A Day in the Life of a QS: 4 Real Projects, Real Numbers, and What Every Developer Needs to Know About BOQs

By David Baker | Quantity Surveyor | RapidQS UK | 18 March 2026

G’day — my name is David Baker. I’m a Quantity Surveyor originally from New Zealand, and for the past few years I’ve been working across the UK and Ireland, pricing everything from single-storey kitchen extensions in Manchester to remote Highland annexes in Scotland to fire damage reinstatement claims in rural Mayo.

Today I want to do something most QS firms won’t do: show you the inside of a real working day — the actual jobs, the actual numbers, the decisions we make, the mistakes we catch, and what a properly prepared Bill of Quantities actually looks like in practice.

If you’re a developer, a builder, an architect, or someone trying to get a realistic cost plan for your project — this one’s for you.

What Is a Bill of Quantities (BOQ) — And Why Most People Get It Wrong

A Bill of Quantities is a structured, itemised cost document that breaks a construction project into measurable line items — each with a quantity, a unit of measurement, a rate, and a total. It’s prepared by a Quantity Surveyor and used to:

• Invite tenders on a like-for-like basis (every contractor prices the same scope)
• Control project costs during construction
• Value variations and change orders fairly
• Support insurance claims and reinstatement valuations
• Give developers and funders bankable cost certainty before committing capital

The problem? Most “BOQs” floating around in the UK construction market are glorified spreadsheets with vague line items, combined labour-and-material rates, and no audit trail. When something goes wrong on site — and something always does — there’s no mechanism to value the change. That’s where projects blow their budgets.

A properly prepared BOQ splits every line item into:

• Material Component — supply cost, spec, quantity
• Labour Component — hours × trade rate, clearly stated

This separation matters enormously. It means a contractor can challenge the labour hours on a variation without the material cost being dragged into the argument. It means an insurer can see exactly what they’re paying for. It means a developer knows which elements are fixed and which carry risk.

At RapidQS, every BOQ we produce is structured this way — no exceptions.

Today’s Jobs: Four Real Projects Across the UK & Ireland

Here’s what landed on my desk today. Names are used with permission or anonymised where appropriate, but the numbers are real.

📍 Job 1: Fire Damage Reinstatement — Rural Mayo, Ireland

Scope: Insurance reinstatement BOQ | Total: €98,870 ex VAT

This is a project I find fascinating — and increasingly common. A family home in rural County Mayo suffered significant fire damage. The insurer appointed a loss adjuster, who instructed Waldrons & Associates Architects to manage the reinstatement. We were brought in to produce the BOQ.

What makes a fire damage BOQ different? Everything is forensic. You’re not pricing a new build where quantities flow from clean drawings. You’re pricing:

• Strip-out of damaged material (at what labour rate? How many hours per m²?)
• Reinstatement of external fabric (render, blockwork, stone, windows)
• Structural repairs to fire-affected steel sections
• Full roof works — but only if the insurer confirms it’s in scope
• Internal making good — plasterboard, skim, decoration, radon barrier (required by Irish regs)
• Drainage, statutory fees, provisional sums

The number that changed everything: Our v1 BOQ came in at €103,768 ex VAT. The client’s expectation was around €78,000. We did a forensic review and found two issues:

1. Strip-out rate: We had priced render removal at 1.0hr/m² — the correct benchmark for fire-damaged render (harder to remove due to heat-bonding) is 0.5hrs/m². 280m² × 0.5hr correction = save €4,900.
2. Roof reinstatement: We had included a full natural slate re-roof at €24,705. This item needs explicit confirmation from the loss adjuster — if the roof wasn’t structurally fire-damaged, it may be outside the claim scope entirely, dropping the total to ~€74,165.

The lesson for developers and insurers: Scope clarity upfront saves weeks of dispute downstream. Never go to tender on an insurance reinstatement BOQ until the loss adjuster has signed off every section.

Key rates used (Ireland, March 2026):

• Skilled tradesperson / PM rate: €35/hr
• Sand & cement render (nap finish, supply + fix): €42/m² materials + €35/hr @ 1.2hrs/m² labour
• Natural stone pointing: €32/m² materials + €33/m² labour
• Plasterboard dot & dab to internal faces: €18/m² materials + 0.4hrs/m² @ €35/hr labour
• Full natural slate roof: €45/m² supply + 0.5hrs/m² fix
• VAT: 13.5% (Republic of Ireland)

What we flagged that wasn’t originally in scope: No electrical rewiring PS. No asbestos survey PS. No smoke remediation allowance. On a fire damage job, these are non-negotiable — we added them as provisional sums before submission. Combined value: €5,000–€12,000 depending on scope. An insurer who receives a BOQ without these will either query them post-tender (causing delays) or assume they’re included (causing disputes).

📍 Job 2: Remote Highland Annexe — Inverfarigaig, Loch Ness, Scotland

Scope: New build 28m² standalone annexe | Total: £100,874 ex VAT (£3,603/m²)

This is the job that makes you appreciate what “remote” actually means in construction pricing. Inverfarigaig is a small settlement on the south shore of Loch Ness, accessible by a single-track road. The project: a standalone 28m² annexe for a private residential property, designed by HRI Munro Architecture, tendering under Scottish Minor Works 2016.

Why does location matter so much in a BOQ? Because labour cost is only part of the equation. In a remote Highland location:

• Every tradesperson driving from Inverness is spending 40–60 minutes each way on single-track roads
• Material deliveries carry significant surcharges (or require consolidation at Inverness)
• Scaffolding, plant, and specialist trades (electricians, plumbers) all carry travel premiums
• Any delay caused by weather, road conditions, or supply chain adds disproportionate cost

We applied a 10% remote location uplift across all labour line items, and built the prelims around realistic travel and accommodation allowances. Without this, a contractor pricing from a standard schedule of rates would be underpriced on day one and seeking variations by week three.

Project breakdown:

• Preliminaries: £8,950
• Substructure (strip foundations, oversite concrete): £11,200
• Superstructure (cavity blockwork walls, prefab timber trusses): £19,400
• Roof (interlocking concrete tiles, insulation, felt, battens): £14,800
• Windows & external doors: £8,200
• Electrical (first fix to second fix, consumer unit): £9,800
• Plumbing & heating (connection to existing, radiators, DHW): £10,400
• Internal finishes (board, skim, floor, decoration): £12,124
• External works: £6,000

At £3,603/m², is this expensive? For the spec and location, no — it’s accurate. A mainstream UK contractor pricing a 28m² annexe in suburban London might come in at £2,800–£3,200/m². Add remote location premiums, prefab roof structure (sensible given the access), and electric heating throughout (no gas main), and £3,600/m² is the right number. Tendering without that transparency invites contractors to underbid and then claim.

📍 Job 3: Wrap-Around Extension — Sale, Greater Manchester

Scope: Single storey side + rear extension, ~40m² GFA | Private residential

This is the bread and butter of UK residential QS work — a family home in Sale, Manchester. Demolish the existing side garage and rear kitchen outbuilding. Build a new single storey wrap-around: utility room and study to the side, new kitchen to the rear. Cavity walls, pitched roof (side), flat/lean-to roof (rear), full internal fitout.

What developers and builders get wrong on extension BOQs:

1. They forget the internal linings. You price the cavity wall structure — blockwork, insulation, outer skin. But then you forget to price the plasterboard and skim to the internal face of those same walls. At £45–55/m², on a 40m² extension with 25m of external wall, that’s £1,500–£2,500 routinely missed.
2. They skip statutory fees. Building Control approval: £700–£1,200. Party Wall Act surveyor (for any terrace or semi touching a boundary): £1,000–£2,000. These aren’t optional — they’re legal requirements. Every extension BOQ should carry them as provisional sums.
3. They omit drainage. Every ground floor extension needs drainage connected — foul and surface water. New external gully, connection to existing soil stack, surface water run-off management. Missing this means the client ends up with a kitchen that can’t be plumbed in until someone prices and sorts the drainage, usually at crisis-point mid-build.

On this job, all three were explicitly included and flagged in the notes. When a builder prices from our BOQ, there are no nasty surprises.

📍 Job 4: Two-Storey Side + Rear Extension — Elstree, Hertfordshire (London Fringe)

Scope: Multi-zone extension with internal alterations | Architect: Russell Hunt Architects

This is where BOQ work gets genuinely complex — and where the difference between a QS and a “spreadsheet guy” becomes painfully obvious. 12 Links Drive, Elstree: a substantial residential extension involving a two-storey side addition, rear works, internal alterations, and full fitout across three tabs of detailed drawings from Russell Hunt Architects.

The London fringe premium is real. Hertfordshire sits at the intersection of London contractor pricing and regional contractor availability. You’re competing for the same skilled trades as central London — bricklayers, plasterers, groundworkers — but you can’t always access the supply chain depth. In 2026, skilled trade labour in this corridor runs at:

• Bricklayer: £240–£280/day
• Plasterer: £220–£260/day
• Groundworker/labourer: £160–£200/day
• Electrician (JIB-registered): £280–£340/day
• Plumber: £260–£320/day

When a builder prices this job, they need a BOQ that makes it possible to compare apples with apples. If one contractor includes the structural steel fabrication and another prices it as a PC sum, you can’t compare the tenders. Our BOQ locks down the spec for every element before tendering starts.

What Separates a Professional BOQ from a Quote on a Spreadsheet

I’ve reviewed hundreds of “BOQs” produced by builders, architects, and well-meaning estimators. Here’s the honest difference:

Current UK & Ireland Construction Rates (March 2026)

One of the things I see developers struggle with most is benchmarking. They get a quote, don’t know if it’s reasonable, and either accept it (potentially overpaying) or reject it (potentially losing a good contractor). Here’s what we’re seeing across the projects we price right now:

Residential Extensions (UK)

• Single storey rear extension (basic spec): £1,800–£2,400/m²
• Single storey with high spec finish: £2,400–£3,200/m²
• Two-storey side/rear: £2,000–£2,800/m²
• Loft conversion (dormer): £35,000–£65,000 depending on spec
• Basement conversion: £3,500–£5,000/m² (London)

New Build Residential (UK)

• Standard new build house (2–4 bed, cavity wall): £1,600–£2,200/m²
• Timber frame: £1,800–£2,400/m²
• Remote/rural location premium: +10–20%
• London / SE England premium: +20–35%

Insurance Reinstatement (Ireland)

• Fire damage reinstatement (external + internal): €350–€500/m²
• Full rebuild (structural loss): €900–€1,400/m² (inc. fees)
• Labour rate (skilled tradesperson): €35/hr
• VAT: 13.5%

Why Developers Are Choosing RapidQS

I started RapidQS because I was frustrated. I’d worked with developers who were making £5M+ decisions based on a one-page quote from a builder. I’d seen projects overrun by 40% because nobody had properly measured the scope before breaking ground. I’d seen insurance claims drag on for two years because the BOQ couldn’t be verified.

The developers who work with us repeatedly — architects who refer us on every job — they value one thing above everything else: accuracy they can defend.

When a funder asks “where does this £2.3M cost plan come from?”, you need to be able to open a spreadsheet and walk them through every line. When a contractor submits a variation claim, you need a BOQ that was tight enough to tell you whether it’s legitimate. When an insurer disputes a reinstatement figure, you need a QS who can stand behind their numbers.

That’s what we do.

Want a BOQ for Your Project?

We work across the UK and Ireland, and we turn around most residential BOQs within 3–5 working days of receiving drawings. Our process:

1. Send us your drawings (PDFs from your architect) and a brief scope description
2. We confirm scope and quote a fixed fee (typical residential: £350–£750 depending on complexity)
3. We deliver a fully itemised BOQ in Excel — material/labour split, formulas throughout, ready for tender

No vague estimates. No combined rates. No surprises.

📧 david@rapidqs.com
🌐 rapidqs.co.uk

David Baker is a Quantity Surveyor and founder of RapidQS UK. He has priced over 150 residential and commercial projects across the UK, Ireland, Scotland, and New Zealand. RapidQS specialises in BOQ preparation, tender analysis, cost planning, and insurance reinstatement valuations for developers, architects, and building contractors.