Costs
Why a wet area quote can change once the work starts
5 min read
Short answer
A quotation covers a defined scope based on what could be seen when it was prepared. Wet areas conceal their construction, so opening one up occasionally reveals something that was not visible: a failed membrane, a broken-down bed, or a plumbing fault. Additional work should always be quoted separately and approved by you before it is carried out, never added afterwards.
Nobody enjoys being told a price has moved. The way to make it rare, and fair when it does happen, is to be clear from the start about what a quote covers and what could change it.
What a quotation actually is
A quotation is a price for a described scope of work. The scope is the important half: it says what is being done, and by implication what is not.
That is different from an online estimate, which is calculated from what you type in and cannot see your bathroom at all. An estimate is useful for working out whether a repair is in the range you expected. A quotation is a figure a business stands behind.
What genuinely cannot be seen beforehand
A tiled wet area is built in layers, and the layers that matter most are the ones you cannot see. An inspection reads the evidence, and the evidence is good, but it is not the same as looking directly at what is underneath.
- The condition of the waterproof membrane, and whether it was dressed into the waste and up the walls correctly.
- The state of the screed or bed, beyond what tapping the tiles reveals.
- Pipework inside a wall or under a floor, including a slow leak that has been running for years.
- Damage to the structure beneath, such as rot in a timber floor.
- Previous repairs that were covered over rather than done, which turn up more often than people expect.
How a variation should be handled
If something is found, the work should stop at that point and you should be told what has been found, what it means, and what it would cost to deal with. That is a separate quotation for your approval, not an adjustment applied to the invoice afterwards.
You should also be told what happens if you decide not to proceed, because that is a legitimate choice and you are entitled to make it with the facts in front of you.
Photographs of what was found are reasonable to ask for, and any tradesperson who has genuinely found something will have no difficulty providing them.
What a good quote does to limit surprises
- It follows an inspection or a review of photographs rather than a phone call.
- It describes the scope in terms you can check against the finished work.
- It states what is excluded, particularly membrane replacement, plumbing and structural repair.
- It says that additional work will be quoted separately and approved before it is carried out.
- It states whether the price includes GST.
- It comes with a written warranty on the workmanship, and the warranty says what it does not cover.
Questions worth asking up front
- What would make this price change?
- What have you assumed about the waterproofing, and what did you base that on?
- If you find something once you open it up, what happens next?
- Is anything in this quote provisional?
- What is specifically excluded?
The other direction
Occasionally a job turns out to be less work than allowed for, and that should move the price too. A variation is a change to the scope, and a reduction is as much a variation as an addition.
In short
- A quotation prices a scope. The scope is the part worth reading.
- The membrane, the bed and the pipework are the things nobody can see beforehand.
- Extra work should be quoted and approved before it happens, not added to the invoice.
- Ask what would make the price change, and what is excluded, before you accept.
Common questions
- Can a tradesperson change the price after the work is done?
- Additional work should be quoted separately and approved by you before it is carried out, so that you can decide. Being presented with a higher figure at the end, for work you were not told about at the time, is not how a variation is meant to work.
- What if I decline the extra work?
- That is your decision to make. You should be told plainly what declining means for the outcome, including whether the original repair still makes sense without it, so that you are choosing with the facts rather than under pressure.
- How can I reduce the chance of a variation?
- Get the wet area properly inspected before the quote rather than priced over the phone, share any history you have of previous repairs or leaks, and read what the quote excludes. Most surprises are things that were never assessed, not things that were impossible to assess.
Related service: Bathroom Leak Repair