While many churches may think their budget should be based on the initial estimate proposed by the architect, this is only a ball park figure. There are a number of steps throughout the construction process in which this number could drastically change and churches must be financially prepared to deal with this increase in cost.
An article by Scott Rolfs called Account for Increases in Building Cost addresses the major points in the construction process during which churches should expect a budget increase, which are described below:
The Preconstruction and Bidding Phase: At this point, the plans have been completed by the architect and an initial budget has been predicted. During this phase, however, costs for things such as site development, cost for construction in your particular marketplace, etc. may cause a large increase in the cost of construction.
Final Municipal Approval: Before the construction can begin, there are several government bodies that must sign off to approve the project. Any appropriate changes must be made to the construction plans in order to receive government approval during this phase. For instance, perhaps guidelines for building codes have not been accounted for in your initial plans, such as fire sprinkler system, etc. These things can quickly add up and cause the construction budget to increase.
Actual Construction: During the actual construction phase, there may be opportunities during which the church can make modifications to the original plan, or perhaps there will be surprise costs due to unexpected problems that were not taken into account in the original budget. If these situations arise, they can also play a large part in the expanding cost.
The bottom line is, a church must be financially prepared for any unforeseen costs that may arise during the construction process. There is not budget that is guaranteed to be set in stone, so the church must be able to account for this financially.
