New build is quoted per square metre of finished floor area, and the rate is a specification, not a price. A standard rate assumes local tile, local joinery and standard fittings; a premium rate assumes imported finishes, engineered joinery and a longer programme. Two quotes several million rupiah apart per square metre are usually describing two different houses.

Renovation and fit-out are quoted per project, because the risk sits in what is behind the wall. Expect a provisional sum for anything not yet opened up, and expect it to be used. A contractor who quotes a firm price for a renovation without opening anything is pricing an argument for later.

Design sits separately. Concept packages run to drawings and visuals; full documentation adds permit drawings, a tender package and site supervision. If nobody is being paid to supervise, nobody is supervising.