SR97 Life cycle costs of selected claddings for non-residential buildings (2007)

Life cycle cost analysis is a technique that allows for consistent comparisons of net costs of buildings and components throughout their lives. It enables valid comparisons to be made between materials with different initial and on-going costs and with different life spans.

This report examines the life cycle costs of the most common roof and wall cladding materials (and their support structures) used in low-rise commercial and industrial buildings. The support structure costs are included since different claddings have different spanning capacities. Various maintenance options and environmental conditions are also described and analysed for each system.

Often the choice of material is based on other considerations than cost alone, and the report describes a method for combining quantitative data (such as costs) with intangible factors (such as aesthetics) in the material selection process. This is a method where materials are ranked for various attributes such as cost, appearance, impact resistance, etc. Each attribute is then given a weighting to arrive at a combined ranking, which reveals the preferred material.