OVERVIEW

Objective first and life-cycle costs are crucial to providing a sound basis upon which UFAD systems can be compared to alternatives. As the number of installed UFAD projects has grown in recent years, more examples are available to reveal the cost-effectiveness of these systems. Although costs vary from project to project, lately it has been demonstrated that first costs for these system can be very comparable to conventional overhead design [e.g., Loftness et al. 1999, 2002]. A cost comparison tool containing backup data and information on a wide range of UFAD cost components has recently been developed [Tate 2002b]. Engineers, architects, and contractors are becoming more familiar with UFAD technology as more information becomes available. It is now well recognized by owners and developers that raised floor systems with UFAD significantly reduce costs associated with frequent office reconfigurations. More manufacturers are entering the UFAD market with new products to respond to the increased demand. As the above trends continue, costs can be expected to further decrease.

Table 10.1 summarizes many of the cost components that should be considered when evaluating the economic impact associated with the use of a raised floor with (or without) a UFAD system. In the table, these components are segregated according to their expected (positive or negative) contribution to the overall construction costs of the building. For further discussion in this section, the components are divided into the following three groups: (1) standard first cost components, (2) design-dependent first cost components, and (3) life-cycle cost...