Costs.

Whether you have a fixed budget or a flexible vision, we plan in one of two ways:

1. Working Backwards: Starting with your total fund and calculating what is achievable.
2. Working Forwards: Starting with your wish-list and building the investment plan around it.

In both cases, we ensure you are looking at the Total Project Cost, not just the builder’s quote. We help you allocate funds for:

• Construction: Labour, materials, and contractor preliminaries.
• The Team: Architect, Structural Engineer, and Specialist Consultant fees.
• The Compliance: Planning fees, Building Control, and statutory surveys (Ecology, Soil, Trees).
• The Finish: Kitchens, bathrooms, joinery, and lighting (often excluded from basic quotes).
• The Reality: VAT (typically 20% on refurbishments) and a sensible Contingency fund.

Why this matters: Early decisions on scope and phasing have the biggest impact on your wallet. By mapping this out in the Discovery stage, we ensure you spend your money where it adds the most value to your life and the asset.

Every project is different, and our fees reflect that. We tailor them to suit the scale, complexity, and level of involvement your project needs.

As a general guide to help you plan, a full architectural service (from the first sketch to handing over the keys) typically sits equivalent to 8% to 15% of the net construction cost. However, we do not simply charge a fixed percentage. Instead, we structure our fees to give you certainty where possible and flexibility where it is needed.

We break our fees down by stage:

• Discovery, Design & Detail: For these defined stages, we typically work on a Fixed Lump Sum. This gives you clarity and allows us to focus on the quality of the design without the clock ticking.
• Negotiations & Tendering: Variables such as planning negotiations or managing the tender process are charged at an Hourly Rate. This is the fairest approach; if the process is smooth, you pay less. If it becomes complex, we have the time to fight your corner.
• Delivery (Construction): During the build, we typically charge a Monthly Retainer or use Hourly Rates, depending on the complexity of the site. This ensures we are always available to answer the builder’s questions and protect your interests, for as long as the build takes.

We provide a detailed, itemised fee proposal after our initial consultation. We explain exactly how each stage is structured so you know what you are paying for and the value you are receiving in return.