an easy but effective cost comparison.

The detailed information is broken down into individual building service elements and, for those unfamiliar with building services, a series of useful services schematic diagrams have also been included.

For ease of cost comparison there is also a series of aggregated whole-life costs for each of the service elements in all four building designs.

The guidance included on indicative life expectancy for building service elements will also appeal to those engaged in maintenance management as it provides a useful aide-memoire for forward maintenance cost planning.

A research report just published sheds fascinating new light on the effects of shape and size of buildings on the building services they contain.

The typical cost of building services of similar performance over a 30-year life ranges from £1,200 to £2,000 per sq.m GFA (gross floor area) depending on size and shape of the building.

In this report the figures, including initial, replacement, maintenance and energy costs are calculated in detail for similar specifications in each of four administration buildings.

As well as being a thoroughly documented research report the publication also serves as a detailed approximate estimating manual, an illustrated guide to the way building services work, with specification options, and a text-book on the application of the principles of building economics in a building services context.

Ronald Hurst, co-author and technical director at TPS, the design and project management division of Carillion Business Services, said: "This giant but user-friendly tome is a real nugget which will give engineers the tool they have long needed to enable them to give their clients accurate and meaningful advice about what the services options are and what each will cost to install and operate over time." The publication is available at £335 (plus VAT and postage and packing) direct from the publishers or from technical bookshops and includes a free inter-active version on CD-ROM; the latter is also available separately for £120 (plus VAT and PandP).

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