VARIATIONS & SURPRISES
What we find behind the wall, and who pays for it
Everyone has heard about the renovation that doubled. It is the single biggest fear people bring to a first conversation, and it is usually left politely unaddressed until it happens.
So here is the honest version: what we find, how often, and who should be paying for it.
THE QUICK VERSION
Surprises are normal. Being surprised by the invoice is not
Nobody can see behind a wall before the wall comes off. What separates a well-run job from a bad one is not whether something is found, but whether it was priced honestly, raised the day it appeared, and agreed in writing before anyone worked on it.
WHAT TURNS UP
The usual suspects, in roughly the order we find them
COMMON, AND MANAGEABLE
- Old wiring that no longer meets current standards
- Waste pipes that have been patched rather than replaced
- Uneven walls or floors hidden under the old cabinetry
- Gib that was never properly fixed behind the units
- A benchtop sitting on packers instead of level cabinets
LESS COMMON, MORE SERIOUS
- Failed waterproofing under or behind the sink run
- Rot in the framing where a leak has gone unnoticed
- Borer through the floor structure
- Non-compliant plumbing that has to be brought up to code
- A wall carrying load that the plans did not show
HOW IT SHOULD BE HANDLED
The rule we work to is simple. If we find something, you hear about it that day, with a photo, a price and the options. Nothing gets fixed and billed afterwards.
Some of it is genuinely unforeseeable and it is fair that it costs extra. Some of it is not, and an experienced team should have allowed for it. Wiring in a 1970s house is not a surprise. Rot behind a sink that has been leaking for a decade is.
The other half of this is having a buffer in the first place. Around 10% set aside on purpose turns a genuine find into a phone call rather than a crisis. Our cost guide covers where budgets actually go, and our process page sets out when in the job these things tend to surface.
