What we need to give you a price, and why we keep asking for the accommodation schedule

Almost every delay in getting an estimate back is an information delay at the front, not a production delay in the middle. Here is the whole list, and why each item is on it.

We are often asked how quickly an estimate can be turned round. The honest answer is that the clock does not start when you ask. It starts when the information is complete, and on most schemes that is the part that takes the time.

The list

• The architect's drawings. Plans, elevations and sections at whatever stage the scheme has reached. We do not need them finished. We need them consistent.

• The accommodation schedule. Unit numbers, unit types, and areas. This is the one we chase most often and the one that holds everything else up.

• The site. Area, whether it is previously developed, and anything known about ground conditions or existing structures.

• The specification, or a steer on it. Where a specification does not exist we will assume one, state the assumption, and price it. That is a legitimate way to work, provided everyone knows it is happening.

• Any planning conditions that fix a material, a form of construction or a phasing requirement.

• The programme, or your best current view of it, because inflation runs from our base date to your tender date.

• The Design and Access Statement. It gives an invaluable insight into design decisions that are not always apparent from the other information, and it often carries hidden costs, such as those attached to the traffic, energy or waste management strategies.

Why the accommodation schedule matters more than it looks

It is a spreadsheet of unit types and areas, and it is where the whole estimate is anchored. Gross internal area drives the rates. The unit mix drives the fit-out. The count drives the preliminaries and the programme. Now it drives the Building Safety Levy as well, since chargeable floorspace is measured from it.

When a scheme arrives without one, we build our own from the drawings. That is slower, it is less accurate, and it produces an estimate anchored on our measurement rather than on the architect's intent. Every subsequent conversation then has an argument about areas buried inside it.

The most common gap is inconsistency in the treatment of areas. Gross Internal Area and Net Internal Area are frequently confused. Too often we see an area schedule where the Gross Internal Floor Area is stated as the sum of the apartment areas. That ignores around 15 to 20% of the built area on average, which naturally carries a cost. Developers and agents are interested in the Net Internal Area, because that is what the sales values are based on, but we need the whole area, because that is what drives the cost. Our experience in the residential sector means we can spot the anomalies quickly and flag them to the team, so that all the documentation is consistent.

What we do without complete information

We price it anyway, and we say what we assumed. An estimate with three stated assumptions is more useful than no estimate, provided the assumptions are visible and testable rather than buried. What we will not do is produce a number that looks more certain than the information supports, because that number will be quoted back for the next two years.

And if the information genuinely is not there yet, we will say which estimate is appropriate for the stage you are at, which is not always the one that was asked for.

What this means for your scheme

• Send the drawings and the accommodation schedule together. They are the two that start the clock.

• Turnaround runs from receipt of the final information and agreement of the fee, not from the enquiry.

• Incomplete information is workable. Tell us what is missing rather than waiting until it is not.

• If you are not sure which estimate you need, ask. It is a two minute conversation and it saves weeks.

---

Sources. Comment piece. No external sources.