Proper building work pricing.

For homeowners

Homeowners can check whether an extension, loft, renovation, kitchen or bathroom is broadly realistic before spending too much time and money on design, drawings or builder visits.

• See the likely budget range before all details are fixed.
• Compare scope choices before the design goes too far.
• Understand the assumptions, exclusions and decisions still to confirm.
• Move into a clearer itemised costing once architectural drawings are ready.

For builders

Builders can create structured ballpark prices for clients when a full measured quote is too early, too detailed, or not yet worth the time. The aim is to make early budget conversations clearer, not replace a proper quote.

• Create a guide price with range, scope, assumptions and exclusions.
• Share a clean guide link with the client.
• Use client responses and requested extras to decide the next step.
• Turn reviewed drawing measurements into itemised work packages and a detailed price.

Detailed estimates from architectural drawings

Upload a set of PDF drawings and Proper Job extracts supported dimensions and quantities with their drawing references. You review the measurements before they enter the costing, keeping the builder in control of what is accepted.

Reviewed measurements are organised into practical work packages and combined with project inputs, site setup, allowances, risk and overheads and profit. Bespoke or incomplete items remain visible as PC sums, provisional sums, exclusions or items to confirm instead of being hidden inside a broad range.

Better early planning

A guide can also surface common associated extras and likely add-ons for the type of work being priced. That helps the homeowner or client see important decisions earlier, budget more realistically, and avoid common surprises later.

Across the UK

Postcode area helps Proper Job reflect regional pricing context across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Local planning and building approval requirements still need to be confirmed for each job.

Why we built it

A small tech team at Grassroots, Oxford Innovation at Keble College builds Proper Job with an experienced carpenter, builder and project manager.

Decades of hands-on experience help the pricing logic go beyond generic square-metre rates to reflect real job context, knock-on work and early unknowns.

Detailed Estimate carries that approach into a measured, reviewable breakdown while preserving the source of each accepted drawing quantity.