About us
Laxton's Building Price Book was first published at the beginning of the 19th Century by William Laxton and has been published most years ever since. It is kept up to date by qualified Quantity Surveyors.
The current Laxton’s pricing data is prepared in both SMM and NRM formats, with detailed breakdowns of costs (labour, materials, waste, profit) from "first principles" covering thousands of building items.
What is the Laxton's Book?
Laxtons is produced in both methods of measurement used within the industry, for
the convenience of its users.
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SMM – Standard Method of Measurement of Building Works (SMM7)
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NRM – New Rules of Measurement (NRM2)
The information detailed will be of interest to Cost Estimators, Quantity Surveyors, Contractors, Sub-contractors, Self Builders, Architects, Developers, Students, Government and Public Authorities and those interested in the cost of building works.
SMM vs NRM
What is the difference?
SMM and NRM are different Standard Methods of Measurement. These have evolved over time, with SMM7 being replaced by NRM2, to meet new demands from the industry.
Estimators should be aware that SMM7 is still being used successfully within the UK and around the world.
The RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) states “The main benefit of NRM is that it uses a general protocol that should allow any surveyor to measure any type of construction from any era”. To encourage practitioners to use the NRM standards,PDFs are available to RICS members free of charge.
It is important to recognise that NRM1, NRM2 and NRM3 are for differing parts of the estimating process and that Laxtons is referencing NRM 2.
