TL;DR
A single-family residential project of 200 m² takes on average
180-260 hours with a full team. A 120 m²
interiors apartment, 90-140h. Standard
commercial, 160-240h. Multiply your initial
estimate by 1.4, every architect underestimates.
Why we are always wrong
"Planning fallacy" is a well-documented cognitive bias. We estimate based on the ideal scenario, ignoring revisions, rework, an indecisive client, a late supplier, frozen software. On average, we spend 30-50% more than estimated.
Benchmarks by typology (full team)
| Typology | Hours |
|---|---|
| Single-family residential 150 m² | 120-180 |
| Single-family residential 250 m² | 200-290 |
| High-end residential 400+ m² | 320-480 |
| Interiors apartment 80 m² | 60-95 |
| Interiors apartment 150 m² | 110-170 |
| Commercial 100-200 m² | 160-240 |
| Residential retrofit 80 m² | 85-130 |
Distribution by stage
- Survey + briefing: 5-10%
- Preliminary study + draft design: 30-40%
- Legal project: 8-12%
- Construction documents: 35-45%
- 3D/render: 8-15%
- Coordination and final revisions: 5-10%
Correction factor 1.4×
Your initial estimate × 1.4 gets close to the real number. On projects with a difficult client or a new typology, use 1.6-1.8. This factor is the difference between an office with a real margin and an office that lives on the edge.
Tracker in Limify
Hours per project, automatically
Limify records hours per project and generates your office's own benchmark. The next estimate is calibrated by your reality.
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