However, as discussed in the budgeting section, you start by working with a cost per square metre/foot rule of thumb and using your designer’s experience. This process will broadly give you the size of house you can afford – and it is essential to be realistic at this stage and focus on the essentials if your budget is limited. Once a basic design has been drawn up a quantity surveyor can start to put costs together.  

Clearly, the more detail in your decisions the more the costing will be accurate. The devil is truly in the detail. But don’t worry too much if you haven’t decided precisely what floor covering to use in the kitchen – a reasonable estimate can be made depending on whether you want budget, medium or high quality materials.