Design Costs

The industry standard approach is to charge fees on a percentage basis for example and estimated build cost of 150000 would expect to cost between 15000 to design. As a rough guide this is ok however if a brick building has an estimated cost of 150000 and their façade is changed to cast stone or render the cost may rise or fall and with it the fee for what is nominally the same amount of design work. It is for this reason we chose to calculate costs on a project-by-project basis at an hourly rate so that should a purely aesthetic change occur there isn’t a needless increase in design cost. There is generally a rule of thumb that the more expensive the project the more complex it will be to design thus causing a fee increase regardless of approach however given the bespoke nature of the projects we do we believe it warrants bespoke fee as well often saving money.

The choice to not work on percentages means if you are interested in working with us on a small value job we are able to do this, and it still be commercially viable for ourselves. The invoicing structure can be agreed prior to commencement however is normally broken down into the production of existing, feasibility, planning, detailed design and construction drawings. These can be paid at each stage however on larger schemes we prefer invoicing monthly to assist you in cost management.