How much does it cost to build?

The supply and laying of recycled MOT Type 1 granular sub-base, spread in layers and compacted to form the load-bearing base beneath roads, hardstandings, slabs and pavings, priced per m³ of compacted material in place. Recycled Type 1 is crushed and screened from concrete and brick reclaimed from demolition rather than from quarried virgin rock. Material supply sets the delivered stone price, which is the bulk of the rate, and comes in three bands:

1. Near source — a local depot on a short haul.
2. Standard — a typical regional haul.
3. Long haul — a remote source beyond about 30 miles.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — the site dumper and any forward-haul plant (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Excavation, formation preparation & capping layer
• Geotextile / separation membrane, kerbs & edgings
• Surfacing — tarmac, block paving or slabs
• Disposal of surplus or unsuitable material
• VAT

The supply and laying of imported MOT Type 1 granular sub-base, spread in layers and compacted to form the load-bearing base beneath roads, hardstandings, slabs and pavings, priced per m³ of compacted material in place. Virgin Type 1 is crushed straight from quarried rock rather than from recycled demolition arisings, giving a clean, well-graded stone that compacts predictably to a stable platform. Material supply sets the delivered stone price, which is the bulk of the rate, and comes in three bands:

1. Near source — a local quarry on a short haul.
2. Standard — a typical regional haul.
3. Long haul — a remote source beyond about 30 miles.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — the site dumper and any forward-haul plant (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Excavation, formation preparation & capping layer
• Geotextile / separation membrane, kerbs & edgings
• Surfacing — bitmac, block paving or slabs
• Disposal of surplus or unsuitable material
• VAT

The supply and laying of Type 3 reduced-fines granular sub-base, spread in layers and compacted to form a load-bearing yet free-draining base beneath SUDS and permeable pavements, tree pits, drainage layers and working platforms, priced per m³ of compacted material in place. Type 3 is the same crushed rock as Type 1 but screened to an open grading with a low fines content, so water drains through it rather than being held in the layer. Material supply sets the delivered stone price, which is the bulk of the rate, and comes in three bands:

1. Near source — a local quarry on a short haul.
2. Standard — a typical regional haul.
3. Long haul — a remote source beyond about 30 miles.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — the site dumper and any forward-haul plant (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Excavation, formation preparation & capping layer
• Geotextile / separation membrane, kerbs & edgings
• Surfacing — tarmac, block paving or slabs
• Disposal of surplus or unsuitable material
• VAT

The supply and laying of sub-base, spread in layers and compacted to form the load-bearing base beneath roads, hardstandings, slabs and pavings, priced per m³ of compacted material in place. This guide covers 3 material options, which differ mainly in the delivered stone price and how densely each compacts:

1. Recycled Type 1 — A graded MOT Type 1 sub-base, crushed and screened from reclaimed concrete and brick rather than quarried rock.
2. Virgin Type 1 — A clean, well-graded MOT Type 1 crushed from quarried virgin rock that compacts to a stable platform.
3. Type 3 — Reduced-fines stone screened to an open grading so water drains through, for use under SUDS and permeable pavements.

Budget rate per m³

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — the site dumper and any forward-haul plant (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Excavation, formation preparation & capping layer
• Geotextile / separation membrane, kerbs & edgings
• Surfacing — tarmac, block paving or slabs
• Disposal of surplus or unsuitable material
• VAT

The machine excavation of trenches for strip and pad foundations and for buried services, dug with a 13–20 t tracked 360° excavator on a narrow trenching bucket and trimmed by an in-trench banksman, priced per in-situ (bank) m³ of excavated material. This headline is a dig-to-stockpile rate — spoil is cast alongside the trench to re-use as backfill, not carted away. Output, the main driver, is set by the trench context, in three bands:

1. Wide / open — a foundation trench with open machine access, dug fast to stockpile.
2. Standard — a typical foundation or service trench; the default rate.
3. Confined / supported — deep, around services or boarded / battered, worked slowly.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Carting spoil away — muck-away haulage & tip fees, on the bulked volume (a separately priced disposal item)
• Earthwork support — trench-box / timbering hire (an attendance for deep or unstable trenches)
• Site dumper & forward haul / distribution of arisings (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Working-space over-dig, dewatering & well-pointing
• Backfill & compaction, imported fill, disposal of surplus material
• VAT

The supply and laying of a 100 mm nominal (110 mm OD) PVC-u underground drainage run in a prepared trench, on a granular bed with granular surround, jointed and tested, priced per linear metre of pipe run. Trench excavation and disposal of arisings are measured and priced separately (the NRM2 convention) — this rate is the pipe, its bed and its surround. The composite carries two operations:

1. Lay & joint — 110 mm OD PVC-u pipe laid to line and gradient in the trench, socket-jointed and air / water tested as the run proceeds.
2. Bed & surround — a 10 mm single-size granular bed and surround placed to 100 mm cover over the pipe and compacted, with the granular envelope backfilled (Class B/S, BS EN 1610 / Approved Doc H).

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Trench excavation & disposal of arisings — measured and priced separately (the trench-excavation rate, at the drain-trench volume per metre)
• Manholes, inspection chambers, gullies, fittings & connections into existing drainage
• CCTV survey & testing beyond a standard air / water test
• Dewatering, rock excavation & trafficked-slab cover
• Backfill above the granular surround, imported fill & reinstatement
• VAT

The supply and laying of a 150 mm nominal (160 mm OD) PVC-u underground drainage run in a prepared trench, on a granular bed with granular surround, jointed and tested, priced per linear metre of pipe run. Trench excavation and disposal of arisings are measured and priced separately (the NRM2 convention) — this rate is the pipe, its bed and its surround. The composite carries two operations:

1. Lay & joint — 160 mm OD PVC-u pipe laid to line and gradient in the trench, socket-jointed and air / water tested as the run proceeds.
2. Bed & surround — a 10 mm single-size granular bed and surround placed to 100 mm cover over the pipe and compacted, with the granular envelope backfilled (Class B/S, BS EN 1610 / Approved Doc H).

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Trench excavation & disposal of arisings — measured and priced separately (the trench-excavation rate, at the drain-trench volume per metre)
• Manholes, inspection chambers, gullies, fittings & connections into existing drainage
• CCTV survey & testing beyond a standard air / water test
• Dewatering, rock excavation & trafficked-slab cover
• Backfill above the granular surround, imported fill & reinstatement
• VAT

The supply and placing of GEN0 (C6/8) ready-mixed concrete as mass or trench fill — the low-strength grade used for blinding, backfill and mass foundations — discharged into the works and hand-placed, tamped and compacted, priced per m³ of concrete placed. This headline is a full-pour, direct-discharge rate: the standard case a groundworks bill prices, with pumping, part loads and barrowed delivery as the variants below.

A note on the number, for estimators: this is a MAIN-CONTRACTOR budget rate, and the ready-mixed concrete is around 73% of it. On a main-contractor budget rate the bought-in ready-mix is ordered on the contractor’s own account, so it carries the main-contractor O&P only — it is NOT marked up with the market +5% or the sub-contractor O&P +20% (those fall on the laying gang, which does carry the full ladder). Even so the figure lands above the £90–£130/m³ a groundworker quotes for supply-and-lay (myjobquote / RMS / ConcreteMath 2026), which is the expected relationship: a main-contractor budget rate sits at or above a domestic supply-and-lay band, and the concrete still carries the main-contractor margin. That is deliberate, not an error — it is where a QS pricing sublet concrete at main-contract level needs the rate to sit. The rate range, low to high:

1. Low — larger loads and competitive ready-mix supply.
2. Standard — a typical project and merchant price; the default rate.
3. High — smaller loads or higher-cost areas.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Formwork, edge shuttering & expansion / movement joints
• Reinforcement — mesh, bar, chairs & spacers (a separately measured item)
• Trench or basement excavation, disposal & formation preparation
• Power-float, brushed / tamped decorative finishes & surface treatments beyond a plain tamped mass-fill finish
• Pumping, part-load & standing-time surcharges where the pour is not a full direct-discharge load
• VAT

The supply and placing of GEN1 (C8/10) ready-mixed concrete as mass or trench fill — the low-strength general-purpose grade one step above GEN0, used for oversite, blinding, mass fill and non-structural bases — discharged into the works and hand-placed, tamped and compacted, priced per m³ of concrete placed. This headline is a full-pour, direct-discharge rate: the standard case a groundworks bill prices, with pumping, part loads and barrowed delivery as the variants below.

A note on the number, for estimators: this is a MAIN-CONTRACTOR budget rate, and the ready-mixed concrete is around 72% of it. On a main-contractor budget rate the bought-in ready-mix is ordered on the contractor’s own account, so it carries the main-contractor O&P only — it is NOT marked up with the market +5% or the sub-contractor O&P +20% (those fall on the laying gang, which does carry the full ladder). Even so the figure lands above the £90–£130/m³ a groundworker quotes for supply-and-lay (myjobquote / RMS / ConcreteMath 2026), which is the expected relationship: a main-contractor budget rate sits at or above a domestic supply-and-lay band, and the concrete still carries the main-contractor margin. That is deliberate, not an error — it is where a QS pricing sublet concrete at main-contract level needs the rate to sit. The rate range, low to high:

1. Low — larger loads and competitive ready-mix supply.
2. Standard — a typical project and merchant price; the default rate.
3. High — smaller loads or higher-cost areas.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Formwork, edge shuttering & expansion / movement joints
• Reinforcement — mesh, bar, chairs & spacers (a separately measured item)
• Trench or basement excavation, disposal & formation preparation
• Power-float, brushed / tamped decorative finishes & surface treatments beyond a plain tamped mass-fill finish
• Pumping, part-load & standing-time surcharges where the pour is not a full direct-discharge load
• VAT

The machine excavation of reduced levels — stripping a site down to formation for slabs, hardstandings, basements and general bulk dig — with a 13–20 t tracked 360° excavator and a banksman, priced per in-situ (bank) m³ of excavated material. This headline is a dig-to-stockpile rate — spoil is cast to an on-site stockpile for re-use or later removal, not carted away. Output, the main driver, is set by the dig context, in three bands:

1. Open / large area — wide open reduced-level dig, machine working fast to stockpile.
2. Standard — a typical reduced-level dig; the default rate.
3. Confined — around services, obstructions or in restricted access, worked slowly.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Carting spoil away — muck-away haulage & tip fees, on the bulked (loose) volume (a separately priced disposal item)
• Site dumper & forward haul / on-site distribution of arisings (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Earthwork support, dewatering & well-pointing
• Formation trimming, blinding & compaction of the exposed sub-grade
• Backfill, imported fill & disposal of surplus material
• VAT

The machine strip of the topsoil / vegetable layer at 150–300 mm (150 mm nominal) — clearing a site down to a workable formation for slabs, roads, hardstandings and landscaping — with a 13–20 t tracked 360° excavator and a banksman, heaping the topsoil to an on-site stockpile for re-use, priced per m² of area stripped. This headline is a strip-to-stockpile rate — the topsoil is retained on site, not carted away. Output, the main driver, is set by the access context, in three bands:

1. Open / large area — wide open strip, machine working fast to an adjacent stockpile.
2. Standard — a typical site strip to a managed stockpile; the default rate.
3. Confined — around obstructions, services or in restricted access, worked slowly.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Carting the topsoil off site — muck-away haulage & tip fees, on the bulked (loose) volume (a separately priced disposal item)
• Spreading, re-laying or re-grading the stockpiled topsoil
• Site dumper & forward on-site haul beyond machine reach (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Excavation below the stripped formation, reduced-level dig & earthwork support
• Imported topsoil, soil testing & disposal of surplus or contaminated material
• VAT

The disposal (muck-away) of already-excavated arisings off site to a licensed inert tip — a 13–20 t tracked 360° excavator and banksman loading the stockpiled spoil to grab lorries, which haul and tip it, priced per in-situ (bank) m³ of excavated material. The dig itself is measured and priced separately (the excavation rates); this is the cart-away those rates exclude. The disposal is the bulk of the cost, and the spoil TYPE sets it — loose spoil bulks as it is dug, and the tip is paid on the loose (carted) volume, in three bands:

1. Granular / sandy — bulks least (~12%), the least to cart.
2. Common earth — a typical mixed spoil (~25% bulking); the default rate.
3. Clay / wet — bulks most (~40%) and is heaviest, the most to cart.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• The excavation / dig itself — measured and priced separately (the reduced-level & trench excavation rates, which exclude this cart-away)
• Site dumper & forward haul / on-site distribution of arisings to the loading point (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Disposal of CONTAMINATED or hazardous spoil — classified soils, Japanese knotweed & special waste (dearer, separately priced)
• Weighbridge / tip tickets beyond a standard inert consignment, & any soil testing or WAC classification
• Imported fill or backfill to replace the removed material
• VAT

The supply and placing of C20/25 ready-mixed concrete — the designated foundation grade (RC20/25 / FND2 / ST4) used for mass and lightly-reinforced foundations, footings, ground beams and ground-bearing slabs — discharged into the works and placed, tamped and compacted, priced per m³ of concrete placed. This headline prices the concrete on the standard mass / trench-fill placing output: the place-level-vibrate operation is the same whatever the grade, and formwork and reinforcement are separately measured items. It is a full-pour, direct-discharge rate, with pumping, part loads and barrowed delivery as the variants below.

A note on the number, for estimators: this is a MAIN-CONTRACTOR budget rate, and the ready-mixed concrete is around 72% of it. The delivered mix is validated at £100–£125/m³ ex-VAT (ConcreteMath / RMS / Mister Concrete 2026, national supply-only). On a main-contractor budget rate the bought-in ready-mix is ordered on the contractor’s own account, so it carries the main-contractor O&P only — it is NOT marked up with the market +5% or the sub-contractor O&P +20% (those fall on the laying gang, which does carry the full ladder). The nearest published supply-and-lay benchmark is a low-grade groundworks figure of £90–£130/m³; a designated C20/25 foundation rate sits above it — for the richer mix, and because it still carries the main-contractor margin. That is the expected relationship, not an error: it is where a QS pricing sublet concrete at main-contract level needs the rate to sit. The rate range, low to high:

1. Low — larger loads and competitive ready-mix supply.
2. Standard — a typical project and merchant price; the default rate.
3. High — smaller loads or higher-cost areas.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Formwork, edge shuttering & expansion / movement joints
• Reinforcement — mesh, bar, chairs & spacers (a separately measured item)
• Trench or basement excavation, disposal & formation preparation
• Power-float, brushed / tamped decorative finishes & surface treatments beyond a plain tamped mass-fill finish
• Pumping, part-load & standing-time surcharges where the pour is not a full direct-discharge load
• VAT

The supply and placing of C25/30 ready-mixed concrete — the general structural / reinforced grade (designated RC25/30) used for reinforced foundations, ground beams, pile caps, ground-bearing slabs and general RC work — discharged into the works and placed, tamped and compacted, priced per m³ of concrete placed. This headline prices the concrete on the standard mass / trench-fill placing output: the place-level-vibrate operation is the same whatever the grade, and formwork and reinforcement are separately measured items. It is a full-pour, direct-discharge rate, with pumping, part loads and barrowed delivery as the variants below.

A note on the number, for estimators: this is a MAIN-CONTRACTOR budget rate, and the ready-mixed concrete is around 74% of it. The delivered mix is validated at £105–£135/m³ ex-VAT (ConcreteMath / Mister Concrete / RMS 2026, national supply-only). On a main-contractor budget rate the bought-in ready-mix is ordered on the contractor’s own account, so it carries the main-contractor O&P only — it is NOT marked up with the market +5% or the sub-contractor O&P +20% (those fall on the laying gang, which does carry the full ladder). The nearest published supply-and-lay benchmark is a low-grade groundworks figure of £90–£130/m³ (a lower-grade reference); a designated C25/30 structural rate sits above it — for the richer mix, and because it still carries the main-contractor margin. That is the expected relationship, not an error: it is where a QS pricing sublet concrete at main-contract level needs the rate to sit. The rate range, low to high:

1. Low — larger loads and competitive ready-mix supply.
2. Standard — a typical project and merchant price; the default rate.
3. High — smaller loads or higher-cost areas.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Formwork, edge shuttering & expansion / movement joints
• Reinforcement — mesh, bar, chairs & spacers (a separately measured item)
• Trench or basement excavation, disposal & formation preparation
• Power-float, brushed / tamped decorative finishes & surface treatments beyond a plain tamped mass-fill finish
• Pumping, part-load & standing-time surcharges where the pour is not a full direct-discharge load
• VAT

The supply and placing of C30/37 ready-mixed concrete — the standard structural / reinforced-concrete grade (designated RC30/37) used for footings, ground beams, suspended and ground-bearing slabs, columns and walls — discharged into the works and placed, tamped and compacted, priced per m³ of concrete placed. This headline prices the concrete on the standard mass / trench-fill placing output: the place-level-vibrate operation is the same whatever the grade, and formwork and reinforcement are separately measured items. It is a full-pour, direct-discharge rate, with pumping, part loads and barrowed delivery as the variants below.

A note on the number, for estimators: this is a MAIN-CONTRACTOR budget rate, and the ready-mixed concrete is around 75% of it. The delivered mix is validated at £110–£142/m³ ex-VAT (ConcreteMath / RMS / Mister Concrete 2026, national supply-only). On a main-contractor budget rate the bought-in ready-mix is ordered on the contractor’s own account, so it carries the main-contractor O&P only — it is NOT marked up with the market +5% or the sub-contractor O&P +20% (those fall on the laying gang, which does carry the full ladder). The nearest published supply-and-lay benchmark is a low-grade groundworks figure of £90–£130/m³ (a lower-grade reference); a designated C30/37 structural rate sits above it — for the richer mix, and because it still carries the main-contractor margin. That is the expected relationship, not an error: it is where a QS pricing sublet concrete at main-contract level needs the rate to sit. The rate range, low to high:

1. Low — larger loads and competitive ready-mix supply.
2. Standard — a typical project and merchant price; the default rate.
3. High — smaller loads or higher-cost areas.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Formwork, edge shuttering & expansion / movement joints
• Reinforcement — mesh, bar, chairs & spacers (a separately measured item)
• Trench or basement excavation, disposal & formation preparation
• Power-float, brushed / tamped decorative finishes & surface treatments beyond a plain tamped mass-fill finish
• Pumping, part-load & standing-time surcharges where the pour is not a full direct-discharge load
• VAT

The supply and placing of C16/20 ready-mixed concrete — the designated GEN3 general-purpose grade used for oversite, footings, mass and lightly-loaded foundations and non-structural ground-bearing slabs — discharged into the works and placed, tamped and compacted, priced per m³ of concrete placed. This headline prices the concrete on the standard mass / trench-fill placing output: the place-level-vibrate operation is the same whatever the grade, and formwork and reinforcement are separately measured items. It is a full-pour, direct-discharge rate, with pumping, part loads and barrowed delivery as the variants below.

A note on the number, for estimators: this is a MAIN-CONTRACTOR budget rate, and the ready-mixed concrete is around 72% of it. The delivered mix is validated at £98–£120/m³ ex-VAT (ConcreteMath / RMS 2026, national supply-only). On a main-contractor budget rate the bought-in ready-mix is ordered on the contractor’s own account, so it carries the main-contractor O&P only — it is NOT marked up with the market +5% or the sub-contractor O&P +20% (those fall on the laying gang, which does carry the full ladder). The nearest published supply-and-lay benchmark is a low-grade groundworks figure of £90–£130/m³; a designated C16/20 general-purpose foundation rate sits above it — for the mix, and because it still carries the main-contractor margin. That is the expected relationship, not an error: it is where a QS pricing sublet concrete at main-contract level needs the rate to sit. The rate range, low to high:

1. Low — larger loads and competitive ready-mix supply.
2. Standard — a typical project and merchant price; the default rate.
3. High — smaller loads or higher-cost areas.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Formwork, edge shuttering & expansion / movement joints
• Reinforcement — mesh, bar, chairs & spacers (a separately measured item)
• Trench or basement excavation, disposal & formation preparation
• Power-float, brushed / tamped decorative finishes & surface treatments beyond a plain tamped mass-fill finish
• Pumping, part-load & standing-time surcharges where the pour is not a full direct-discharge load
• VAT

The supply and placing of C12/15 ready-mixed concrete — the designated GEN2 general-purpose grade used for blinding, oversite, kerb bedding, non-structural floors and mass fill — discharged into the works and placed, tamped and compacted, priced per m³ of concrete placed. This headline prices the concrete on the standard mass / trench-fill placing output: the place-level-vibrate operation is the same whatever the grade, and formwork and reinforcement are separately measured items. It is a full-pour, direct-discharge rate, with pumping, part loads and barrowed delivery as the variants below.

A note on the number, for estimators: this is a MAIN-CONTRACTOR budget rate, and the ready-mixed concrete is around 72% of it. The delivered mix is validated at £96–£117/m³ ex-VAT (ConcreteMath / RMS 2026, national supply-only). On a main-contractor budget rate the bought-in ready-mix is ordered on the contractor’s own account, so it carries the main-contractor O&P only — it is NOT marked up with the market +5% or the sub-contractor O&P +20% (those fall on the laying gang, which does carry the full ladder). The nearest published supply-and-lay benchmark is the low-grade groundworks band of £90–£130/m³, which spans C6/8–C15 and so covers this grade directly; the budget rate sits above it — because it carries the full main-contractor margin the domestic band does not. That is the expected relationship, not an error: it is where a QS pricing sublet concrete at main-contract level needs the rate to sit. The rate range, low to high:

1. Low — larger loads and competitive ready-mix supply.
2. Standard — a typical project and merchant price; the default rate.
3. High — smaller loads or higher-cost areas.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Formwork, edge shuttering & expansion / movement joints
• Reinforcement — mesh, bar, chairs & spacers (a separately measured item)
• Trench or basement excavation, disposal & formation preparation
• Power-float, brushed / tamped decorative finishes & surface treatments beyond a plain tamped mass-fill finish
• Pumping, part-load & standing-time surcharges where the pour is not a full direct-discharge load
• VAT

The supply and placing of C35/45 ready-mixed concrete — the high-strength structural grade (designated RC35/45) used for heavily-loaded and durability-critical foundations, ground beams, transfer slabs, columns and precast / prestressed work above C30/37 — discharged into the works and placed, tamped and compacted, priced per m³ of concrete placed. This headline prices the concrete on the standard mass / trench-fill placing output: the place-level-vibrate operation is the same whatever the grade, and formwork and reinforcement are separately measured items. It is a full-pour, direct-discharge rate, with pumping, part loads and barrowed delivery as the variants below.

A note on the number, for estimators: this is a MAIN-CONTRACTOR budget rate, and the ready-mixed concrete is around 76% of it. The delivered mix is validated at £118–£145/m³ ex-VAT (ConcreteMath / RMS / Mister Concrete 2026, national supply-only). On a main-contractor budget rate the bought-in ready-mix is ordered on the contractor’s own account, so it carries the main-contractor O&P only — it is NOT marked up with the market +5% or the sub-contractor O&P +20% (those fall on the laying gang, which does carry the full ladder). The nearest published supply-and-lay benchmark is a low-grade groundworks figure of £90–£130/m³ (a much lower-grade reference); a designated C35/45 high-strength structural rate sits well above it — for the far richer mix, and because it still carries the main-contractor margin. That is the expected relationship, not an error: it is where a QS pricing sublet concrete at main-contract level needs the rate to sit. The rate range, low to high:

1. Low — larger loads and competitive ready-mix supply.
2. Standard — a typical project and merchant price; the default rate.
3. High — smaller loads or higher-cost areas.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Formwork, edge shuttering & expansion / movement joints
• Reinforcement — mesh, bar, chairs & spacers (a separately measured item)
• Trench or basement excavation, disposal & formation preparation
• Power-float, brushed / tamped decorative finishes & surface treatments beyond a plain tamped mass-fill finish
• Pumping, part-load & standing-time surcharges where the pour is not a full direct-discharge load
• VAT

The supply and placing of C40/50 ready-mixed concrete — the high-strength structural grade (designated RC40/50) used for heavily-loaded and durability-critical foundations, ground beams, transfer slabs, water-retaining structures and precast / prestressed work above C35/45 — discharged into the works and placed, tamped and compacted, priced per m³ of concrete placed. This headline prices the concrete on the standard mass / trench-fill placing output: the place-level-vibrate operation is the same whatever the grade, and formwork and reinforcement are separately measured items. It is a full-pour, direct-discharge rate, with pumping, part loads and barrowed delivery as the variants below.

A note on the number, for estimators: this is a MAIN-CONTRACTOR budget rate, and the ready-mixed concrete is around 77% of it. The delivered mix is validated at £125–£150/m³ ex-VAT (ConcreteMath / RMS / Mister Concrete 2026, national supply-only). On a main-contractor budget rate the bought-in ready-mix is ordered on the contractor’s own account, so it carries the main-contractor O&P only — it is NOT marked up with the market +5% or the sub-contractor O&P +20% (those fall on the laying gang, which does carry the full ladder). The nearest published supply-and-lay benchmark is a low-grade groundworks figure of £90–£130/m³ (a much lower-grade reference); a designated C40/50 high-strength structural rate sits well above it — for the far richer mix, and because it still carries the main-contractor margin. That is the expected relationship, not an error: it is where a QS pricing sublet concrete at main-contract level needs the rate to sit. The rate range, low to high:

1. Low — larger loads and competitive ready-mix supply.
2. Standard — a typical project and merchant price; the default rate.
3. High — smaller loads or higher-cost areas.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Formwork, edge shuttering & expansion / movement joints
• Reinforcement — mesh, bar, chairs & spacers (a separately measured item)
• Trench or basement excavation, disposal & formation preparation
• Power-float, brushed / tamped decorative finishes & surface treatments beyond a plain tamped mass-fill finish
• Pumping, part-load & standing-time surcharges where the pour is not a full direct-discharge load
• VAT

The supply and placing of C32/40 (designated RC32/40) structural ready-mixed concrete to a SUSPENDED slab — pumped into prepared formwork, vibrated, tamped and floated to level, priced per m³ of concrete placed. This is a structural-FRAME element, not a groundworks pour: it is the concrete a QS prices for suspended floor slabs, transfer slabs and elevated decks, placed around the reinforcement in the formed slab and finished ready to receive a screed or floor finish. Formwork and reinforcement are separately measured items. It is a full pumped-pour rate; part loads, standing time and barrowed delivery are the variants below.

A note on the number, for estimators: this is a MAIN-CONTRACTOR budget rate for a SUBLET frame-package element, and the C32/40 ready-mixed concrete is around 74% of it. The delivered mix is validated at £114–£143/m³ ex-VAT (interpolated between the live C30/37 and C35/45 grades and corroborated by ConcreteMath’s direct national C32/40 range). Unlike the groundworks concrete grades — which the main contractor orders on its own account, so their ready-mix carries the main-contractor O&P only — a suspended structural slab is bought AND placed by a specialist concrete-frame subcontractor, so the whole rate (concrete included) carries the full fee-on-fee ladder: the +5% market, the +20% sub-contractor O&P and the +20% main-contractor O&P for sublet work. The nearest published supply-and-place reference is a domestic figure of £85–£120/m³ (small-job, no fee-on-fee and no floated finish); a sublet main-contractor budget rate for a suspended slab sits well above it — for the sublet fee-on-fee and the slower, finished, elevated placing. That is the expected relationship, not an error: it is where a QS pricing a concrete frame at main-contract level needs the rate to sit. The rate range, low to high:

1. Low — larger loads and competitive ready-mix supply.
2. Standard — a typical project and merchant price; the default rate.
3. High — smaller loads or higher-cost areas.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Formwork, soffit & edge shuttering, props & temporary works (a separately measured item)
• Reinforcement — bar, mesh, chairs & spacers (a separately measured item)
• The supporting structure — columns, beams, walls & their design
• Power-trowel, granolithic & applied surface finishes beyond a tamped-and-floated-to-level finish
• Part-load & standing-time surcharges where the pour is not a full pumped load
• VAT

The supply and laying of a BS EN 1340 HB2 half-battered precast-concrete kerb (125×255×914 mm), set out to line and level on a ~100 mm concrete bed and backed with a concrete haunch to about two-thirds of the kerb height, priced per linear metre of finished straight kerb run. This is the standard external-works kerbing line on UK bills of quantities. The composite carries two operations:

1. Bed & set out — a ~100 mm GEN1 (C8/10) concrete bed laid to line and level.
2. Lay & haunch — the HB2 kerb units laid and close-jointed on the bed, backed with a concrete haunch to ~2/3 height and pointed.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Excavation, sub-base & formation beneath the kerb — separate groundworks rates (the excavation rate + the Type-1 sub-base family)
• The carriageway / footway paving in front — bitmac, block paving or slabs (a separate line)
• Drainage runs, gullies, channels & road gullies
• Radius / quadrant / drop-kerb fittings, dropped crossings & works beyond a straight run
• Traffic management / live-carriageway working, road markings, signage & VAT
• VAT

The supply and laying of SHW Class 6F2 coarse recycled capping / bulk fill (crushed concrete & brick, ~0/75–0/125 mm), spread in layers and compacted to build up levels and form a capping beneath a Type 1 sub-base, priced per m³ of compacted material in place. 6F2 is a coarser, cheaper grade than a Type 1 sub-base, laid in equal-or-thicker lifts. Material supply sets the delivered stone price, which is the bulk of the rate, and comes in three bands:

A note on the number, for estimators: this is a MAIN-CONTRACTOR budget rate, and the delivered 6F2 recycled capping is around 84% of it. Under the settled material route the bought-in bulk fill is ordered on the contractor’s own account, so it carries the main-contractor O&P only — it is NOT marked up with the market +5% or the sub-contractor O&P +20% (those fall on the laying gang, which does carry the full ladder). The rate sits at or above a domestic supply-&-lay fill figure because it carries the full main-contractor margin a bill rate needs. That is the expected relationship, not an error. The rate range by material supply:

1. Near source — a local depot on a short haul.
2. Standard — a typical regional haul.
3. Long haul — a remote source beyond about 30 miles.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Excavation to formation & cart-away / disposal of surplus or unsuitable material (separate groundworks rates)
• Geotextile / separation membrane & any capping or Type 1 sub-base laid OVER the fill
• Compaction testing — CBR, plate-bearing & in-situ density testing
• Lifting & material distribution — the site dumper & forward-haul plant (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Dewatering, ground improvement, kerbs, edgings & surfacing
• VAT

The supply and laying of SHW Class 1A imported general granular fill (recycled well-graded crushed hardcore, ~0/80–0/125 mm), spread in layers and compacted to build up levels and form general / embankment fill, priced per m³ of compacted material in place. Class 1A is the lower-grade general-fill class laid beneath a capping or sub-base. Material supply sets the delivered stone price, which is the bulk of the rate, and comes in three bands:

A note on the number, for estimators: this is a MAIN-CONTRACTOR budget rate, and the delivered Class 1A recycled fill is around 82% of it. Under the settled material route the bought-in bulk fill is ordered on the contractor’s own account, so it carries the main-contractor O&P only — it is NOT marked up with the market +5% or the sub-contractor O&P +20% (those fall on the laying gang, which does carry the full ladder). The rate sits at or above a domestic supply-&-lay fill figure because it carries the full main-contractor margin a bill rate needs. That is the expected relationship, not an error. The rate range by material supply:

1. Near source — a local depot on a short haul.
2. Standard — a typical regional haul.
3. Long haul — a remote source beyond about 30 miles.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Excavation to formation & cart-away / disposal of surplus or unsuitable material (separate groundworks rates)
• Geotextile / separation membrane & any capping or Type 1 sub-base laid OVER the fill
• Compaction testing — CBR, plate-bearing & in-situ density testing
• Lifting & material distribution — the site dumper & forward-haul plant (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Dewatering, ground improvement, kerbs, edgings & surfacing
• VAT

The supply and laying of SHW Class 6N selected granular fill (recycled well-graded crushed hardcore, ~0/80 mm), spread and compacted as selected backfill to concrete structures and behind retaining walls, priced per m³ of compacted material in place. Class 6N is a selected fill placed to a tighter compaction than loose general fill. Material supply sets the delivered stone price, which is the bulk of the rate, and comes in three bands:

A note on the number, for estimators: this rate is identical to our Class 1A general fill by construction, not by a manufactured uplift. In the priced recycled market Class 6N and Class 1A are the SAME well-graded crushed-hardcore stock (~2.0 t/m³) — merchants publish “6N” pages quote-only, with no separate recycled 6N uplift — so 6N is priced off the same representative row and lands on the same headline. This is a MAIN-CONTRACTOR budget rate: the delivered fill is around 82% of it and, under the settled material route, carries the main-contractor O&P only (the laying gang carries the full ladder). A PRIMARY / virgin 6N, if ever priced separately, would be a distinct rate. The rate range by material supply:

1. Near source — a local depot on a short haul.
2. Standard — a typical regional haul.
3. Long haul — a remote source beyond about 30 miles.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Excavation to formation & cart-away / disposal of surplus or unsuitable material (separate groundworks rates)
• Geotextile / separation membrane & any capping or Type 1 sub-base laid OVER the fill
• Compaction testing — CBR, plate-bearing & in-situ density testing
• Lifting & material distribution — the site dumper & forward-haul plant (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Dewatering, ground improvement, kerbs, edgings & surfacing
• VAT

The supply and fixing of loose high-yield steel reinforcement bar (BS 4449 grade B500B), cut, bent and delivered to a bending schedule, then placed, tied, lapped and supported on spacers and chairs to reinforce foundations and slabs, priced per tonne of bar supplied and fixed — the way a bill of quantities measures reinforcement. This headline prices a general foundations / ground-slab schedule (predominantly 12–25 mm bar). The rate carries two operations:

1. Cut, bent & delivered — the bar fabricated to a BS 8666 schedule and delivered loose to site.
2. Fixed — placed to the drawing, tied with wire, lapped and set on spacers and chairs to the design cover.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Formwork / shuttering to the concrete element — a separately measured item
• The concrete itself — ready-mix supply & place (the concrete-grade / suspended-slab rates)
• Fabric reinforcement mesh (a separate per-m² item, in the ground-bearing slab) and proprietary couplers, cast-in sockets & ancillaries
• Craneage / tower-crane offloading & distribution of bar around site (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Preliminaries, testing & inspection, and VAT
• VAT

The supply, fabrication and erection of a structural steel frame — universal beams and columns (UB/UC), cut, drilled and welded with their connections and a shop primer coat, delivered to site and then crane-lifted, plumbed, bolted up and aligned into the building frame, priced per tonne of erected steelwork — the way a bill of quantities measures structural steel. This headline prices a general commercial / industrial frame of mixed piece weights. The rate carries two operations:

1. Supplied & fabricated — the sections cut, drilled, welded with fittings and connections and shop-primed off-site, then delivered.
2. Erected — crane-lifted into place, plumbed, bolted up and aligned to line and level by a steel-erection gang working at height.

Budget rate per m³.

Budget rate generator

• Fire protection — intumescent coating, boarding or sprayed protection (a separately measured item)
• Metal decking, shear studs & the composite concrete floor slab (separate rates)
• Holding-down bolts, base-plate grouting & the concrete foundations / bases the frame sits on
• Connection & fabrication design, shop drawings, and extensive secondary steelwork (cladding rails, purlins) beyond the frame
• Main-contractor general craneage / distribution attendance, preliminaries, testing & inspection, and VAT
• VAT

The supply and laying of a single skin of 100 mm aircrete (autoclaved-aerated-concrete) blockwork of 3.6 N/mm² grade, priced per m² of wall face. Aircrete is the lightest walling block, full of trapped air, so it lays fast, cuts easily and insulates well, and the 3.6N grade is the standard strength for the inner leaf of a cavity wall and for partitions. Two jointing systems cover most jobs:

1. Traditional — site-mixed sand-cement mortar with 10 mm joints; the common method and the default rate.
2. Thin-joint — a 2–3 mm thin-bed adhesive instead of mortar; faster laying on repetitive walls for a small extra material cost.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• DPC, lintels, wall ties & cavity insulation, movement joints
• Wall finishes — plaster, render or dry-lining
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a single skin of 100 mm aircrete blockwork of 7.3 N/mm² grade, priced per m² of wall face. Aircrete is the lightest walling block, full of trapped air, so it lays fast, cuts easily and insulates well, and the 7.3N grade is the high-strength version, carrying load for a load-bearing inner leaf or partition. Two jointing systems cover most jobs:

1. Traditional — site-mixed sand-cement mortar with 10 mm joints; the common method and the default rate.
2. Thin-joint — a 2–3 mm thin-bed adhesive instead of mortar; faster laying on repetitive walls for a small extra material cost.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• DPC, lintels, wall ties & cavity insulation, movement joints
• Wall finishes — plaster, render or dry-lining
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a single skin of 100 mm dense aggregate blockwork of 7.3 N/mm² grade to a vertical wall, priced per m² of wall face. Dense aggregate blocks are the strongest and hardest-faced 100 mm block, used for load-bearing, below-DPC and party walls where a durable face matters. Two block finishes are priced:

1. Standard — a common-face block, to be plastered, rendered, painted or dry-lined; the usual choice and the default rate.
2. Fair-faced — a selected exposed-face (paint-grade) block, laid to a finished line to be left visible; a dearer block, laid more slowly.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• DPC, lintels, wall ties & cavity insulation, movement joints
• Wall finishes — plaster, render or dry-lining
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a single skin of 100 mm lightweight-aggregate blockwork of 7.3 N/mm² grade to a vertical wall, priced per m² of wall face. Lightweight-aggregate blocks are lighter and more thermally efficient than dense block but harder-faced than aircrete, and the 7.3N grade is load-bearing. Two block finishes are priced:

1. Standard — a common-face block, to be plastered, rendered, painted or dry-lined; the usual choice and the default rate.
2. Fair-faced — a selected exposed-face / architectural block, laid to a finished line to be left visible; a dearer block, laid more slowly.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• DPC, lintels, wall ties & cavity insulation, movement joints
• Wall finishes — plaster, render or dry-lining
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a single skin of 100 mm medium-density aggregate blockwork of 7.3 N/mm² grade to a vertical wall, priced per m² of wall face. Medium-density blocks sit between dense and aircrete: lighter than dense and load-bearing at 7.3N. Two block finishes are priced:

1. Standard — a common-face block, to be plastered, rendered, painted or dry-lined; the usual choice and the default rate.
2. Fair-faced — a selected exposed-face block, laid to a finished line to be left visible; a dearer block, laid more slowly.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• DPC, lintels, wall ties & cavity insulation, movement joints
• Wall finishes — plaster, render or dry-lining
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a single skin of 100 mm blockwork, priced per m² of wall face, across the five block types that cover most UK projects. The five types are:

1. Aircrete 3.6N — A lightweight block for internal walls and partitions, in traditional or thin-joint mortar.
2. Aircrete 7.3N — A higher-strength block for loadbearing walls, light and one-handed, in traditional or thin-joint mortar.
3. Dense 7.3N — A heavy dense-aggregate block for loadbearing and below-ground work, in a standard or fair-faced finish.
4. Lightweight 7.3N — A lightweight-aggregate block balancing strength and weight, in a standard or fair-faced finish.
5. Medium-density 7.3N — A medium-density block for everyday loadbearing walls, in a standard or fair-faced finish.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• DPC, lintels, wall ties & cavity insulation, movement joints
• Wall finishes — plaster, render or dry-lining
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a half-brick (102.5 mm) skin of standard machine-made facing brickwork in stretcher bond to a vertical wall, priced per m² of wall face. Facing bricks are the exposed outer leaf of a cavity wall, or the visible face of a solid wall — selected, laid to line and gauge, and pointed as the work proceeds. The rate carries two operations:

1. Laid — facing bricks bedded in mortar to a half-brick stretcher-bond skin, gauged, plumbed and levelled at roughly 60 bricks per m².
2. Pointed — joints struck and finished as the work proceeds (bucket-handle or weather-struck); a separate finishing pass is not required.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• DPC, lintels, wall ties & cavity insulation, movement joints, weep vents & bed reinforcement
• The inner leaf, cavity insulation & cavity closers
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a half-brick (102.5 mm) skin of Class B engineering brickwork below the damp-proof course to a vertical substructure wall, priced per m² of wall face. Below-DPC brickwork is the buried or ground-level masonry beneath the DPC — Class B engineering bricks are specified for their low water absorption and high compressive strength where the wall sits in damp, aggressive ground. The rate covers:

1. Laid rough — engineering bricks bedded in mortar to a half-brick substructure skin, gauged, plumbed and levelled at roughly 60 bricks per m².
2. Struck flush — bed and perpend joints struck off flush as the work proceeds; no separate pointing pass, as the skin is below ground / DPC and will not be seen.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The damp-proof course membrane, cavity fill / insulation below DPC, wall ties & bed reinforcement
• Foundation concrete, excavation & the facing skin above DPC
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a full cavity wall as one composite rate, priced per m² of wall face: a half-brick (102.5 mm) facing outer leaf in stretcher bond, a full-fill insulated cavity with wall ties, and a 100 mm block inner leaf — the standard external wall of a UK masonry building. The rate builds all three elements as one gang operation:

1. Outer leaf — standard machine-made facing bricks bedded in mortar to a half-brick stretcher-bond skin, gauged, plumbed and pointed as the work proceeds (~60 bricks per m²).
2. Insulated cavity & ties — 100 mm full-fill mineral-wool cavity batts built in against the inner leaf, with stainless wall ties at the specified centres tying the two leaves together.
3. Inner leaf — a 100 mm medium-density block skin (the representative inner leaf), laid in mortar to receive the internal finish.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Foundations, the DPC membrane, lintels, cavity trays, closers, weep vents & movement joints
• Internal finishes (plaster / dry-lining), the roof & scaffold
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a single skin of 100 mm smooth-faced (paint-grade) blockwork to a vertical wall, priced per m² of wall face. Paint-grade blocks carry a smooth, close-textured face laid to a finished line so the wall can be sealed and painted directly — no plaster or render coat is needed. Three block specifications are priced:

1. Aircrete — a lightweight paint-grade aircrete block; the lightest unit and the fastest to lay.
2. Medium-density — the canonical UK smooth-faced paint-grade block; the usual choice and the default rate.
3. Dense — a denser, harder-faced smooth block for load-bearing or more durable exposed faces.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• DPC, lintels, wall ties & cavity insulation, movement joints
• Decoration — the sealer / paint finish coat to the exposed face
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a 75 mm nominal traditional sand:cement (1:4, sharp sand) floor screed, site-batched in a mixer and ruled to level over a structural base to receive a floor finish, priced per m² of finished floor. A screed is the levelling topping between the structural slab and the floor finish — not the structural base itself. The rate carries two operations:

1. Site-batched & laid — a traditional 1:4 sand:cement screed mixed on site, barrowed to place and laid to a nominal 75 mm over the prepared base.
2. Ruled & floated to level — screeded off to rails/datums and floated to a level surface ready to receive the floor finish; unbonded/floating on a normal ground-floor base.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The structural base / slab beneath, DPM / radon barrier & floor insulation
• The floor finish, under-floor-heating pipes, the SBR primer for a bonded screed & power-floated wearing finishes
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and fixing of 12.5 mm tapered-edge plasterboard, dot-and-dabbed (adhesive-fixed) to a blockwork or masonry background and finished with a 2–3 mm multi-finish skim to receive decoration, priced per m² of finished wall. This is the standard internal drylining line — the board and skim, not the background wall behind it, which is a separate rate. The composite carries two operations:

1. Dot-and-dab boarding — 12.5 mm tapered-edge boards fixed to the background on adhesive dabs, cut around openings and reveals, with scrim tape and edge / angle beads.
2. Two-pass skim — a 2–3 mm multi-finish plaster skim trowelled to a flat, decorable surface ready for mist coat and decoration.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The background wall — blockwork, masonry or stud lining (a separate rate)
• Insulated / thermal laminate boards, metal-stud partitions, mist coat & decoration
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a single skin of 140 mm dense aggregate blockwork of 7.3 N/mm² grade to a vertical wall, priced per m² of wall face. At 140 mm the dense aggregate block gives a thicker, heavier leaf than the 100 mm skin — specified for higher loadings, party and separating walls, and below-DPC substructure where mass, strength and a durable face matter. One finish is priced:

1. Standard — a common-face block, to be plastered, rendered, painted or dry-lined; the usual choice and the default rate.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• DPC, lintels, wall ties & cavity insulation, movement joints
• Wall finishes — plaster, render or dry-lining
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a single skin of 140 mm medium-density aggregate blockwork of 7.3 N/mm² grade to a vertical wall, priced per m² of wall face. The medium-density 140 mm block is a lighter, better-insulating unit than the dense block at the same thickness — the common choice for load-bearing inner leaves and party walls where thermal and acoustic performance matter as well as strength. One finish is priced:

1. Standard — a common-face block, to be plastered, rendered, painted or dry-lined; the usual choice and the default rate.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• DPC, lintels, wall ties & cavity insulation, movement joints
• Wall finishes — plaster, render or dry-lining
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a 150 mm ground-bearing floor slab, priced per m² of slab: a 1200-gauge polythene damp-proof membrane, A193 steel-fabric reinforcement mesh and C28/35 ready-mixed structural concrete, placed, tamped, screeded and floated to level over a prepared sub-base — the standard ground floor of a UK building, the concrete element measured per m². The rate builds the slab as one gang operation:

1. Membrane & mesh — the 1200g DPM laid and lapped over the prepared formation, then A193 fabric mesh set on spacers to the design cover.
2. Placed & tamped — C28/35 ready-mixed concrete discharged, spread and compacted to a 150 mm slab, tamped down onto the mesh.
3. Floated to level — screeded to level and floated to receive a screed or floor finish (a power-float wearing finish is an upgrade option).

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The sub-base, hardcore & blinding beneath the slab, excavation & formation preparation
• Edge formwork / shuttering, floor insulation, DPC linking, movement / crack-inducing joints, a power-float wearing finish & the floor finish
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a nonwoven separation geotextile — a Terram 1000-class filtration fabric — rolled out and lapped over a prepared formation, priced per m² of membrane. The membrane is the separation layer between the soft subgrade and the granular sub-base above it: it stops the subgrade fines pumping up into the stone and the stone punching down into soft ground, so the sub-base keeps its load-bearing thickness. The rate carries two operations:

1. Laid — the fabric unrolled over the trimmed formation to the full area.
2. Lapped & pinned — adjacent rolls overlapped 300 mm at side and end joints, trimmed to edges and pinned or weighted against wind and placing.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Excavation, formation trimming & preparation, and the sub-base / capping laid over the membrane
• Roll distribution around site (an MC dumper attendance), stabilisation / reinforcement geogrids, edge restraints & the surfacing above
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The construction of a new bituminous macadam (tarmac) footway, priced per m² of finished path: the formation trimmed to level, a ~150 mm compacted MOT Type 1 granular sub-base, and a ~65 mm bituminous macadam surfacing — a binder course under a wearing course — laid and rolled over it. This is the standard external-works footpath line on a UK BoQ; edgings and kerbs are measured separately (a linear item). The rate builds the footway as three operations by one gang:

1. Formation & sub-base — the formation trimmed to level and a ~150 mm MOT Type 1 sub-base laid & compacted.
2. Binder course — a ~45 mm 20 mm dense bitumen macadam base laid & rolled to the sub-base.
3. Surface course — a ~20 mm 6 mm macadam wearing course laid & rolled to the finished level.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Edgings & kerbs — a separately measured linear (per-m) item under NRM2/SMM7 (the HB2 kerb rate)
• Bulk excavation / dig to formation & capping layer, drainage, gullies & ducting, road markings & street furniture, prelims & VAT
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The making, fixing and striking of traditional 18 mm ply-and-timber formwork — the temporary mould an in-situ concrete slab is cast against — to the SOFFIT (underside) and EDGES of the slab, priced per m² of CONTACT (formed) face, the way a bill of quantities measures formwork. The forms are cut and assembled from shuttering plywood on softwood bearers, carried on adjustable steel props, oiled with release agent, then STRUCK, cleaned and removed once the concrete has gained strength — a temporary works item, not left in the slab. This headline prices a basic (F1) soffit finish. The rate carries three operations by one carpentry gang:

1. Make — the ply deck cut & assembled on 47×100 bearers & soldiers.
2. Fix — erected & levelled on adjustable props / falsework and oiled with release agent.
3. Strike — struck, cleaned and set aside for re-use (the rate assumes five uses).

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The concrete itself — ready-mix supply & place (the suspended-slab / concrete-grade rates) — and the reinforcement (the rebar supply-&-fix rate); both separately measured
• Slab EDGE forms & fine (F4) fair-faced finishes (dearer per m²), proprietary panel / system formwork, and beam / column / wall forms — priced separately
• Craneage / offloading & distribution of forms around site (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims), scaffold, prelims & VAT
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The construction of a freestanding non-loadbearing internal PARTITION on a light-gauge galvanised metal frame — 70 mm ‘C’ studs at 600 mm centres in ‘U’ head & floor tracks — with a 25 mm acoustic mineral-wool quilt pushed into the stud cavity, 12.5 mm tapered-edge plasterboard screw-fixed to BOTH faces and a 2–3 mm multi-finish skim to each face, priced per m² of finished partition. One m² of partition carries two boarded & skimmed faces plus the shared frame and quilt. This is the standard fit-out internal-walling line — the whole wall, not a lining applied to an existing background (that is a separate rate). The rate carries four operations by one drylining gang:

1. Frame — ‘U’ tracks fixed to floor & soffit and ‘C’ studs cut & located at 600 mm centres, plumbed & sealed.
2. Insulate — a 25 mm acoustic mineral-wool quilt friction-fitted between the studs.
3. Board — 12.5 mm tapered-edge plasterboard screw-fixed to both faces, cut around openings with scrim tape & edge / angle beads.
4. Skim — a 2–3 mm multi-finish skim trowelled to each face, ready for decoration.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The background structure the partition meets — the floor slab, ceiling / soffit & abutting walls (separate rates), and lining an EXISTING masonry wall (the plasterboard-&-skim dot-and-dab rate, a single face, priced separately)
• Doorsets, frames, ironmongery, glazed screens / borrowed lights, and structural support to openings
• Spec upgrades — a double board layer, fire-rated (Type X) or moisture board, a higher-acoustic build (denser quilt, resilient bars, two layers), and wider 92 / 146 mm studs (dearer per m²)
• Decoration (mist coat & paint), skirtings & second-fix, service first-fix within the partition, scaffold, prelims & VAT
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a 50 mm nominal pumped calcium-sulphate (anhydrite) liquid flowing floor screed, delivered ready-mixed and pumped to place, laid unbonded/floating over a prepared base to receive a floor finish, priced per m² of floor. A liquid screed is the self-levelling levelling topping between the structural base and the floor finish — the fast, pumped alternative to a traditional sand:cement screed. The rate carries two operations:

1. Pumped to place — a ready-mixed calcium-sulphate liquid screed delivered by truck and pumped to a nominal 50 mm over the prepared base, on a perimeter edge-foam strip and separating membrane.
2. Dappled & levelled — worked with a dapple bar to release air and self-levelled to a flat surface ready to receive the floor finish; unbonded/floating on a normal ground-floor base.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The structural base / slab beneath, DPM / radon barrier & floor insulation
• Under-floor-heating pipes, force-drying, the pre-tiling laitance sand & the floor finish
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and fixing of a pitched-roof covering of large-format concrete interlocking tiles (~10 tiles/m²), laid on a breathable underlay and treated battens and fixed per BS5534, priced per m² of roof slope. Concrete interlocking tiles are the mainstream UK budget pitched-roof covering — large tiles that lock together, laying fast with few tiles per m². The rate carries three operations:

1. Underlay — a BBA/LABC breathable membrane laid over the rafters with 150 mm laps.
2. Battened — treated 25×50 mm BS5534 battens fixed to the tile gauge.
3. Tiled — the interlocking tiles loaded out, set out, laid, nailed & clipped to the exposure requirement.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The roof structure (rafters/trusses), ridge, hip, verge, valley & abutment linear details
• Fascia/soffit/gutters, leadwork & flashings, strip-off & disposal, insulation & scaffold
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The construction of one precast concrete-ring man-entry manhole — a 1200 mm diameter chamber roughly 2.0 m deep to invert, set complete and priced per nr (each). A manhole is the access & junction chamber a drainage BoQ measures separately from the pipe runs. The rate carries the whole operation:

1. Excavated & based — the pit is machine-dug and an in-situ C20/25 concrete base and channel benching laid to the invert.
2. Ringed — precast concrete chamber rings set to depth on the base, joints bedded & sealed, reduced with a precast cover slab.
3. Covered — a Class D400 ductile cover & frame set to level, and the chamber backfilled & compacted.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The connecting drainage runs, disposal of surplus arisings, deep-dig support, dewatering & rock
• Carriageway/pavement reinstatement above the cover, and any drainage below the invert
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and application of a through-coloured monocouche one-coat render (Weber Pral M / K Rend K Mono class), mixed, applied 15–20 mm and scraped to a textured finish over a blockwork or masonry background, priced per m² of rendered wall. This is the standard external render finish — the render coat, not the wall behind it, which is a separate rate. For an all-in rendered blockwork wall, add this to the plain blockwork rate; the internal equivalent is plasterboard on dot-and-dab. The finish carries:

1. Preparation & beads — a stabilising primer / key coat, bellcast, stop and angle beads at base, corners and openings, and alkali-resistant mesh at junctions.
2. Monocouche coat — a one-coat through-coloured render applied 15–20 mm, ruled flat and scraped to an even textured finish that needs no separate paint.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The background wall — blockwork or masonry (a separate rate)
• Scaffold / access, movement-joint sealants, painting (a self-coloured monocouche needs none) & making good to others
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and installation of a full external wall insulation (EWI) system to an existing solid or masonry wall, priced per m² of insulated & rendered wall. This is the standard, mainstream EWI spec — a 100 mm graphite-EPS insulation board finished with a through-coloured silicone thin-coat render. A mineral-wool board system (fire-rated / breathable) is the dearer alternative. The system carries four operations:

1. Board fixed — 100 mm graphite-EPS boards bedded on adhesive and mechanically fixed with hammer anchors, off a levelled starter track.
2. Mesh & basecoat — a polymer-cement basecoat with alkali-resistant fibreglass mesh fully embedded, plus bead & corner reinforcement.
3. Topcoat — a through-coloured silicone thin-coat render applied and textured over a primer/key coat — the self-coloured weather finish.
4. Beads & details — starter track, bellcast, stop, corner and reveal beads, and primer to junctions and openings.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Scaffold / access — a separate rate (EWI almost always needs it)
• The wall behind, substrate repairs, moving pipes/soil stacks/meter boxes, window-reveal making-good & VAT
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and fixing of a fully-adhered single-ply EPDM rubber flat-roof covering — the waterproofing membrane, its deck & contact adhesive and the perimeter trims & sundries — bonded to a prepared deck, priced per m² of flat-roof area. EPDM single-ply is the mainstream UK domestic & light-commercial flat-roof covering, the modern one-piece replacement for built-up felt. This rate prices the COVERING only — the deck, vapour-control layer and insulation (the warm-roof build-up) are separate rates. The rate carries three operations:

1. Bonded — a ~1.14 mm cured EPDM membrane rolled out and fully adhered to the prepared deck in a water-based deck adhesive.
2. Upstands & trims — upstands contact-bonded, perimeter edge/kerb trims fitted and corners detailed.
3. Sealed — laps, seams & details completed with cover strip/tape, primer, cleaner and lap sealant to a watertight finish.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The structural deck, vapour-control layer & thermal insulation (the warm-roof build-up)
• Rainwater outlets & goods, leadwork & flashings, strip-off & disposal, and scaffold / access
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and fixing of a first-fix timber floor structure — C24 softwood floor joists set out, hung and fixed to gauge with mid-span strutting/blocking, joist hangers, lateral restraint straps and fixings — priced per m² of floor area. C24 solid joists at ~400 mm centres are the mainstream UK budget timber floor carcass. This rate prices the STRUCTURE only — the floor decking (chipboard/ply/T&G), the insulation between joists and any second-fix carpentry are separate rates. The rate carries three operations:

1. Set out & hang — C24 joists (47 × 195 mm at ~400 mm centres) loaded out, set out to gauge and hung on hangers or seated on wall plates.
2. Strut & brace — a mid-span row of herringbone or solid strutting/blocking cut & fixed, and lateral restraint straps fixed to the surrounding walls.
3. Fix off — the whole carcass nailed/screwed off to a level, braced floor ready to receive its decking.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The floor decking / boarding (chipboard, ply or T&G) and insulation between joists
• Masonry / steel bearings & structural steel beams, structural design, and access / scaffold
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and fixing of a structural floor deck — 22 mm P5 moisture-resistant tongue-&-groove chipboard flooring cut, glued at the T&G joints and screwed/nailed down over prepared first-fix joists to a level braced deck — priced per m² of floor area. 22 mm P5 T&G chipboard is the mainstream UK budget floor deck; it is the board that completes the first-fix timber floor the joists carry. This rate prices the DECK only — the joists it sits on, the insulation and any screed or floor finish are separate rates. The rate carries three operations:

1. Set out & cut — 22 mm P5 T&G boards loaded out, set out to the joist gauge and cut around the perimeter, openings and upstands.
2. Glue & joint — D4 PVA adhesive run into the tongue-&-groove joints as the boards are laid, so the deck acts as one continuous sheet.
3. Fix off — the boards screwed / nailed down to every joist to a level, braced deck ready to receive its insulation, screed or finish.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The first-fix floor joists / carcass and insulation between or over the joists
• Screed / floor finish over the deck, structural design, and access / scaffold
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and installation of a composite (WPC) wood deck — wood-plastic-composite deck boards laid on hidden clips to falls over a treated softwood subframe (joists at ~400 mm centres, bearers and posts/pads) and a weed-control membrane, on prepared level ground — priced per m² of deck area. A capped solid WPC board is the mainstream UK garden deck; low-maintenance, splinter-free and far longer-lived than a softwood deck. This rate prices the DECK only — balustrade, steps, foundations and drainage are separate rates. The rate carries three operations:

1. Build the subframe — treated softwood joists set out to gauge on bearers and posts/pads over a weed membrane, levelled and fixed to a rigid braced frame set to falls.
2. Lay & clip — WPC composite boards loaded out, cut to size and laid on hidden stainless clips with the correct expansion gaps.
3. Finish off — fascia / picture-frame edge boards fitted and the deck finished to a clean, square, low-maintenance surface.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Balustrade / handrails, steps, pergolas and deck lighting
• Groundworks / foundations beyond simple pads, surface-water drainage, structural design and access / scaffold
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and fixing of a warm-roof build-up — an 18 mm OSB3 structural deck laid over the roof structure, a self-adhesive vapour control layer lapped and bonded over it, and rigid PIR flat-roof insulation boards cut, bonded and fixed to a level braced substrate ready to receive the waterproofing covering — priced per m² of roof area. The warm-roof build-up is Building-Regs-driven on essentially every modern flat roof; it is the substrate that sits UNDER the single-ply / felt / GRP covering. This rate prices the BUILD-UP only — the covering over it, the roof structure below it and the rainwater goods are separate rates. The rate carries three operations:

1. Deck — 18 mm OSB3 boards loaded out, set out and cut around the perimeter, upstands and penetrations, and fixed down over the roof structure.
2. Vapour control layer — a self-adhesive VCL rolled out, lapped and bonded to the deck so warm moist air cannot reach the cold side of the insulation.
3. Insulation — rigid PIR flat-roof boards (120 mm default, to a modern Building-Regs U-value) cut, bonded / mechanically fixed to a level substrate ready for the covering.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The waterproofing covering over the build-up (single-ply EPDM / felt / GRP — a separate rate) and the roof structure / joists / firrings below
• Rainwater outlets & goods, leadwork / flashings, strip-off of an existing roof, and access / scaffold
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The construction of one precast concrete trapped ROAD gully — a 450 mm diameter, 750 mm deep (70 L) gully pot with a Class D400 ductile grating & frame, set complete and priced per nr (each). A road gully is the trapped surface-water inlet a drainage BoQ measures separately from the pipe runs. The rate carries the whole operation:

1. Excavated & surrounded — the pit is machine-dug and a C20/25 concrete bed & surround placed to the gully pot.
2. Set — the precast trapped gully pot set to level on the bed, and the D400 ductile grating & frame set to finished road level on the surround.
3. Backfilled — the gully backfilled & compacted around the surround, ready for the connecting run.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The connecting drainage run to the manhole/sewer, disposal of surplus arisings, deep-dig support & dewatering
• The surrounding kerb/channel, and any carriageway/pavement reinstatement above the grating
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and fixing of an insulated laminate (thermal-board) dry lining to a masonry background — a 62.5 mm board (50 mm rigid PIR insulation factory-bonded to a 12.5 mm tapered-edge plasterboard face) dot-and-dabbed to the wall, pinned back with secondary mechanical fixings, taped and finished with a 2–3 mm multi-finish skim — priced per m² of wall. Insulated laminate boards are the mainstream way to thermally upgrade a solid or under-performing masonry wall from the inside without building a separate frame. This rate prices the DABBED lining to a sound masonry wall — the freestanding/independent (battened or metal-framed) lining used on a damp or uneven wall is a separate build. The rate carries three operations:

1. Dab & fix — the insulated laminate board set out and dot-and-dabbed to the masonry in drywall adhesive.
2. Pin back — secondary mechanical nailable plugs drilled & driven through the board into the masonry (mandatory on adhesive-bonded thermal boards).
3. Tape & skim — joints scrimmed & beaded and a 2–3 mm two-pass multi-finish skim taken to a decorating finish.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The freestanding / independent (battened or metal-framed) thermal lining, and substrate / damp-proofing repairs to the wall behind
• Mist coat & decoration, making good to others’ work, and access / scaffold
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and fixing of a second-fix softwood skirting run — softwood (redwood) torus/ogee skirting measured, cut, mitred at internal & external corners, scribed to the floor and fixed (grab adhesive plus pins or screws) to masonry or studwork, with caulk & filler to finish — priced per metre of run. A 25 × 125 mm softwood torus/ogee board is the mainstream UK budget skirting. The calculator also prices the two sibling second-fix mouldings run the same way — softwood architrave to door & opening surrounds and softwood/MDF window board to reveals (different sections and outputs, so different BoQ rates); internal doors & ironmongery and staircases are separate rates, and the decoration is a painter’s rate. The skirting run carries three operations:

1. Set out & cut — the run measured, boards cut to length and mitred at internal & external corners.
2. Scribe & fix — scribed to an uneven floor, grab-adhesive applied and the board pinned or screwed off to masonry plugs or studwork.
3. Finish — decorator’s caulk to the top edge and filler to fixings & scribes, ready for the painter.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Internal doors & ironmongery and staircases (separate second-fix rates); the door leaf/lining under the architrave
• Decoration (knot/prime/undercoat/gloss) of the skirting, architrave or window board, making good the wall behind, and access / scaffold
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and installation of a linear (slot / “ACO-type”) channel drain — a ~100 mm internal-width, Class D400 (trafficked, 40 t) channel supplied complete with its ductile-iron slotted grating, set to falls in a concrete surround and priced per linear metre. A linear channel drain is the surface-water interceptor a civils BoQ measures separately as “gullies & channels”. The rate carries the whole operation:

1. Excavated & bedded — a shallow channel trench is machine-dug and a C20/25 concrete bed laid.
2. Set & surrounded — the channel units are set to line & falls, concrete-haunched & surrounded both sides, and the D400 ductile gratings fitted & locked.
3. Backfilled — backfilled & compacted to the channel edge, ready to receive the surrounding surfacing.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The connecting outlet run to the manhole/soakaway, any catchpit/silt-bucket unit, disposal of surplus arisings
• The surrounding kerb, and any carriageway/pavement surfacing or reinstatement above the channel
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The construction of an INDEPENDENT (freestanding) dry lining to an existing wall on a light-gauge galvanised metal frame stood OFF the wall — 70 mm ‘C’ studs at 600 mm centres in ‘U’ head & floor tracks, tied back to the wall — with a 25 mm mineral-wool quilt in the frame cavity, 12.5 mm tapered-edge plasterboard screw-fixed to the ONE (room) face and a 2–3 mm multi-finish skim to that face, priced per m² of lining. An independent lining is used where the wall behind is damp, uneven or out of plumb and a dot-and-dab will not adhere, or where a ventilated cavity or a thermal / acoustic upgrade is wanted — the frame stands the new face clear of the wall. It differs from a dabbed lining (stuck to the wall) and from a metal-stud partition (a freestanding wall with two boarded faces). The rate carries four operations by one drylining gang:

1. Frame — ‘U’ tracks fixed to floor & soffit and ‘C’ studs at 600 mm centres set off the wall & tied back, plumbed & sealed.
2. Insulate — a 25 mm mineral-wool quilt friction-fitted into the frame cavity.
3. Board — 12.5 mm tapered-edge plasterboard screw-fixed to the ONE (room) face, cut around openings with scrim tape & edge / angle beads.
4. Skim — a 2–3 mm multi-finish skim trowelled to that face, ready for decoration.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The existing wall the lining is fixed to, and substrate / damp-proofing repairs to it (a separate item); the dabbed lining to a sound wall (the plasterboard-&-skim or insulated-laminate dab rate) and the two-faced metal-stud partition are priced separately
• Doorsets, frames, ironmongery, glazed screens, and structural support to openings
• Spec upgrades — a deeper frame / bigger service void, a thermal-grade or thicker quilt, a double board layer, fire-rated (Type X) or moisture board, and a timber-batten frame (dearer per m²)
• Decoration (mist coat & paint), skirtings & second-fix, service first-fix within the lining, scaffold, prelims & VAT
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and hanging of an internal door — a standard door leaf trimmed and planed to fit a prepared lining, hung on 1.5 pairs of butt hinges with a morticed tubular latch and lever-on-rose furniture, then eased, adjusted and hung to swing and latch cleanly — priced per door (nr). A moulded 4/6-panel white-primed leaf is the mainstream UK budget internal door. This rate prices the DOOR only — the door lining/frame, the architrave, the decoration and any glazing or closers are separate rates. The rate carries three operations:

1. Trim & hang — the leaf offered up, trimmed and planed to the prepared lining with the correct joinery gaps.
2. Ironmongery — 1.5 pairs of butt hinges let in and fixed, a tubular mortice latch and keep morticed in and lever furniture on rose fitted.
3. Ease & adjust — the door hung, eased and adjusted to swing freely and latch cleanly, ready for decoration.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The door lining / frame, the architrave / mouldings and any glazing or vision panels
• Decoration (a painter’s rate), door closers / floor springs, intumescent fire-upgrade hardware and access / scaffold
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and application of emulsion decoration to plastered walls & ceilings — light prep & filling of minor defects, cutting in to edges, reveals & ceiling lines, a thinned mist coat to seal new or prepared plaster and two full coats of vinyl-matt emulsion, roller-applied — priced per m² of finished surface. Trade vinyl matt is the mainstream UK budget wall & ceiling emulsion. This rate prices the EMULSION to walls & ceilings only — the joinery gloss, external decoration, spray application and wallpaper are separate rates. The rate carries three operations:

1. Prep & cut in — light abrasion and filling of minor defects, then cutting in to edges, reveals and ceiling lines with a brush.
2. Mist coat — a thinned first coat rolled on to seal new or prepared plaster and bind the surface.
3. Two full coats — two full coats of vinyl-matt emulsion, roller-applied to an even, opaque finish ready for handover.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The joinery decoration — knot, prime, undercoat & gloss to skirting, architrave, doors & frames (a painter’s rate per m)
• External masonry & render decoration (a separate exterior rate) & external woodwork, spray application, wallpaper / lining paper, the plaster background itself and access / scaffold
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a 40 mm asphalt surface course (wearing course) as a machine-laid overlay to a prepared, structurally-sound carriageway, priced per m² of finished surface. A sprayed tack (bond) coat, then the surface course laid to line & level by the paver and compacted by the roller. This rate prices the wearing-course overlay ONLY — the binder course beneath, planing of the old surface, kerbs, ironwork, markings and traffic management are separate items. The rate carries three operations:

1. Tack coat — a sprayed bitumen-emulsion bond coat to key the new asphalt to the prepared base.
2. Machine-lay — the 40 mm AC10 (or SMA) surface course laid to line & level by the paver train.
3. Compaction — the mat rolled to density and a closed, even finished surface by the tandem roller.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Planing / milling of the old surface, and the binder course beneath (a separate carriageway-resurface line)
• Kerbs & edgings, ironwork adjustment, road markings, traffic management, prelims & VAT
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a ~90 mm asphalt carriageway resurface — a ~60 mm AC20 binder course under a ~30 mm AC10 (or SMA) surface course, machine-laid in two passes to a prepared, structurally-adequate base — priced per m² of finished road. Tack/bond coats bond the base and the interlayer; both courses are laid to line & level by the paver and rolled to density. This rate prices the binder + surface resurface ONLY — planing/excavation of the old road, kerbs, ironwork, markings and traffic management are separate items. The rate carries three operations:

1. Tack / bond coats — a sprayed bitumen-emulsion prime to the base and an interlayer bond between the courses.
2. Binder course — a ~60 mm AC20 dense binder course machine-laid & rolled to regulate and strengthen.
3. Surface course — a ~30 mm AC10 (or SMA) wearing course machine-laid & rolled to the finished level.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Planing / milling or excavation of the old road (a separate item)
• Kerbs & edgings, ironwork adjustment, road markings, traffic management, prelims & VAT
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a ~50 mm AC20 binder / regulating course, machine-laid in a single pass to a prepared, structurally-adequate base, priced per m² of finished course. A sprayed tack (prime) coat, then the binder course laid to line & level by the paver and compacted by the roller — used to regulate and level a base before the surface course, or as a strengthening base course. This rate prices the binder / regulating course ONLY — the surface (wearing) course on top, planing of the old road, kerbs, ironwork, markings and traffic management are separate items. The rate carries three operations:

1. Tack / prime coat — a sprayed bitumen-emulsion coat to key the binder course to the prepared base.
2. Machine-lay — the ~50 mm AC20 binder course laid to line & level by the paver to regulate the surface.
3. Compaction — the mat rolled to density by the tandem roller.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Planing / milling or excavation of the old road, and the surface (wearing) course on top (a separate line)
• Kerbs & edgings, ironwork adjustment, road markings, traffic management, prelims & VAT
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The cold planing (milling) of the existing bituminous road surface, priced per m² of planed area. A half-lane (~1 m) cold planer mills off the worn surface to depth in a single pass so a fresh binder or surface course can be laid back. This rate prices the planing / milling operation ONLY — the arisings (road planings) are a recycled resource carted away separately, and the binder / surface courses laid back on the planed base, kerbs, ironwork, road markings and traffic management are all separate items. The rate carries three operations:

1. Machine planing — a half-lane operated cold planer mills the bituminous surface to depth in a single pass.
2. Edge & ironwork trim — operatives on foot trim around ironwork, gullies and edges the machine cannot reach.
3. Sweep — the milled surface swept by hand / broom ready for the courses to be laid back.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Haulage & disposal of the arisings (road planings, a recycled resource carted separately) & heavy mechanical road sweeping
• The binder / surface courses laid back, kerbs & edgings, ironwork adjustment, road markings, traffic management, prelims & VAT
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and application of a ~100 mm continuous thermoplastic (hot-applied screed) road-marking line to a prepared, sound carriageway surface, priced per metre of line. A road-marking gang melts the thermoplastic screed in the pre-melt boiler and applies it to line with the screed applicator, dropping glass beads onto the hot material for reflectivity. This rate prices the supply & application of the continuous line ONLY — surface preparation, pre-marking / setting-out survey, removal of old lines, reflective studs, arrows, letters, symbols & hatching, and the carriageway courses laid or planed are all separate items. The rate carries three operations:

1. Melt — the thermoplastic screed brought up to temperature in the LPG pre-melt boiler.
2. Apply — the hot screed laid to line at ~100 mm width by the applicator, to the pre-marked set-out.
3. Bead — glass beads dropped onto the hot line for skid resistance and night reflectivity, and the line made good.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Surface preparation, pre-marking / setting-out survey, and removal of existing / redundant lines (a separate grind / blast item)
• Reflective road studs, arrows, letters, symbols & hatching (per nr / m²), the carriageway courses laid or planed, traffic management, prelims & VAT
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and fixing of a bought-in manufactured straight staircase flight — a closed-string softwood/MDF flight (around 13 risers to suit a standard floor-to-floor, treads and risers, with the newels, handrail and spindles supplied with a standard flight) offered up to a prepared, trimmed opening, the strings cut and scribed to the trimmer and wall, the flight levelled, wedged and glue-blocked, fixed off and made good — priced per flight (nr). A mainstream softwood/MDF straight flight is the UK budget default. This rate prices the FLIGHT supplied and fixed only — the structural trimming of the opening, the strip-out of an existing stair, the balustrade to landings and the finishes and decoration are separate rates. The rate carries three operations:

1. Offer up & scribe — the manufactured flight offered up to the prepared opening, the closed strings cut and scribed to the trimmer and the wall.
2. Level, wedge & fix — the flight levelled, wedged and glue-blocked, then fixed off to the trimmer and wall.
3. Set & make good — the newels, handrail and spindles supplied with the flight set, and the flight scribed and made good, ready for balustrade and finishes.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Structural trimming of the floor opening, supporting steel/timber and the strip-out of an existing staircase
• Balustrade / spindles to landings & galleries, separate wall handrails, floor & wall finishes, decoration (a painter’s rate) and access / scaffold
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and application of gloss decoration to softwood joinery — skirting, architrave, doors & frames — with knots spot-treated, the timber primed, undercoated and finished with one-to-two coats of gloss or satinwood, brush-applied and de-nibbed between coats, priced per metre of run. A trade undercoat plus a quick-dry gloss or satinwood is the mainstream UK budget joinery finish. This rate prices the JOINERY gloss only — the emulsion to walls & ceilings, external decoration, spray application and wallpaper are separate rates, and the joinery itself is supplied & fixed by the carpentry rates. The rate carries three operations:

1. Prep & knot — light abrasion and de-nib, filling of gaps & nail holes and shellac/acrylic knotting spot-applied to knots.
2. Prime & undercoat — a primer to bare/prepared softwood and an undercoat, brush-applied and cut in, de-nibbed once dry.
3. Gloss coats — one-to-two coats of gloss or satinwood, brush-applied to an even, hard-wearing finish ready for handover.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The emulsion to walls & ceilings (a painter’s rate per m²), external masonry & render decoration (a separate exterior rate) & external woodwork, spray application and wallpaper / lining paper
• The supply & fix of the joinery itself (the skirting, door & staircase carpentry rates), major stripping-back of failed paint, large making-good and access / scaffold
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and fixing of an internal door lining / casing set — the timber set (two jambs and a head, with loose planted stops) that lines a structural door opening and onto which the door leaf is later hung — offered up to a prepared opening, both jambs plumbed true, packed and shimmed to line, fixed off, the loose stops pinned and made good — priced per opening (nr). A mainstream softwood or MDF lining set is the UK budget default. This rate prices the LINING only — the door leaf, the ironmongery, the architrave and the decoration are separate rates. The rate carries three operations:

1. Offer up & plumb — the lining set offered up to the prepared opening and both jambs plumbed true.
2. Pack & fix — the lining packed and shimmed to line and fixed off to the opening.
3. Pin & make good — the loose planted stops pinned and the lining made good, ready for the leaf and architrave.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The door leaf, the ironmongery (hinges, latch & furniture) and the architrave / mouldings
• Decoration (a painter’s rate), forming / trimming the structural opening and access / scaffold
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and fixing of a staircase balustrade — the guarding to the open side of a flight and to landings and galleries: newels set and plumbed, base rail and handrail cut to the rake between the newels, and softwood spindles measured, cut top and bottom to the rake, drilled, pinned and spaced to the Building-Regs 100 mm sphere rule (around seven spindles per metre of run) — priced per metre of run. A mainstream softwood spindle balustrade is the UK budget default; a plainer wall-mounted handrail run is the lower end and an oak or hardwood turned-spindle balustrade the dearer. This rate prices the BALUSTRADE RUN supplied and fixed only — the manufactured flight itself, the structural trimming of the opening, the strip-out of an existing balustrade and the finishes and decoration are separate rates. The rate carries three operations:

1. Set the newels — the newel posts set and plumbed to the flight and landing, jointed to the strings and floor.
2. Cut the rails — the base rail and handrail measured and cut to the rake between the newels and fixed off.
3. Fix the spindles — each spindle measured, cut top and bottom to the rake, drilled, pinned and spaced to the 100 mm sphere rule, and the run made good.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The manufactured staircase flight itself (a separate per-nr rate), the structural trimming of the floor opening and the strip-out of an existing balustrade
• Floor & wall finishes, decoration (a painter’s rate), making good behind and access / scaffold; glass & metal balustrades (a separate specialist trade)
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and application of exterior decoration to rendered & masonry walls, fascias & soffits on a masonry substrate — a fungicidal wash & treatment of organic growth, filling & making good of minor cracks & defects, cutting in to edges, verges, reveals & features, and two full coats of exterior masonry paint, roller & brush-applied — priced per m² of finished surface. Trade smooth masonry paint is the mainstream UK budget exterior coating. This rate prices the EXTERNAL MASONRY decoration only — the external joinery gloss, interior emulsion & joinery gloss, spray application and wallpaper are separate rates. The rate carries three operations:

1. Wash & prep — a fungicidal wash and treatment of organic growth, filling and making good of minor cracks and defects, and stabilising where needed.
2. Cut in & first coat — cutting in to edges, verges, reveals and features, then the first full coat of exterior masonry paint.
3. Second coat — a second full coat of exterior masonry paint, roller and brush-applied to an even, weatherproof finish.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The external joinery & woodwork decoration — knot, prime, undercoat & exterior gloss or stain to fascias, bargeboards, external doors & frames (a painter’s rate per m)
• Interior emulsion & joinery gloss, spray application, the render / masonry background itself, major crack / render repair and access / scaffold
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

Raising and re-bedding an existing gully grating or manhole / chamber cover & frame to a new surface level after a carriageway resurface, priced per adjusted frame (nr). A highways gang saw-cuts and breaks out the existing surround, lifts the existing frame, rebuilds the seating on one to two courses of engineering brick bedded to the new level, then re-beds and haunches the EXISTING frame on rapid-set mortar and makes good. This rate ADJUSTS the existing ironwork ONLY — supplying a new cover, frame or precast chamber is a separate set-complete item, and the connecting drainage run, the carriageway courses laid or planed, road markings and traffic management are all separate items too. The rate carries three operations:

1. Break out — saw-cut the bituminous / concrete surround square and break out the haunching around the frame with the handheld breaker.
2. Rebuild seating — lift out the existing frame and rebuild the seating on one to two courses of engineering brick to the new surface level.
3. Re-bed & haunch — re-bed and haunch the existing frame on rapid-set high-strength mortar to the finished level and make good.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• Supply of a NEW cover, frame or precast chamber (a separate set-complete item — the manhole / inspection chamber or road gully rate), the connecting drainage run and disposal of arisings
• The carriageway courses laid or planed, road markings, traffic management, prelims & VAT
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and application of a full weatherproof decoration to external softwood joinery — fascias, bargeboards, external doors & frames — with knots spot-treated, the timber primed, undercoated and finished with one to two coats of exterior gloss or wood stain, brush-applied and de-nibbed between coats, priced per metre of run. A trade exterior gloss or 10-year woodstain is the mainstream UK budget system. This rate prices the EXTERNAL JOINERY decoration only — the external masonry & render decoration, interior emulsion & joinery gloss, spray application and wallpaper are separate rates. The rate carries three operations:

1. Prep & knot — light abrasion & de-nib, spot-treatment of knots, and filling & making good of gaps & defects with exterior filler and flexible weather caulk.
2. Prime & undercoat — prime the bare or weathered softwood and apply an undercoat, cutting in to edges and features.
3. Gloss or stain — one to two full coats of weatherproof exterior gloss or wood stain, brush-applied to an even, weatherproof finish.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The external masonry & render decoration (a painter’s rate per m²), the interior emulsion & interior joinery gloss, spray application and wallpaper
• The supply & fix of the joinery, fascia or door itself, major timber repair or replacement, and access / scaffold above normal working height
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and fixing of a new uPVC roofline & rainwater-goods run to the eaves — fascia, soffit & bargeboard boards fixed to the rafter feet and eaves overhang, a 112 mm half-round gutter run to falls on brackets, and a 68 mm downpipe fixed with clips & shoe — priced per metre of eaves run. uPVC roofline is the mainstream UK budget system: maintenance-free boards and rainwater goods to the perimeter every pitched roof terminates against. This rate prices the roofline SUPPLY & FIX only — the roof structure, the roof covering & its linear details, the decoration of the fascia and the scaffold are separate rates. The rate carries three operations:

1. Fascia & bargeboard — fixed to the rafter feet along the eaves and to the gable verges, over a ventilated eaves detail.
2. Soffit — the soffit board fixed to close the eaves overhang, with continuous ventilation to BS 5250.
3. Rainwater goods — a half-round gutter run to falls on fascia brackets with outlets & unions, and the downpipe fixed with clips & shoe.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The roof structure & tilting-fillet / rafter-foot repair, the roof covering & its ridge/hip/verge/valley linear details, leadwork & flashings
• Strip-off & disposal of an existing timber / asbestos roofline, the decoration of the fascia (a painter’s rate) & access / scaffold above normal working height
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and hanging of a wall covering — lining paper or a finish wallpaper — to sound, prepared, sized plastered walls & ceilings, priced per m² of finished surface. The paper-hanger sizes the wall, sets out and plumbs, cuts and pastes (or pastes the wall), hangs the covering with matched seams, rolls the seams and trims top & bottom to a clean finish. A single hang of a mid-range paper to a sound wall is the mainstream UK budget line. This rate prices the WALL COVERING only — the plaster background, stripping of existing paper, cross-lining, and the emulsion & joinery-gloss decoration of the same room are separate rates. The rate carries three operations:

1. Prep & size — check the plaster is sound and dry, make good minor defects, and size or prime-seal the wall so the covering slips and adheres evenly.
2. Set out & hang — plumb the first drop, cut, paste (or paste-the-wall), hang each drop to plumb with matched seams and brush out the air.
3. Roll & trim — roll the seams, trim top & bottom to a clean line and wipe down to an even, matched finish.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The plaster / skim background itself (a plasterer’s rate), stripping of existing paper, and cross-lining the wall as a separate prep-hang before the finish paper
• The emulsion & joinery-gloss decoration of the same room (a painter’s rates per m² / per m), spray application, major making-good & re-skimming, and access / scaffold
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and fixing of new milled lead flashings and details where the roof meets an abutment, chimney, verge or valley — cover, stepped and apron flashings dressed to the masonry with the upstand wedged and pointed into the chase, lead soakers laid under the roof covering at ridge, hip and verge lines, and lead valley gutters formed and bossed to falls — priced per metre of flashing run. Milled lead (Code 4/5) is the traditional durable weathering material: maintenance-free, a 100-year-plus life, easily worked to complex details. This rate prices the leadwork SUPPLY & FIX only — the roof structure, the roof covering & its field / linear details, the roofline & rainwater goods, and the scaffold are separate rates. The rate carries three operations:

1. Cover, stepped & apron flashings — cut, dressed & fixed to a chimney or wall abutment, the upstand let into and wedged & pointed to the masonry chase.
2. Soakers — lead soakers laid and dressed under the roof covering at ridge, hip & verge lines to weather the junction.
3. Valley gutters — lead valley gutters formed & bossed to falls, with welded / soldered detail seams and patination oil applied.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The roof structure & tilting-fillet / rafter-foot repair, the roof covering & its tile / slate / membrane field and ridge / hip / verge tiling, the roofline & rainwater goods (fascia / soffit / gutter)
• Strip-off & disposal of an existing leadwork, the decoration of adjacent joinery (a painter’s rate) & access / scaffold above normal working height
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and fixing of a pitched-roof structural carcass — prefabricated trussed rafters (Fink) or a traditional site-cut roof of rafters, ridge, purlins and ceiling ties, with the wall plates seated & levelled, diagonal & longitudinal bracing, tilting fillets and galvanised lateral & holding-down restraint straps, set out, lifted, plumbed, braced & fixed to the engineer’s layout — priced per m² of roof plan (footprint) area. This is the roof STRUCTURE the covering, roofline & leadwork all sit on. This rate prices the structural carcass SUPPLY & FIX only — the roof covering & its details, the roofline & rainwater goods, the leadwork & flashings, insulation and the scaffold are separate rates. The rate carries three operations:

1. Wall plates & set-out — wall plates bedded & levelled on the masonry, the roof set out to the engineer’s layout and the trusses / rafters positioned to centres.
2. Trussed rafters or cut roof — prefabricated Fink trusses lifted, plumbed & fixed, OR a traditional cut roof of rafters, ridge, purlins & ceiling ties framed on site.
3. Bracing, straps & fillets — diagonal & longitudinal bracing, galvanised lateral & holding-down restraint straps, tilting fillets and the fixings that tie the carcass to the structure.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• The roof COVERING & its field / ridge / hip / verge / valley details, the roofline & rainwater goods (fascia / soffit / gutter), the leadwork & flashings, and roof / loft insulation
• Structural design & the engineer’s calculations, the masonry / steel bearings the carcass sits on, and access / scaffold & VAT
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a single skin of 140 mm dense aggregate blockwork of 10.4 N/mm² grade to a vertical wall, priced per m² of wall face. At 10.4 N/mm² this is the high-strength engineering-grade dense block — specified for heavily-loaded piers, party and separating walls and below-DPC substructure where maximum load capacity and a durable face are needed. One finish is priced:

1. Standard — a common-face block, to be plastered, rendered, painted or dry-lined; the usual choice and the default rate.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• DPC, lintels, wall ties & cavity insulation, movement joints
• Wall finishes — plaster, render or dry-lining
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a single skin of 140 mm aircrete (autoclaved aerated) blockwork of 3.6 N/mm² grade to a vertical wall, priced per m² of wall face. The aircrete block is a lightweight thermal AAC unit — the common choice for insulating inner leaves and internal load-bearing walls where thermal performance and fast single-hand laying matter. Laid here on traditional sand-cement mortar. One finish is priced:

1. Standard — a common-face block, to be plastered, rendered, painted or dry-lined; the usual choice and the default rate.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• DPC, lintels, wall ties & cavity insulation, movement joints
• Wall finishes — plaster, render or dry-lining
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a single skin of 140 mm aircrete (autoclaved aerated) blockwork of 7.3 N/mm² high-strength grade to a vertical wall, priced per m² of wall face. A high-strength thermal AAC block for load-bearing inner leaves and party walls that need both insulation and strength — the dearest block in the 140 mm family. Laid on traditional sand-cement mortar. One finish is priced:

1. Standard — a common-face block, to be plastered, rendered, painted or dry-lined; the usual choice and the default rate.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• DPC, lintels, wall ties & cavity insulation, movement joints
• Wall finishes — plaster, render or dry-lining
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a single skin of 140 mm lightweight-aggregate blockwork of 3.6 N/mm² grade to a vertical wall, priced per m² of wall face. A lightweight expanded-clay aggregate block (Plasmor Fibolite class) — specified for insulating inner leaves and partitions where a lighter, better-insulating unit than dense aggregate is wanted. Laid on traditional sand-cement mortar. One finish is priced:

1. Standard — a common-face block, to be plastered, rendered, painted or dry-lined; the usual choice and the default rate.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• DPC, lintels, wall ties & cavity insulation, movement joints
• Wall finishes — plaster, render or dry-lining
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a single skin of 140 mm lightweight-aggregate blockwork of 7.3 N/mm² grade to a vertical wall, priced per m² of wall face. A load-bearing lightweight expanded-clay aggregate block — for inner leaves and party walls that want the strength of a 7.3 N unit with lighter weight and better insulation than dense aggregate. Laid on traditional sand-cement mortar. One finish is priced:

1. Standard — a common-face block, to be plastered, rendered, painted or dry-lined; the usual choice and the default rate.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• DPC, lintels, wall ties & cavity insulation, movement joints
• Wall finishes — plaster, render or dry-lining
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT

The supply and laying of a single skin of 215 mm SOLID dense aggregate blockwork of 7.3 N/mm² grade to a vertical wall, priced per m² of wall face. At 215 mm the solid dense block is the thickest, heaviest unit in the range — a full solid block (a two-man lift) for heavily-loaded and acoustic separating walls where mass and strength matter most. One finish is priced:

1. Standard — a common-face block, to be plastered, rendered, painted or dry-lined; the usual choice and the default rate.

Budget rate per m².

Budget rate generator

• Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
• DPC, lintels, wall ties & cavity insulation, movement joints
• Wall finishes — plaster, render or dry-lining
• Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
• Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
• VAT