I’ve been on every side of the number.

I know what a job has to cost, because I’ve built them, paid for them and sold them.

Where that comes from

I started on the tools, building for other people. In 2005 I set up on my own and hired the firms and tradesmen who did the work — which is where you learn what a price has to cover before anyone signs it.

Then I renovated and sold apartments: first for investors, whose money was on the line, and later with my own in them. The investors made what they came for, which is the only reason they came back.

How this became the work

My projects came in where I said they would and made what they were supposed to make. Contractors I worked alongside started asking me to price theirs as well, and it kept growing until it was the work.

What I look at

I drew plans myself for years, so I look at the design as well as measure it. What’s missing from a drawing usually costs more than what’s on it, and it’s better to find that before the price goes out than after.

— Dominik Rychlewski, Amsterdam

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