Are you an architect with a project in London, looking at contractors for a new build, a kitchen extension or a loft conversion? It is an important decision, because the contractor decides whether the drawing survives contact with the ground. Here is what to look at, and where NU Projects stands on each.
London is a difficult place to build. Period fabric, conservation areas, party walls, restricted access and planning departments that all work differently. A contractor who has not done it before will find that out on your job.
Look at the completed work, not the renderings
Ask for finished projects of the same type and the same level of finish, and ask what the contractor designed, built and managed on each. Then ask to stand on a live site.
NU Projects has been building in London since 2010. Our own completed work is on the projects page, and we will arrange a site visit and give you the client’s telephone number.
Estimating services for architects
Budget is the hardest part of an architectural appointment. You need a price early, while the scheme can still move, and you need the cost consequence of a design decision before you take it.
NU Projects offers estimating to architects. Our quantity surveyor prices your drawings and gives you a measured estimate you can put in front of your client. We do it whether or not we build the job.
Who is actually accountable
Ask who holds the programme, who holds the cost, and who answers when the two disagree. On our jobs it is one project manager, from the first meeting to handover, with the quantity surveyor and the MEP director in the same studio.
Call the studio
Whether it is a kitchen extension, a loft conversion or a new build, send us the drawings, or call the team on 020 7731 6841. We will tell you what it costs to build and what we would want changed before it is priced.
Published 18 June 2023. Written by the NU Projects studio, edited since for house style and accuracy.