The MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT of HOTELS Its Relationship to the Total Cost of the Building
BY F. S. MARLOW, Architect, S. W. Straus & Co.
D
O architects as a whole appreciate the relative importance and cost of the mechanical
work for plumbing, heating, ventilating, electric wiring, laundry equipment, etc., in investment buildings \ The majority undoubtedly do, but apparently only a few give it the office attention its initial cost justifies or its ultimate importance makes imperative.
Architects fully realize the importance and value of the steel framing and, as a rule, give it propei’ attention. Yet the plumbing installation, the elevator equipment or the ventilating system seldom receive their share of his attention and are usually accepted as recommended by the individual contractor. It is not expected that an architect should have the knowledge necessary to cope with the details of specialty problems but it is essential that he should know the relative costs, values, and importance of the principal equipment in order to complete his store of information indispensable to an efficient development of all investment projects.
The analyses of many different types of buildings develop startling figures as to the importance and cost of mechanical equipment when compared with those of other necessary parts. We find this equipment responsible for 20% to 35% of the total net cost of many modern fireproof investment buildings such as lofts, offices, apartments and hotels. Haturally, the individual item cost varies for each type and class but the fact to be realized is that the total percentage in any case is much greater than many seem to appreciate.
Consider these facts. The plumbing in the average modem fireproof hotel will cost approximately the same as the steel frame. The heating and ventilating equipment for this building will just about equal in cost the face brick curtain walls having a fair share of limestone ornamentation. The interior marble work will hardly exceed the cost of electric wiring, nor will the interior doors, trim, etc,, exceed the cost of an efficient elevator installation. The equipment for the kitchen and laundry will demand a greater expenditure than a normal amount of sheet metal work.
The following table presents the low and high percentages of net cost for mechanical equipment for several hotels. Naturally, none conform in detail to the low or high list. For example, a hotel only a few stories high with a bath for every room will be high in plumbing but low in elevator cost. Much of the equipment depends upon the class of hotel under consideration. However, the table
presents general averages that should impress us with the importance and cost of the mechanical equipment when compared with the other material required in their construction.
Plumbing 7.0 % to 11.0% Heating and ventilating 5.0% “ 9.0% Electric wiring and fixtures 3.0% “ 4.0% Elevators 3.0% “ 5.5% Hefrigerating Plant .5% “ 1.2% Laundry Equipment .2% “ .3% Kitchen Equipment .3% “ .5% Finishing Hardware 1.0% “ 1.5% Miscellaneous 0.0% “ 2.0%
20.0 “ 35.0%
While the above table is compiled from hotel data, analyses of relative cost of other types of investment buildings produce equally impressive results. It is a poorly equipped and an inferior class of office, loft or apartment buildings which shows mechanical equipment costing less than 18% of the net cost of all labor, material and equipment. Subnormal equipment very often nullifies the value of other superior qualities and generally reacts harmfully on both rental value and operating expense. The saving of 1% in building cost by the installation of an inferior elevator equipment or an inadequate service may prove not only expensive in annual operation but may easily lower the income. Immediately upon the completion of buildings of every type there is daily evidence that the equipment directly affects both the operating cost and the building’s reputation.
As a rule, so much time is spent on plans and architectural design without any preliminary consideration for the equipment installation that often investors are actually proceeding with their operation without adequate facts concerning their equipment requirements. When we consider that this equipment, unlike much of the other material used, is constantly affected by use and that its maintenance and operation absorb a large percentage of the annual operating cost, we should be doubly impressed with its value and its relation to the ultimate worth of the building.
While the architect’s efficiency in planning may produce the estimated gross income, his apathy in dealing with the mechanical equipment may not only increase the initial cost but also the expense of operation and thus to a greater extent than is usually appreciated, tend to decrease the otherwise satisfactory ratio of income to cost.
BY F. S. MARLOW, Architect, S. W. Straus & Co.
D
O architects as a whole appreciate the relative importance and cost of the mechanical
work for plumbing, heating, ventilating, electric wiring, laundry equipment, etc., in investment buildings \ The majority undoubtedly do, but apparently only a few give it the office attention its initial cost justifies or its ultimate importance makes imperative.
Architects fully realize the importance and value of the steel framing and, as a rule, give it propei’ attention. Yet the plumbing installation, the elevator equipment or the ventilating system seldom receive their share of his attention and are usually accepted as recommended by the individual contractor. It is not expected that an architect should have the knowledge necessary to cope with the details of specialty problems but it is essential that he should know the relative costs, values, and importance of the principal equipment in order to complete his store of information indispensable to an efficient development of all investment projects.
The analyses of many different types of buildings develop startling figures as to the importance and cost of mechanical equipment when compared with those of other necessary parts. We find this equipment responsible for 20% to 35% of the total net cost of many modern fireproof investment buildings such as lofts, offices, apartments and hotels. Haturally, the individual item cost varies for each type and class but the fact to be realized is that the total percentage in any case is much greater than many seem to appreciate.
Consider these facts. The plumbing in the average modem fireproof hotel will cost approximately the same as the steel frame. The heating and ventilating equipment for this building will just about equal in cost the face brick curtain walls having a fair share of limestone ornamentation. The interior marble work will hardly exceed the cost of electric wiring, nor will the interior doors, trim, etc,, exceed the cost of an efficient elevator installation. The equipment for the kitchen and laundry will demand a greater expenditure than a normal amount of sheet metal work.
The following table presents the low and high percentages of net cost for mechanical equipment for several hotels. Naturally, none conform in detail to the low or high list. For example, a hotel only a few stories high with a bath for every room will be high in plumbing but low in elevator cost. Much of the equipment depends upon the class of hotel under consideration. However, the table
presents general averages that should impress us with the importance and cost of the mechanical equipment when compared with the other material required in their construction.
Plumbing 7.0 % to 11.0% Heating and ventilating 5.0% “ 9.0% Electric wiring and fixtures 3.0% “ 4.0% Elevators 3.0% “ 5.5% Hefrigerating Plant .5% “ 1.2% Laundry Equipment .2% “ .3% Kitchen Equipment .3% “ .5% Finishing Hardware 1.0% “ 1.5% Miscellaneous 0.0% “ 2.0%
20.0 “ 35.0%
While the above table is compiled from hotel data, analyses of relative cost of other types of investment buildings produce equally impressive results. It is a poorly equipped and an inferior class of office, loft or apartment buildings which shows mechanical equipment costing less than 18% of the net cost of all labor, material and equipment. Subnormal equipment very often nullifies the value of other superior qualities and generally reacts harmfully on both rental value and operating expense. The saving of 1% in building cost by the installation of an inferior elevator equipment or an inadequate service may prove not only expensive in annual operation but may easily lower the income. Immediately upon the completion of buildings of every type there is daily evidence that the equipment directly affects both the operating cost and the building’s reputation.
As a rule, so much time is spent on plans and architectural design without any preliminary consideration for the equipment installation that often investors are actually proceeding with their operation without adequate facts concerning their equipment requirements. When we consider that this equipment, unlike much of the other material used, is constantly affected by use and that its maintenance and operation absorb a large percentage of the annual operating cost, we should be doubly impressed with its value and its relation to the ultimate worth of the building.
While the architect’s efficiency in planning may produce the estimated gross income, his apathy in dealing with the mechanical equipment may not only increase the initial cost but also the expense of operation and thus to a greater extent than is usually appreciated, tend to decrease the otherwise satisfactory ratio of income to cost.