Construction cost is not a single rate per square metre.
Benchmark rates are useful screening signals. A decision-grade estimate needs scope, quantities, specification, location, time, procurement and risk to be made explicit.
Use cost/m² to orient yourself; use measured scope and evidence to make the decision.
A square-metre benchmark can help with early feasibility, but it compresses structure, finishes, services, external works, site constraints, preliminaries, escalation and risk into one number. That is why two buildings with the same floor area can have materially different costs.
The six inputs a credible early estimate needs
- Gross floor area and functional use
- Structural form and envelope
- Specification / finish level
- Building services intensity
- External works, site and access conditions
- Location, programme, procurement and price date
When a BOQ becomes more useful
As design information improves, measured quantities and a structured BOQ allow the estimate to move from a broad area benchmark toward explicit work items, rates, assumptions and changes. CivilQuant's platform strategy is to preserve that chain rather than repeatedly rebuilding it in disconnected spreadsheets.
Do not confuse estimate, tender and final cost
An estimate forecasts likely cost using available information. A tender records market offers under a defined procurement process. Final cost reflects actual contract outcomes, instructed changes, claims, time and close-out. Each number answers a different question.
This guide deliberately avoids publishing unsourced national R/m² figures as if they were universal. When CivilQuant publishes quantitative benchmarks, the dataset, geography, price date, inclusion/exclusion rules and methodology should be visible.