Refurbishment estimates that price the unknowns honestly

Refurbishment is harder to price than new build because you are working with what is already there, and what is already there is rarely what the drawings show. Hidden defects, old wiring and pipework, uneven floors and walls, and surprises behind the plaster all add scope once the strip-out starts. We price the known works firmly and carry clear, separate allowances for the uncertain items, so the estimate is honest about the difference between what we can measure and what we cannot yet see.

Strip-out and making good run through the whole job. Removing old finishes, fittings and services, then making good the substrate before new work goes on, is labour that a new build never has, and the condition of the existing building decides how much there is. We measure the strip-out and allow for making good across every trade, because on a refurbishment it is often the biggest single difference from a new build price.

Alterations and upgrades are where refurbishment adds value and cost. Knocking through with new steels, re-wiring and re-plumbing to current standards, upgrading insulation and replacing the kitchen and bathrooms all sit alongside the repairs. We price the alterations, flag where the building's age brings listed or party wall considerations, and set out the provisional sums clearly so you and the client can see what is firm and what may move once the work is opened up.