What this actually costs.
Ranges, not "contact us for pricing". They are wide because a kitchen in a 1911 two-flat with a cast iron stack is not the same job as a kitchen in a 1998 build. If your number is below the bottom of a range, we say so on the phone rather than after a survey you paid for.
10%Deposit at contract, then draws
0Draws for unfinished phases
2Years workmanship warranty
4%Typical variance, survey to final
Seven services, two markets.
Chicago figures are total project cost in dollars. Lisboa figures are in euros, and the two whole-building services are quoted per square metre because that is how the market there reads a price.
| # | Service | Chicago | Lisboa | On site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Whole-home renovation | $180,000 - $650,000 | €900 - €1,750 / m² | 14-22 wk |
| 02 | Kitchen | $65,000 - $145,000 | €28,000 - €70,000 | 7-11 wk |
| 03 | Bathroom | $35,000 - $78,000 | €16,000 - €42,000 | 5-8 wk |
| 04 | Additions and extensions | $220,000 - $520,000 | €1,400 - €2,300 / m² | 20-30 wk |
| 05 | Historic restoration | Scoped per building | Scoped per building | Varies |
| 06 | Attic, basement and ADU | $95,000 - $240,000 | Scoped per building | 9-16 wk |
| 07 | Energy retrofit | $40,000 - $160,000 | €22,000 - €95,000 | 6-12 wk |
deposit, then phases
- Draws against finished phasesWe are never paid for work that is not standing in front of you, and never more than one phase ahead.
- Change orders are priced firstPhotographs, at least two options, the cost of each and the schedule impact of each — before anyone touches it.
- Final payment after the walkThe punch list is walked with you in the room. Payment closes after it, not before.
- Certificates, unprompted$2M general liability and workers' compensation certificates go out with the contract.
Questions about the money.
Why is the range so wide?
Because the building decides it. Two identical-looking kitchens can differ by $50,000 on the location of a waste line, the capacity of a panel and whether the floor structure can carry a stone counter. The survey collapses the range to one number.
How close is the survey number to the final number?
Within about 4% on a project with no scope changes. Every dollar of difference beyond that is a change you asked for or a condition that could not be seen without demolition, and both are priced in writing before the work happens.
Do you offer financing?
We do not lend and we do not take a commission for introducing you to anyone who does. Most of our Chicago clients use a home equity line; most of our Lisboa clients use a crédito habitação top-up. We will send the schedule of draws to your lender in whatever format they need.
Is the survey fee credited if we hire you?
No, and that is deliberate. A credited survey is a discount dressed as a service, and it makes the survey a sales call. Ours is a piece of work with a deliverable you keep whoever you hire.
What is not included in these ranges?
Furniture, art, window treatments, appliances above the stated allowance, and any structural engineering a permit authority demands after review. Those are listed by name in the contract rather than buried in a percentage.
A range becomes a number in eight working days.
Survey on day one, priced scope by the end of the second week. If the number lands above what you want to spend, we will say which parts to cut and what each one saves.