Project Type
Residential Estimating Services in New Zealand
Estimates for new homes, townhouses, alterations and additions, measured from your consent drawings and laid out the way builders price.
Residential building in New Zealand runs on tight margins and short tender windows. A builder pricing three homes a month cannot afford to spend two nights on each takeoff, and cannot afford to miss the gutter downpipes or the second bathroom's tile skirting either.
Our residential estimating service covers stand-alone houses, duplexes, terraced townhouses, granny flats, extensions and major renovations. We measure every trade from the subfloor or slab through framing, envelope, linings and fit-out, and lay the estimate out in the order a residential build actually happens.
For alterations, we separate demolition, making good and new work, so the estimate reflects the extra labour that comes with working inside an existing house rather than pricing it like a new build.
Scope
What we measure in a residential takeoff
| Item | Unit | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Foundations | m³ / m² / lm | Slab-on-grade, raft or timber subfloor on piles, as drawn. |
| Wall and roof framing | lm / no. | Studs, plates, lintels, trusses or rafters, bracing elements. |
| Cladding and wrap | m² | By cladding type, with cavity battens where required. |
| Roofing and rainwater | m² / lm / no. | Roof sheets or tiles, gutters, downpipes and flashings. |
| Joinery | no. | Windows and exterior doors from the joinery schedule. |
| Linings | m² | Plasterboard walls and ceilings, wet-area linings. |
| Kitchen, bathroom and laundry | PC sum / no. | Cabinetry and fixtures as prime cost allowances or measured items. |
| Decks, paths and driveway | m² | External works within the property boundary. |
Deliverables
What you receive
Residential estimates are grouped into the stages builders bill progress claims against: base, frame, closed-in, linings and completion. That makes it simple to turn the estimate into a payment schedule.
| Itemised quantity sheet | Excel + PDF |
| Marked-up plans | Colour-coded PDF |
| Material and labour schedule | Excel |
| Assumptions and exclusions list |
Who it is for
Built for the people who price the work
- Builders
- Price a four-bedroom home from consent drawings in days, with nothing missed in the wet areas.
- Subcontractors
- See the full scope of a home you are quoting a package on.
- Developers
- Price a six-townhouse block unit by unit to compare against sale values.
- Architects
- Check whether a client's custom home design is landing within budget.
Process
How a residential estimate runs
STEP 01
Upload plans
Upload the consent drawings, specification and any truss or engineering layouts.
STEP 02
Scope confirmation
We confirm inclusions such as kitchens, appliances, landscaping and driveway, and what to allow as PC sums.
STEP 03
Takeoff and review
Each trade is measured, priced and checked against typical cost-per-square-metre ranges for similar homes.
STEP 04
Delivery
You receive a staged Excel estimate, PDF summary and marked-up plans.
New Zealand context
Standards and practice
Most New Zealand houses are designed to NZS 3604, the timber-framed buildings standard, which sets out bracing, framing sizes and fixing requirements by wind zone and earthquake zone. We read the wind zone and bracing plan from your drawings because they affect bracing sheet quantities and fixings.
Since the H1 energy efficiency changes phased in from 2021 to 2023, minimum insulation R-values for new homes have increased in most climate zones, and the effect is visible in both the insulation and joinery lines. Where drawings are for a building consent lodged under current H1 requirements, we price the specified products rather than older defaults.
We measure and price to the drawings. Design compliance and building consent remain with your designer and building consent authority.
Cost drivers
What drives the cost of residential work
01
Foundation type
A simple slab on good ground and a specifically engineered raft on soft ground can differ widely in cost. We measure the foundation design you have and flag where the geotech is missing.
02
Wet areas
Bathrooms, ensuites and laundries concentrate plumbing, waterproofing, tiling and fixtures. Each added wet area costs far more than the same floor area of bedroom.
03
Roof complexity
Hips, valleys, dormers and changes of pitch add framing, flashings and labour. A simple gable roof is the cheapest way to cover a home.
04
Client selections
Kitchens, tapware, flooring and joinery vary widely in cost. Clear PC sums with quantities let clients see the effect of their choices before they make them.
Where residential estimates go wrong
On houses, the items most often missed are the ones that are not drawn in detail: wet-area waterproofing, cavity battens, soffit linings, downpipe connections, insulation to garage walls and the many small trims that finish a home. Each is small; together they are not.
Alterations bring a different risk: underestimating the existing building. Rot, non-compliant previous work and unexpected services are common. We include clearly labelled contingencies for these rather than pricing the alteration like a new build.
FAQ
Residential Estimating questions
Do you estimate renovations as well as new builds?
Yes. For alterations we separate demolition, making good and new work, and note where existing conditions are unknown.
Can you price a build-ready set of plans from a house plan company?
Yes, provided the set includes floor plans, elevations, sections and a joinery schedule. Site-specific foundations will be noted as assumptions if the engineering is not yet done.
Do you include kitchens and bathrooms?
We measure cabinetry and fixture counts, and either price them from your selections or allow prime cost sums you can replace with supplier quotes.
Can the estimate match my progress payment stages?
Yes. We can group the estimate into your stages, which is useful for setting up a payment schedule.
Can you estimate multiple townhouses at once?
Yes. We can price each unit separately and shared items, such as site works and services connections, as a common section.
Do you price the driveway and landscaping?
If they are on the drawings, yes. Otherwise we can add allowances or leave them out and list them as exclusions.
Related services
- Framing Estimating
Stud-by-stud framing quantities for walls, floors and roofs, with lintels, bracing elements and fixings taken from your NZS 3604 or engineered drawings.
- Roofing Estimating
True roof areas calculated by pitch, with sheet lengths, flashings, gutters, downpipes and underlay measured for ordering.
- Drywall Estimating
Plasterboard wall and ceiling areas by board type and system, converted into sheets, fixings and stopping for ordering and labour.
- Construction Estimating
A complete, trade-by-trade cost estimate built from your drawings, so you can price, tender or test feasibility with confidence.
Get a quote
Send your plans for a residential estimate
Upload your drawings and we will reply with a fixed fee and turnaround before any work starts. No obligation.
- — PDF, DWG and ZIP accepted
- — Fees in NZD, excluding GST
- — Prefer email? Use the link in the footer