How to Set a Restaurant Fit-Out Budget, and Where It Overruns
A budget is a list of things you have not decided yet.
A restaurant fit-out budget overruns most where nothing has been decided yet, not where the guest can see. We set budgets in two parts: first the base works that have to be done, then the finishes, brought in afterwards.
This piece does not give a price per ping. We quote commercial projects individually, because pricing by floor area distorts too much to be a useful reference, and restaurants more than most: equipment, extraction and site condition all pull the unit price apart. What follows is only the order: what to price first, what to price after, and why variations arrive in stages.
1. First, understand how the space will be used
A budget starts from how the space will be used and what goes into it: what is sold, how it is served, how many people work inside, and what condition the site is in. These decide which works are unavoidable. Without them, any number is a guess.
2. The first round prices the base works only
Base works are the layer that has to be done whatever the style: masonry, electrical and plumbing, basic partitions, air-conditioning and extraction, fire protection and waterproofing, and power and low-voltage (including network and audio cabling). Structural metalwork counts too, where there is any.
Not every restaurant has metalwork. Only structural, load-bearing or framing metalwork is base works. Decorative metalwork and hardware belong with the finishes.
The first round prices only these. They are set by the site and the operation, and are not much affected by material choices, so the figure is firmer.
In restaurants and old buildings, base works are often larger than expected: services are re-run, waterproofing is dealt with, extraction and drainage need a route, and none of it is visible once the job is done. We never price demolition from drawings. We look at the site first.
3. Then the finishes, which move the cost with them
Finishes are the joinery, stone, paint, glass, lighting, decorative metalwork and hardware that guests can see. They depend on material and detail. In the same space, a different material or edge detail changes the cost, so this part should not be fixed at the start.
4. Give two parts, not one total
At the first budget conversation we give two parts: the base-works figure, plus a range reserved for finishes. We then explain how much is left for the finishes once the base works are taken out, and how far that can go. The owner gets a broad direction without being tied to a total set too early.
5. Variations come in stages, not continuously
Variations are not an anomaly, and they do not run on without end. They usually come from two places: functions the owner decides to add later, such as another electrical run or another piece of equipment, and items that grow out of the original design when the aim is to get the quality right. Both are needs the project itself produced, not anyone's failure.
Our approach is to carry variations into the next stage in batches. When one stage is done, the items added during it are gathered, confirmed and priced, then placed in the next stage, rather than added piecemeal as work goes on. Every variation is confirmed, and the whole budget stays visible. Items outside scope are quoted separately, as set out in our FAQ.
6. When work must start early but the budget has to stay ahead
If the date will not wait and work has to start early while the budget still needs to lead, price the base works first and start. The finishes come in stage by stage once design and materials are settled. What moves first is the layer least likely to change.
7. State the scope of the budget
The number in a budget and the number on a quotation are often not the same scope. Equipment such as kitchen and refrigeration is sometimes bought by the owner and sometimes contracted within the estimate, and the architect's sign-off for fire safety and interior renovation permits is usually charged separately. Either way works, but write it down before signing: numbers of different scope cannot be compared.
“Price the base works first, then bring the finishes in, stage by stage.”
Design fees, the supervision fee, and why commercial projects are quoted individually are covered in what design costs per ping. What else to prepare before work starts is in what a designer will ask you to prepare before you open a restaurant.
餐廳裝潢預算分兩段抓：先算不管風格都一定要做的基礎工程，再談取決於材質與設計細節的裝修面。先給基礎工程的數字，加上裝修面的預留範圍。追加是階段性的：整理、確認後收進下一期，不是零星追加。要先開工時，先算基礎工程，裝修面之後再放進來。
Bring the idea for your shop and the site, and we will run the numbers together first.