Extra costs

They say you need to have 10% extra for contingencies.

So far things that have come up
- Fences ~$2013. Still unresolved. According to Dan when they were excavating, the fence posts were rotten and hence the fence fell over. Neighbour is apparently being a bit difficult - not sure how, but George left a voicemail needing to speak to me about it. Not quite sure how truthful Dan is, sometimes I feel he tells me "white" lies. The times I've spoken to Andrew he seems reasonable, so I'll try and surmise the courage to go and speak to him. Not quite sure how to do it. Everyone thinks there's little chance that he'll pay half, and I tend to agree - Do you mind paying for half the fence that fell down because it was my fault?! No harm trying. Even if it's for half the cost of the remaining fence that's still standing.

- Council pit ~$1000. Apparently council weren't happy with using the existing pit and wanted a new one installed. On top of that cost, the builder's 20% variation. I'm not quite happy with this extra cost. I realise now I should have clarified it better in the contract rather than leave it so wishy washy. When I asked George about it, he said variations would cost between 0-20%. An example he gave is if more concrete was needed he would just give me the invoice, with the variation. So I'm wondering if the same should apply to the council pit. But obviously I don't have anything to stand on if he says 20%.

Lesson learnt: Clarify in writing specifically what the different percentage variations will apply to.

- Keyed locks. Spoke to Dan and apparently all the locks - internal and external are keyed the same. I know Mum won't be happy with that. As they have been ordered, he says they may be a charge to change it. I'll leave Mum to deal with it, as I can't be bothered. She wants 5 different keys.