Variations are where renovations blow out: the price arrives verbally, mid-build, while your bathroom has no floor. Tick what your builder has quoted and see the fair Australian band for each, plus your running total against the contract.
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Tick the variations you've been quoted
Fair band for your 0 variations
Tick a variation above
The three rules that save you thousands
Nothing verbal. Every variation in writing, priced, signed by both of you before the work happens. In most states a builder can't enforce an unsigned variation on a domestic building contract.
Itemised, not lump sum. “Extra works $4,500” is not a variation, it's a wish. Ask for labour hours, materials and margin as separate lines.
Discoveries need evidence. Rot, asbestos and switchboards are legitimate, but photos before cover-up and the specialist's own invoice are the proof. A builder who has them shows them.
Fewer surprises start before the build.
Most variations are decisions made too late. Render the room first, lock the niche, the tile size and the vanity in the picture, and the variation list shrinks to what's genuinely under the floor.
Bands are indicative 2026 Australian supply-and-install ranges for standard metro conditions, consistent with the trade rates behind our quote checker, including GST. Access, structure and your site can move a fair price outside the band; treat this as a sanity check, not a quote or legal advice.