Quick answer: We have built a tool that lets architects, designers and contractors upload a drawing and get an instant, indicative budget for a bespoke joinery package — built on the same costing engine behind our own tenders. Your first estimate on each project is free, it is in beta, and you can try it here.
Why we built it
Most weeks, architects and contractors ask us the same early question: “Roughly what should I allow for the joinery?” It is a fair one — you need a budget to have a sensible conversation with your client, often well before there is time for a full tender. Until now, getting that number meant waiting for us to find a slot to price it by hand.
So we did something about it. Reeve & Co Trade Estimates puts an early-stage budget in your hands in minutes, at any hour — without you having to wait, and without us dropping tools to produce a rough figure. It is the same instinct that drives everything we do: understand the real problem, then solve it properly.
How it works: AI measures, our engine prices, a person confirms
The principle matters, so here it is plainly.
- The AI measures. It reads your uploaded drawing and produces a take-off — item types, quantities, dimensions and finishes — and flags anything it cannot read clearly. It never invents a price.
- Our engine prices it. That take-off is costed by Engine v21, the same engine behind our own quotations, using our real rates, hours and margins. You get an indicative range — tighter where the detail is clear, wider where it is not — plus two or three value-engineering options.
- A person confirms. Nothing becomes a firm price until someone at Reeve & Co has reviewed it. The tool gives you a budget; a quotation still comes from a full tender.
What is in it for you
- Speak to budgets immediately. Get a credible range to share with your client straight away.
- Value-engineering, built in. See how material, finish or specification choices move the number — invaluable when a scheme is over budget.
- Your first estimate is free, on every project. Amendments and re-runs use low-cost credits, so you only pay when you are iterating on a live job.
- Your drawings stay confidential. They are used only to prepare your estimate, kept secure, and never used to train third-party AI.
It is in beta — and that is deliberate
We are releasing this as a beta on purpose. We would rather get a genuinely useful tool into your hands now and keep sharpening it than wait for perfection. The AI is being trained on real drawings, so it improves the more it sees. You may occasionally find something that needs a second look — if you do, flag it and we will review it and put it right. That feedback is exactly how the tool gets better.
One thing will not change: every figure is clearly an indicative estimate, never a quotation, and always subject to survey and final specification.
How to get started
- Request access. Trade accounts only — tell us who you are on the Trade Estimates page and we will set you up.
- Upload and brief. Add your drawings and answer a few quick questions on finish, materials and timescale.
- Get your range. An indicative budget plus value-engineering options, ready to share with your client.
- When you are ready for a firm price, send us the full tender and we will return a properly costed, itemised quotation — reviewed by hand.