Fees
What a CDM principal designer costs
Fixed fees, published, and read off a schedule rather than taken as a percentage of your build. Every figure below is exclusive of VAT.
Short answer
A CDM principal designer appointment with ClearCDM starts at £750 plus VAT for an extension, loft conversion or refurbishment of a single dwelling, taken through to start on site. Continuing through the construction phase to the health and safety file handover adds from £450 plus VAT. Larger and longer projects cost more. The instant quote prices your actual project in about two minutes, and we check every quote before it becomes an appointment.
Starting fees by project type
| Project | What it covers | From |
|---|---|---|
| Extension, loft conversion or refurbishment | Works to a single dwelling | £750 |
| Large residential project | Major refurbishment, extension or basement | £1,000 |
| New build dwelling | A single new house | £1,200 |
| Commercial fit out or refurbishment | Shops, offices, hospitality | £1,200 |
| Commercial development | New build commercial, or multiple houses | £1,850 |
Plus VAT. These are the pre-construction service, up to and including the start on site handover.
How the fee moves
Three things move it, and none of them is a percentage of your build cost.
| What | Effect |
|---|---|
| Project type | Sets where the fee starts, from the table above |
| Contract value | The fee increases with contract value bands, not as a percentage of your build |
| Time on site | Only where the construction phase service is included, and then in blocks of six months |
The construction phase
Continuing through the works to the health and safety file handover is priced separately, because it is a genuinely different amount of work. It starts at £450 plus VAT for six months or less, and rises with contract value and with each further six months on site.
Most projects choose to keep the appointment through to completion, because design generally carries on after work starts: structural details, contractor designed elements, substitutions. It arrives pre-selected in the quote for that reason, so choosing to stop at start on site is a deliberate choice rather than an accident.
Bigger projects
Above £2m of contract value, or longer than 36 months on site, the instant quote stops and asks for the details instead. Those projects get a human quote, normally within two working days. That is a deliberate limit, not a failure of the tool.
What the fee does not include
- The Building Regulations principal designer role, which is a separate appointment under a separate set of regulations and which ClearCDM does not provide. The difference.
- Surveys the project turns out to need, such as an asbestos survey. We identify what is missing; commissioning it is the client's.
- A commercial client's own duties under regulation 4, which are not transferable and which we never price for.
- Anything to do with running the site, which is the principal contractor's.
Everything the job ordinarily needs is inside the fee. There is no expenses line and nothing is added afterwards: the figure on your confirmed quote is the figure you are invoiced.
How a quote becomes an appointment
- Instant quote
Price your project in about two minutes. Nothing is contracted and no money is taken online.
- Our review
We check the quote against your answers, normally within one working day, and confirm it or tell you what changes and why.
- Appointment
The appointment pack and the published terms of appointment, accepted by a short signed online form.
Common questions
How much does a CDM principal designer cost?
ClearCDM fees start at 750 pounds plus VAT for an extension, loft conversion or refurbishment of a single dwelling, taken through to start on site. The construction phase service adds from 450 pounds plus VAT. The instant quote prices your actual project in about two minutes.
Is the fee a percentage of my build cost?
No. The fee is read off a published schedule and increases with contract value bands, not as a percentage of what you are spending on the build.
Can the price change after I get the quote?
The instant quote is checked against your answers before it becomes an appointment, normally within one working day. If something in the answers changes the picture we tell you before anything is signed. Nothing is contracted and no money is taken online.
What is not in the fee?
The Building Regulations principal designer role, which we do not provide. Any surveys the project needs, such as an asbestos survey. Commercial client duties, which are never transferable. And anything to do with running the site, which is the principal contractor's.
Price your own project
The instant quote asks about the works, the value, the postcode and the route, then shows the fee. Two minutes, no obligation.
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