FOR HOMEOWNERS
Know what your home project should cost, and get builders' quotes you can compare
Fixed fees, including VAT, from residential quantity surveyors. A design cost check tells you what your drawn design should cost before you go to planning or builders. A builder pricing pack gives every builder the same list to price, so their quotes compare like for like.
Builder's quote, design cost check or builder pricing pack?
A builder's free quote is their price for winning the job, worked out their way. A design cost check is independent: it tells you what your design should cost, so you have something to judge quotes against. Read our article on builders' estimates and cost plans
What it is
When you need it
What it tells you
What it can't do
Who it's for
Builder's quote
A builder's price for the job, as they understand it
When you're ready to choose who builds it
What that builder would charge, worked out their way
Show whether the price is fair, or what one builder left out that another included
Homeowners ready to appoint a builder
Design cost check (Elemental Cost Plan)
An independent estimate of what your drawn design should cost, element by element
When you have planning or early drawings, before you commit to the design
What the design should cost, where the money goes, and the allowances and exclusions
Give you a builder's price: builders still have to quote
Homeowners and their architect or designer, deciding what to build
Builder pricing pack (Schedule of Works)
One detailed, measured list of the work that every builder prices
When the drawings and specification are nearly complete and you're ready to ask builders to price
Each builder's price for the same items, line by line, and what each one has left out
Set your budget early: it needs detailed drawings
Homeowners asking builders to price, or re-pricing when quotes can't be compared
Builder's quote
What it is
A builder's price for the job, as they understand it
When you need it
When you're ready to choose who builds it
What it tells you
What that builder would charge, worked out their way
What it can't do
Show whether the price is fair, or what one builder left out that another included
Who it's for
Homeowners ready to appoint a builder
Design cost check (Elemental Cost Plan)
What it is
An independent estimate of what your drawn design should cost, element by element
When you need it
When you have planning or early drawings, before you commit to the design
What it tells you
What the design should cost, where the money goes, and the allowances and exclusions
What it can't do
Give you a builder's price: builders still have to quote
Who it's for
Homeowners and their architect or designer, deciding what to build
Builder pricing pack (Schedule of Works)
What it is
One detailed, measured list of the work that every builder prices
When you need it
When the drawings and specification are nearly complete and you're ready to ask builders to price
What it tells you
Each builder's price for the same items, line by line, and what each one has left out
What it can't do
Set your budget early: it needs detailed drawings
Who it's for
Homeowners asking builders to price, or re-pricing when quotes can't be compared
Already on site
A position review, priced for your project. Book a free 15-minute call to talk it through.
Getting builders' quotes
Budget Reality Check on the quotes (warning signs, not a full assessment), or a builder pricing pack so builders re-price the same list if the quotes can't be compared.
Detailed drawings
Design cost check if the design isn't too far along; builder pricing pack if the drawings for builders are nearly complete
Planning drawings
Design cost check
Early options or sketches
Budget Reality Check, or a design cost check if you have a drawing and some sketches
Just an idea
Budget Reality Check
Which service suits your stage?
Fees, including VAT
Your fee band is set by the construction cost of the building work, before VAT and contingency. Not sure of the cost? Try the free calculator, or send us your drawings and we'll confirm the band.
Design cost check (Elemental Cost Plan)
Construction cost before VAT
Up to £250,000: £595
£250,000 to £500,000: £795
£500,000 to £750,000: £995
£750,000 to £1,000,000: £1,195
£1,000,000 to £1,500,000: £1,495
Over £1,500,000: On request
Builder pricing pack (Schedule of Works)
Construction cost before VAT
Up to £250,000: £1,495
£250,000 to £500,000: £1,895
£500,000 to £750,000: £2,495
£750,000 to £1,000,000: £2,995
£1,000,000 to £1,500,000: On request
Over £1,500,000: On request
With our benchmark prices (add-on to the pricing pack)
Construction cost before VAT
Up to £250,000: £745
£250,000 to £500,000: £945
£500,000 to £750,000: £1,245
£750,000 to £1,000,000: £1,495
£1,000,000 to £1,500,000: On request
Over £1,500,000: On request
Design cost check and builder pricing pack together
Construction cost before VAT
Up to £250,000: £1,895
£250,000 to £500,000: £2,395
£500,000 to £750,000: £3,095
£750,000 to £1,000,000: £3,695
£1,000,000 to £1,500,000: On request
Over £1,500,000: On request
Construction cost (before VAT)
Up to £250,000
£250,000 to £500,000
£500,000 to £750,000
£750,000 to £1 million
£1 million to £1.5 million
Over £1.5 million
Design cost check (cost plan)
£595
£795
£995
£1,195
£1,495
On request
Builder pricing pack (Schedule of Works)
£1,495
£1,895
£2,495
£2,995
On request
On request
With our benchmark prices (add-on to the pricing pack)
£745
£945
£1,245
£1,495
On request
On request
Both together
£1,895
£2,395
£3,095
£3,695
On request
On request
• Up to £500,000: order and pay online once a quantity surveyor has confirmed your fee.
• £500,000 to £1.5 million: we have a short call with you before you order.
• Over £1.5 million, or where a fee says on request: we send a proposal after a call.
• Budget Reality Check: £195 for any project.
• All prices include VAT at 20%.
Design cost check and builder pricing pack together, from £1,895
A design cost check to set the budget while the design develops, then a builder pricing pack for builders to price. It costs less than booking the two separately.
Builder pricing pack with our benchmark prices, from £745 added to the pricing pack
We add our own price to every line of your builder pricing pack, so you can spot high, low or missing items in builders' quotes.
Builder pricing pack (Schedule of Works), from £1,495
One detailed list every builder prices, so their quotes compare like for like. We measure and describe the work from your drawings, so every quote covers the same job.
• The work described and measured section by section, from strip-out and demolition to finishes, services and outside works
• Day rates for pricing changes during the job
• Rate and value columns for each builder to fill in, with section totals
Best for: detailed drawings and a tender package that is nearly complete, or re-tendering when quotes can't be compared.
Design cost check (Elemental Cost Plan), from £595
What your drawn design should cost, element by element, before you go to planning or builders. You and your designer can see where the money goes while the design can still change.
• Costs for each element of the work, from foundations to finishes, measured from your drawings
• Contingency, inflation and fees shown as separate lines
• Assumptions, allowances and exclusions written down
Best for: planning drawings, or early designs with at least one drawing.
Budget Reality Check, £195
A quantity surveyor reviews your answers and any drawings, then goes through your budget with you on a 30-minute online call. You get a written action list after the call, a guide pack for your stage and questions by email for 14 days. Your design cost check or builder pricing pack fee is held for 6 months, and the £195 is credited if you book either within 3 months. If you don't leave the call with a clearer view of your budget, tell us within 7 days for a refund (the service, not the figures; one claim per project).
What each service includes
Bart Kolosowski MCIArb
A quantity surveyor for over 20 years, Bart helps homeowners plan realistic budgets and co-hosts The Home Project Podcast.
“They worked directly with our architects to draft a plan that helped us make sense of the costs and all the complexities of the build.”
Benoit Grogan-Avignon, Google review.
Who you'll work with
Prefer to talk first? Book a free 15-minute call.
Ask for a fixed fee
Tell us about your project and upload any drawings. We'll reply within 2 working days with a fixed fee proposal, and you'll get an automatic confirmation straight away.
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