We understand that cost certainty is important to our customers, and we work with you from the beginning to ensure that your project is within budget. Our in-house finance and costing team will guide you through each stage.

Planning Your Budget

"We chose Neil [Sutherland] because we agreed with his philosophy.
Neil had his own construction company [MAKAR], he used local materials and he was sympathetic to what we wanted. We had no idea what things would cost, and found allocating a cost to an architect very difficult."
Neil MacKenzie & Jane O’Donovan, Gorthleck

This cost will vary depending on the bespoke specification of your building.  A realistic budget is provided within the initial brief to set the parameters of what is possible in terms of the design.  MAKAR have experience in designing costed projects and can work with you to come up with an outline design that is in line with your budget.

Detailed project costs are provided to customers during step 5 of the 10 step process. These costs are derived from a set of detailed drawings which indicate the materials selected and clarify the intended manufacturing and construction schedules. At this stage the customer will recieve a more robust cost estimate for the project which will be agreed before proceeding.

We operate a transparent, open-book accounting system for every project. There are no hidden costs.
Customer concern about project costs and financing is very understandable. Our aim is to provide cost certainty.

Payment for MAKAR projects is typically staged at the delivery of key milestones in the project.  This adds greater clarity to the process and spreads the overall cost over a longer period for our customers.  To find out more visit our 'staged payments' section.

We also provide variations in our service which can help customers fund projects. For example, some self builders want to undertake some building work themselves to save costs.  In such circumstances MAKAR can build a house to the stage where it is an insulated, wind and watertight shell with completed external finishes, leaving the customer to undertake/organise the internal fit-out.

It is worth noting that there will be some costs involved that are harder to calculate in advance and will be outwith MAKAR's control.  If your chosen site requires extensive ground works, then this is likely to have a significant impact upon the overall cost of your project.  It is hard to estimate what issues might arise before you start digging, but there are certain features you can look out for. Please see our 'choosing a plot' section for more information.