Budget
Development
More Services
Know if the project works.
Before the drawings exist, you still need to know whether the project is viable. We build defensible early-stage budgets from the information you have, with the uncertainty clearly attached.
A useful number before the drawings are ready.
You need a number before the drawings.
There is a stage before drawings exist where the only honest answer anyone gives you is “it depends.”
You have a site, or a building you are considering buying, or an idea about what you want to do with a floor. What you do not have is architectural documents, because commissioning them costs real money and you would like to know whether the project is viable before you spend it.
So you are stuck. You cannot get a meaningful estimate without drawings, and you cannot justify paying for drawings without a meaningful number.
The right budget for the stage you're in.
An early budget is not a detailed estimate in disguise. We match the level of analysis to the information available and tell you exactly what the resulting number can support.
Conceptual Budgets
Built from a written description, sketch, massing study, or conversation about what you want. Priced by building type, size, quality level, and location.
Schematic Budgets
Built from early design drawings, with major systems identified and priced by assembly rather than individual component.
Feasibility Budgets
Used to test whether a project works financially before land acquisition, building acquisition, or committing to a design team.
Pro Forma Cost Inputs
Structured cost inputs for developers building a financial model, formatted to drop into the system you already use.
Scenario Comparison
Compare two or three approaches, such as renovate versus rebuild, different finish levels, or a smaller building now versus a larger one later.
Phased Budgets
See what each stage will cost when work is delivered in phases, including appropriate escalation allowances for later stages.
Order-of-Magnitude Checks
A quick test when you already have a number in mind and need to know whether it is in the right postcode before doing anything else.
A budget that shows its working.
Even at the earliest stage, a useful budget should make it clear where the number came from, what assumptions drive it, and how much confidence you should place in it.
Total Probable Cost
A total cost expressed as a range where the available information genuinely supports a range rather than a point.
Major Cost Blocks
Major cost categories broken out so you can see what is actually driving the overall number.
Cost Per Square Foot
A reference figure for comparison and early feasibility testing.
Quality & Specification Level
The assumed quality level is stated clearly because it can materially change the budget.
Site & Location Factors
Regional and project-location considerations are applied to the actual project rather than relying blindly on national averages.
Soft Cost Allowances
Relevant design fees, permits, and other project costs are identified and clearly flagged as allowances.
Contingency
Contingency is sized appropriately for how much remains unknown and shown separately from the underlying project cost.
Escalation
Where construction is not starting immediately, escalation requirements are identified separately.
Assumptions & Exclusions
A written statement of what has been assumed and what is excluded from the budget.
Confidence Level
An honest indication of how much the number could move as the design and project information develop.
Being honest about precision.
An early budget is a wider instrument than a detailed estimate, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.
The reason is simple. At concept stage, the decisions that drive cost have not been made yet. Structural system, envelope specification, mechanical strategy, finish level, and site conditions can each move the number materially, and none may be settled.
What we do about that is show you the range rather than hide it, tell you which unresolved decisions matter most, and price the ones that are worth exploring now.
As your design develops, the budget should be revisited. Clients frequently come back to us at schematic and again at design development, and because we already hold the project history, those updates cost considerably less than starting over.
Who this is for.
Budget development is designed for people who need to make a meaningful financial decision before a project is fully designed.
Developers
Testing feasibility before acquisition or committing to a design team.
Property Owners
Deciding whether an improvement, expansion, or conversion is worth pursuing.
Homeowners
Finding out whether the project they want is anywhere near the budget they have before hiring an architect.
Investors
Running numbers on a building they are considering purchasing or repositioning.
Design Teams
Establishing an early cost frame so design starts inside the client's financial reality.
Businesses
Planning relocation, expansion, or fit-out and needing a capital figure for internal approval.
Send us what you have.
You do not need a complete drawing set. If all you have is a description and a location, that can still be enough to start. The less information available, the wider the resulting range will be.
Find out if it's viable.
Describe what you are thinking about and where it is. We will tell you what we can produce from it and what it would cost.
Contact Info
- 6805 Fallard Pl, Frederick, MD 21703
- +1 (227) 338-1390
- info@digital-solutionllc.com
- Mon – Fri: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM Sat: 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM Sun: Closed