On a new build housing development, the roofing package is one of the most predictable elements of the build — provided it is priced correctly at the outset. Where roofing programmes go wrong commercially is rarely on site. They go wrong at procurement stage, when the pricing structure does not match the way the scheme is actually being delivered. Plot-based pricing, used consistently across a development, is one of the most effective ways for developers and QSs to secure cost certainty on a roofing package from contract award through to final handover.
How plot-based pricing works on a housing scheme
On a typical new build housing development, the roofing scope can be broken down into a defined cost per plot type. Each plot type has a known roof area, a known set of components — tiles, battens, felt, ridges, flashings, ventilation — and a known labour requirement. By pricing per plot type rather than against an overall scheme rate, the developer locks in a unit cost that applies to every instance of that plot type built across the scheme.
The benefit is straightforward. A development releasing a hundred plots over an eighteen-month programme knows exactly what each plot of each type will cost to roof, regardless of when in the programme that plot is built. The pricing structure aligns with the way the development releases plots, the way the developer recognises revenue, and the way the QS reports cost to the commercial director.
Why this matters more than headline rates
Tender returns can look competitive on a headline scheme rate while concealing pricing assumptions that fall apart in delivery. A scheme rate priced against a notional average plot does not protect the developer when the actual plot mix on the ground varies from the assumed mix. A scheme rate that fails to account for the difference between detached, semi-detached, and terraced plots means that the realised cost will diverge from the tender — usually upwards — as the build progresses.
Plot-based pricing avoids this by tying the cost directly to the asset being built. The developer pays the agreed rate for each three-bedroom semi-detached plot built, the agreed rate for each four-bedroom detached plot built, and so on. There is no averaging, no dilution, and no surprise when the plot mix on phase three turns out to differ from the mix on phase one.
How plot-based pricing supports the QS
For QSs running cost reporting on a live housing scheme, plot-based pricing simplifies the monthly valuation cycle. Each plot completed by the roofing contractor can be valued against the agreed plot rate without recalculation. Variations are isolated to the specific plots they affect rather than smeared across the scheme. Final account reconciliation becomes a counting exercise: the number of plots of each type completed, multiplied by the agreed rates, with any agreed variations added.
This level of clarity is hard to achieve under any other pricing model. It also makes it easier for the QS to identify where commercial risk is sitting at any point in the programme, which is what commercial directors actually need to know.
How Globe Roofing operates plot-based pricing
Globe Roofing prices new build housing schemes on a plot-by-plot basis as standard. On schemes for housebuilders including Taylor Wimpey, Vistry, Stonemond, Morgan Sindall, and TCL, the pricing is built around defined plot types with documented build-ups, fixing schedules, and ventilation specifications. Roof areas are measured against drawings rather than estimated, and rates are agreed for each plot type before contract award.
This approach gives developers cost certainty on the day of award and protects that certainty throughout delivery. Where additional plot types are introduced mid-programme — for example through a planning amendment or a phase redesign — the new types are priced on the same basis, maintaining consistency across the full scheme.
Programme certainty alongside cost certainty
Plot-based pricing connects directly to programme certainty. When pricing is plot-by-plot, the contractor’s resourcing model can be plot-by-plot. Materials, labour, and supervision can be planned around the rate of plot release. This alignment between commercial structure and operational delivery is part of what allows Globe Roofing to maintain consistent output across multi-phase developments running over two, three, or five years.
Talk to Globe Roofing about your scheme
To discuss plot-based pricing for your development, contact Globe Roofing on 01223 890727 or email enquiries@theglobegroup.co.uk.
