What this covers
Every decision is cheap until somebody starts building
Moving a wall on a drawing takes an afternoon. Moving it once the block is up takes a week and a bill. Design is the one stage where you get to be indecisive for free, and it is the cheapest week of the whole job.
You get a layout you can actually read, 3D views of the room from where you will normally be standing in it, and a material board carrying the real tile, counter and cabinet finishes. Nothing goes on site until you have signed off what it is going to look like.
- Measured survey and a layout drawn to scale
- 3D views of the room as it will actually be
- Material board: tile, counter, cabinetry and paint
- Lighting, power and plumbing positions marked
- A costed spec, so the design and the quote agree
Design and built
The drawing, then the room
The same kitchen, rendered before a single unit was ordered, and photographed after it was fitted. What you approve at design stage is what turns up on site.
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What you sign off
- The layout, drawn to scale and walked through with you
- 3D views from where you will stand in the room
- Cabinet, counter and tile finishes chosen off real samples
- Socket, switch and light positions fixed before first fix
- A spec the quote is built from, so the two never disagree
How the design runs
What the two weeks look like
Design usually runs ten to fifteen working days. It is the only stage where changing your mind is free, so we will not rush you through it.
Measure and photograph
We measure the room or the plot properly and photograph all of it, because a design drawn off a rough sketch is a design that will not fit when it gets to site.
Layout options
Two or three layouts, drawn to scale, with the trade offs of each set out plainly. Most people end up picking a hybrid of two, and that is exactly what this stage is for.
3D views
The chosen layout rendered from where you will actually stand in the room. This is the point where people spot the thing they would have hated, and it costs nothing to fix.
Finishes and materials
Tile, counter, cabinetry, paint and fittings pulled together on one board off real samples, so you are choosing against your own light rather than against a screen.
Costed spec
The design written up as a specification, and the quote built from that same document. If the two ever disagree, that is our problem to fix, not yours to discover.
Sign off and build
You sign the layout, the views and the spec. From there it is a build, and the arguments about what was agreed simply do not happen.
Questions
Design questions
Does the design fee come off the build?
In full, if you build it with us. The design is priced on its own so you are free to take it elsewhere, and it is credited against the first stage payment when the job is ours. You are not paying twice for the same week of work.
Can we take the design and build it ourselves?
You can. You own what you paid for: the drawings, the views and the spec. We would rather build it, obviously, and we will tell you plainly what that costs either way. What we will not do is hold your drawings hostage to win the build.
How accurate are the 3D views?
Accurate on layout, dimensions and where everything sits, because all of that comes off the measured survey. Colour and light are close but a screen is not a room, which is why the finish board uses real samples you can hold up in your own space.
Do we need design if we already know what we want?
Not always, and we will say so rather than sell it to you. If you are replacing like for like in the same layout, design is a cost you do not need. It earns its money when walls are moving, when a room has to do more than one job, or when you are spending enough that one wrong decision really hurts.
Start here
Ready to see it first?
Send us photos and rough measurements of the space on WhatsApp, or book a site visit. We will tell you whether design is worth it on your job before we quote it.
- We call back the same working day
- Free site visit and measurement, anywhere we work
- A written quote with no obligation to go ahead