Strip Out Costs: What Actually Drives the Price and Why Quotes Vary So Much

September 14, 2026

strip out contractors

There is no single price per square metre for a strip out, and anyone who quotes you one figure without seeing the site is guessing. The type of strip, the building, the access, the waste volume and what happens if asbestos turns up all move the number independently of each other. This guide explains the real cost ranges by strip type, walks through the variables that move a quote up or down, and gives you a way to actually compare two quotes that look nothing alike on paper.

Benchmark costs by type of strip

These are UK-wide indicative ranges per square metre, covering labour, plant, skip hire and standard non-hazardous waste disposal. They do not include asbestos removal, which is always priced separately. Treat these as a sense check for a quote, not a quote in themselves.

Soft strip£15 to £40 per m2Partitions, ceilings, floor coverings, fixtures and fittings. Structure and primary services untouched.
Hard strip£30 to £70 per m2Soft strip plus M&E removal, raised floors, and non-structural block or stud walls.
Full strip to shell£50 to £120+ per m2Everything back to the structural frame and slab. The top of the range where the building is complex.
Asbestos removalPriced separatelyDepends entirely on type, quantity and location of the material. Get the survey done before pricing anything else.
Why per m2 figures can misleadA small unit almost always costs more per square metre than a large one. Mobilisation, welfare, access setup and minimum labour day rates spread across less floor area. A 300 sq ft unit at the top end of the soft strip range and a 30,000 sq ft warehouse at the bottom end are both entirely normal outcomes, and neither means anyone is being ripped off.

What is usually included in a strip out quote

Before comparing prices, make sure you are comparing the same scope. A typical quote covers:

  • Site setup including welfare facilities, protection to retained finishes and access routes
  • Labour for the removal works themselves
  • Plant and tools required for the specific scope
  • Skip hire or grab lorry hire for waste removal
  • Waste disposal at a licensed facility, with segregation of recyclable material streams
  • Waste Transfer Notes as legal evidence of proper disposal
  • A basic sweep clean on completion

What is often not included, and needs to be checked line by line:

  • Asbestos survey and any asbestos removal identified by it
  • Making good after removal, such as patching walls or floors
  • Redecoration
  • Isolation and disconnection of live utilities by a qualified engineer
  • Out of hours working premiums if required by the building
  • Fire stopping reinstatement on disturbed service penetrations
  • Specialist decommissioning, such as commercial kitchen extraction or server room equipment
The most common cause of quote disputesTwo contractors quote for the same job. One includes asbestos survey and making good, the other does not mention either. The second number looks cheaper on paper and is not actually comparable. Always ask each contractor to state explicitly what is excluded, not just what is included. Exclusions are where the real cost differences hide.

The variables that move the price

These are the factors that explain why two buildings of similar size can come out at very different prices, roughly in order of how much they typically move the number.

Asbestos

The single biggest variable by far. A clean survey adds nothing to the cost beyond the survey fee itself. Licensed asbestos removal can add tens of thousands of pounds depending on the material, its condition and how much of it there is.

Biggest driver

Access

Ground floor with a loading bay and vehicle access is the cheapest scenario. Upper floors served by a small passenger lift only, restricted street access, or a city centre site with no skip space all add cost through slower waste removal and more handling.

Adds 15 to 40%

Working hours

Standard daytime working is the baseline. Out of hours or weekend only working, common in managed buildings, shopping centres and live healthcare sites, extends the programme and increases labour rates for unsociable hours.

Adds 20 to 60%

M&E complexity

Basic lighting and power strips out quickly. Dense M&E including comms rooms, specialist ventilation, chilled beams, sprinkler systems or process equipment takes longer to isolate, disconnect and remove safely, and often needs specialist subcontractors.

Adds 10 to 30%

Waste volume and type

A building with dense partitioning, raised floors and heavy ceiling systems generates far more waste per square metre than an open plan unit. Mixed waste that cannot be segregated on site costs more to dispose of than clean, sorted material streams.

Adds 10 to 25%

Protection requirements

Working in an occupied building or one with retained finishes that must survive undamaged means slower, more careful work and more protective measures. This is common on CAT A strip outs where the landlord's base build has to stay intact.

Adds 15 to 35%

Programme pressure

A tight deadline sometimes means a bigger team working in parallel, which costs more per day even if the total programme shortens. Rushed jobs are rarely the cheapest option even though they feel that way when you are trying to save time.

Adds 10 to 20%

Building type

Retail units in managed centres, healthcare facilities and listed buildings all carry additional compliance, protection or working restrictions on top of the base strip out cost, regardless of the actual floor area involved.

Varies by sector

Costs by building type

Type of building matters as much as size. Two projects of the same square footage can sit at opposite ends of the range depending on what they are.

Building type Typical range What pushes it up
Office, CAT A strip £20 to £50 per m2 Raised floor and ceiling protection, dense M&E, central London access restrictions.
Office, full strip to shell £40 to £90 per m2 Multi floor buildings, structural elements, lift only access on upper floors.
Retail unit £25 to £60 per m2 Shopping centre restricted hours, service yard access windows, security escort requirements.
Warehouse or industrial £10 to £35 per m2 Lower per m2 due to scale, but machinery decommissioning and contaminated flooring add significant fixed costs.
Restaurant or commercial kitchen £40 to £100 per m2 Grease extraction removal, gas isolation, drainage work. Small footprint but specialist heavy.
Healthcare, live environment Highly variable, often 20 to 50% above standard rates Infection control containment, negative pressure setup, out of hours only working.

How to actually compare two quotes

The single most useful thing you can do before accepting any quote is put it through the same checklist as every other quote you have received. This is how to do it properly.

1
Confirm the scope is identical

Ask each contractor to list exactly what is being removed, item by item. A quote that says strip out and one that lists partitions, ceilings, raised floor and M&E separately are not automatically pricing the same job.

2
Check what is excluded

Ask explicitly whether asbestos survey, asbestos removal, making good and redecoration are included or excluded. A cheaper quote that excludes all of these is not actually cheaper once you add them back in.

3
Confirm waste disposal is included and licensed

Ask for confirmation that the contractor is a registered waste carrier and that Waste Transfer Notes will be provided. Unusually cheap quotes sometimes cut corners here, and liability for illegally disposed waste can fall back on the building owner.

4
Ask how variations are priced

Find out what happens if asbestos is found during the works, or if the scope changes once the team is on site. A fixed price quote with no clarity on variations can turn into an uncontrolled cost once work starts.

5
Check insurance and accreditation

Public liability insurance, CHAS or Constructionline accreditation, and CDM Principal Contractor capability if the project needs it. These do not show up in the price but they matter if something goes wrong.

6
Get the programme alongside the price

A lower price with a longer programme, or one that does not account for surveys and notifications, can end up costing more overall through delay, especially where you are working to a lease end date or fit out contractor handover.

A genuinely useful testSend the same site survey information to every contractor you are getting quotes from and ask them to itemise the quote by task rather than give a single lump sum. This alone eliminates most of the confusion, because it forces every contractor to show their assumptions rather than hide them inside one number.

Why the cheapest quote is often not the cheapest project

This is worth saying plainly. A quote that comes in significantly below every other quote you have received is not necessarily a good deal. It usually means one of a small number of things: the scope has been priced narrower than the others, waste disposal is being handled informally rather than through a licensed route, the day rate assumes a smaller team than the job actually needs, or asbestos and making good have simply been left out on the assumption you will not notice until later.

None of these save you money. They shift cost to a later point in the project, where it arrives as a variation, a delay, or in the worst case a liability that lands on you rather than the contractor. The way to protect yourself is not to always pick the most expensive quote either. It is to make every quote answer the same questions before you compare the numbers.

Questions we get asked a lot

The key points

There is no fixed price per square metre for a strip out because there is no such thing as a standard strip out. The type of strip, the building, access, working hours and what is found once work starts all move the number independently. Benchmark ranges are useful for a sense check, not for budgeting a specific project.

  • Get the asbestos survey done before finalising any budget
  • Ask every contractor to itemise the quote rather than give one lump figure
  • Check what is excluded as carefully as what is included
  • Confirm waste disposal is licensed and Waste Transfer Notes will be provided
  • Treat an unusually low quote as a reason to ask more questions, not fewer
  • Compare programme alongside price, not price on its own