How we price

The basis: how much work it will be

Fundamentally we estimate how much work the project will be. In practice, though — to make our own job easier too — we mostly start from a price per square metre and correct it by the building’s complexity per square metre.

The two extremes behave the opposite way

Complex, on a small floor area

A tiny house is extremely complex for its size: there is a connection, a service and a bespoke solution on every square metre. The rate per square metre is high — but the absolute figure is still small, because there are few square metres.

Simple, on a large floor area

A shed, which is essentially one cross-section repeated, is the other extreme. There the rate per square metre is relatively low, because the design work does not grow with the floor area.

What makes it dearer

• many bespoke connections and little repetition,
• complex geometry: skewed planes, curves, varying height,
• many disciplines and dense services,
• an existing building, because the survey and the junction are separate work,
• change mid-way in a stage already closed.

What makes it cheaper

• repetition: the same flat, classroom or room type many times over,
• early involvement: change is still cheap at concept stage,
• full documentation at the start: fewer rounds, fewer assumptions.

When we give an exact price

An order of magnitude at the first conversation. An exact price after reviewing the documentation — because until then it is also a question which service we are talking about. The service first, the price after.

The point

It is not the floor area that makes it dearer but the complexity. That is why a small house can cost more per square metre than a shed — and why it pays to get in touch early.