That’s been my experience too, even on smaller home projects. I’ll start thinking I’ve got everything mapped out, but then something random pops up—like last year, I was redoing a bathroom and found an old vent pipe tucked behind the wall that wasn’t on any plans. It turned into a whole extra weekend of work just to reroute it. I can only imagine how much bigger those surprises get on commercial jobs.
Padding for the unknowns makes sense, but I always wonder where to draw the line. If you pad too much, your bid looks high and might get tossed, but if you don’t, you’re almost guaranteed to eat some unexpected costs. It’s a tough balance. I try to keep a little “oops” fund set aside for every project now, even if it’s just a few hundred bucks for home stuff. There’s always something weird in these older buildings—bad wiring, mystery pipes, or even old insulation that crumbles as soon as you touch it.
One thing that’s helped me is talking with neighbors or folks who’ve worked on similar houses nearby. Sometimes they’ll warn you about quirks in your area—like certain years where builders used aluminum wiring or weird plumbing setups. Not sure how much that translates to big commercial jobs, but maybe there’s a version of that, like chatting with subs who’ve seen the building before.
I do think sometimes we overthink the worst-case scenarios and end up stressing more than we need to... but then again, those curveballs are what make projects memorable (not always in a good way). At this point, I just expect at least one “how did THAT happen?” moment every time I pick up a hammer. Keeps things interesting, I guess.
Yeah, that “how did THAT happen?” moment is pretty much a given, especially with older buildings. I’ve seen it a lot with green roof retrofits—stuff like hidden roof drains or weird old patch jobs that nobody documented. I agree, you can’t pad forever, but not padding at all is just asking for trouble. I usually try to get as much info as possible from folks who’ve worked on the building before, but even then, there’s always something you can’t predict. It’s a balancing act, and honestly, sometimes you just have to accept you’ll eat a cost or two.
- Totally hear you on those “how did we miss that?” moments… I once found a whole HVAC chase hidden behind drywall that nobody had on the drawings.
- I try to budget a 10-15% contingency, but honestly, sometimes that’s still not enough, especially with buildings from the 60s or older.
- Getting info from previous crews helps, but yeah, there’s always some weird patch or hack job lurking somewhere.
- Anyone ever tried doing exploratory demo before bidding? I’ve had mixed luck—sometimes it saves money, sometimes it just adds up front costs.
- At this point, I just expect to eat a surprise cost every project. Not ideal, but seems unavoidable with old properties.
I get where you’re coming from, but I actually think exploratory demo is worth it, at least for roofing. We’ve uncovered rotten decking and sketchy repairs that would’ve blown the budget later. Yeah, it’s an upfront cost, but sometimes it’s cheaper than the “surprise” mid-project change orders. That said, I’ve had a few times where we poked holes and didn’t really learn much... kind of a gamble, honestly.
Exploratory demo is one of those things that feels like buying insurance—sometimes you’re glad you did, sometimes you’re just out a chunk of cash and left scratching your head. I’ve had both outcomes on commercial roofs. Once, we found a patchwork of old repairs under a membrane that looked fine from the top. Saved us a world of pain (and money) down the line. But then there was the time we cut a few test holes and basically just confirmed... yep, it’s a roof.
I will say, with green roofs, it gets even trickier. You can’t always see what’s going on under all that soil and vegetation without poking around. And if you skip the demo, you risk missing stuff like failed waterproofing or hidden rot, which is a nightmare once you’ve got a few tons of sedum and dirt up there. On the flip side, demo can mess with warranties or create more work if you’re not careful.
It’s a gamble, for sure. I try to budget for at least a couple of test cuts, especially on older buildings or anything that’s had “creative” repairs in the past. Sometimes I’ll use thermal imaging first—doesn’t catch everything, but it’s less invasive and can help decide where (or if) to open things up.
Honestly, I’d rather deal with a small upfront cost than get hit with a monster change order halfway through. But yeah, sometimes you just end up paying for peace of mind... or for a few new holes to patch.