How it works and what it costs
How it works, and what it costs.
There is no single construction price for a job we have not assessed. We can explain how a project may progress, what the first steps cost, and how later services are scoped and quoted.
How a building project works
Every extension, knock-through or loft conversion has four stages. We do all four.
- 01
Drawings
We measure your house and draw it as it is now. Then we draw the new layout.
- 02
Approvals
We apply for planning permission if you need it, and prepare the Building Regulations drawings. Building Control is an independent inspector. They check the work and sign it off.
- 03
Engineering
A structural engineer works out the size of any steel beams and foundations before building starts.
- 04
Building work
We do the building work and finish the rooms.
How it works
There are five steps. You can stop after any of them.
You can stop after any step. The drawings are yours, and you can use them with another builder.
We build in Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch and about 20 miles around them. For homes further away, our remote layout service works anywhere in the UK, and we can price the work, prepare tender documents and vet local builders.
Step 1
Free project review
Send us a few details or call. We look at what you want to do and tell you what it will need and whether it is worth taking further.
Free
Step 2
Layout Ideas Pack
We draw your home as it is now and up to three ways it could work, then fine-tune your favourite with you on a video call. Done remotely from your Rightmove link, floor plan or sketch, or in person with a measured site survey and a 3D point cloud scan.
Remote or in person
Step 3
Cost estimate
Once you have a layout you like, we can explain the further work needed and quote any separately agreed service.
Quoted separately
Step 4
Drawings, approvals and engineering
Full drawings, structural calculations, and the planning and Building Regulations applications. The house is measured at this stage if it hasn't been already.
Priced after the estimate
Step 5
The build
Near Poole, we can prepare a quote and contract using the information available for the agreed scope. Changes, site conditions and client decisions can affect scope, cost or programme. Further away, we can prepare tender information and support the selection of local builders.
Quoted for the agreed scope
How construction work is scoped and quoted
A construction quote needs enough information about the scope, site, structure, materials and finishes. We use the drawings and available project information to prepare a quote for the work that is being agreed.
The contract sets out the agreed scope, price and change process. Site conditions, client changes, statutory requirements and other new information can affect cost or programme. Those matters are reviewed under the agreed change process.
We do not give a construction quote from a generic project type, because every home and scope is different. Any guide prices are illustrative only and are not a quotation.
Scope
What's not included in the Layout Ideas Pack
The Layout Ideas Pack shows you what is possible for your project and up to three layout options. It does not include the items below. Those are quoted separately once you have chosen an option, starting with the cost estimate.
- Planning or Building Regulations drawing packages and applications
- Structural calculations or detailed engineering
- Detailed specifications or a fixed construction quotation
- Further redesigns or construction work
We build in Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch and about 20 miles around them.
For homes further away, our remote layout service works anywhere in the UK, and we can price the work, prepare tender documents and vet local builders.
Questions
Why not use a designer and then a builder?
You can. A separate builder will price the information available to them, and you will coordinate the designer, engineer and builder. PlanBuild can provide agreed design and construction services through one point of contact where that suits the project.
What will my project cost?
It depends on the scope, site conditions, structure, materials and finish. We explain the information needed before a construction quote can be prepared for an agreed scope.
Is the review really free?
Yes. Tell us what you want to do and we will tell you what it needs and whether it makes sense. If it is worth taking further, the next step is the Layout Ideas Pack, done remotely or in person.
Do I need planning permission?
Many extensions and most changes inside the house don't need planning permission. Some do, depending on the size, the position and your property. We tell you at the review.
Do I need Building Control for removing a wall?
Yes, if the wall is load-bearing. Building Control is an independent inspector who checks the work and signs it off. We make the application and arrange the structural calculations.
Do I need a party wall agreement?
If the work affects a wall you share with a neighbour, for example a steel beam resting on it, the Party Wall Act usually means you must give them written notice first. We tell you early if this applies.
How long does it take?
It depends on the job, surveys, approvals, design decisions, site conditions and availability. We discuss an indicative programme once the scope is sufficiently defined, but it can change as the project develops.
What if I stop after the layout pack or the drawings?
That is fine. The drawings are yours, and you can use them with another builder.
Tell us what you want to change
Send a few details and we will call you back the same working day to tell you what your project needs. There is no cost and no obligation.
We build in Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch and about 20 miles around them.
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