The covering comes off beside a valley and exposes soft sheet decking outside the quoted repair area. A roofer variation process stops the crew from turning that discovery into unpaid work or a surprise invoice.
Treat strip-off as a hold point. Stop. Protect the opening. Record the condition. Measure the added scope. Get written approval before permanent extra work starts.
Put the concealed-condition boundary in the quote
A roof inspection cannot confirm every component hidden below the existing covering. The quote sets the boundary for the roofer variation process by stating what condition and roof build-up the price assumes.
Write the boundary while the roof is still closed. That gives the customer a clear original scope and gives the crew a stopping point after strip-off.
Name the roof build-up you expect
Do not use “deck” as a catch-all. Some roofs have continuous boards or sheet decking. Others expose battens, sarking, framing, flashings or masonry around an opening.
Name what you expect to find where you can. If you cannot confirm the build-up before strip-off, say that its condition will be inspected when exposed.
Keep each component separate in the quote. Decking replacement does not automatically include damaged battens, framing, sarking, flashings or masonry repairs.
State the assumed condition and included repair work
Write the condition assumed by the price. For example, the quote can state that the existing substrate is assumed to be suitable for the specified covering and fixing method, except for identified repair work.
If the quote includes deck repair, define it. Record the location, quantity, measurement unit and treatment of partial boards or sheets. State what happens when that included quantity has been used.
Avoid lines such as “repair hidden damage as required”. That wording gives the crew no approved boundary and gives the customer no way to check the final charge.
Your quote should identify:
- the roof build-up assumed by the price
- visible defects already included
- the included repair quantity and location
- the unit used to measure added work
- the rule for partial or irregular areas
- components excluded from the roof scope
- the condition that triggers a variation
- the point where the crew must stop
Use the quote template for a clear scope and exclusions when you set up the original job document.
Choose one measurement method before strip-off
Choose how you will measure roof scope changes before the concealed area is visible. The method might use boards, sheets, measured area or another unit that suits the actual roof construction.
State how partial units will be counted. Also state whether the resulting price covers removal, handling, cutting, fitting, fastening, reinstatement and disposal.
Use the same method in the quote, site record and variation. Do not switch methods after exposure because another method produces a better price.
If more damage may continue beyond the opened section, make clear that approval covers only the measured location and quantity. Reaching that boundary creates another hold point.
Set the approval chain before opening the roof
Record who can approve extra roof work. The authorised person might be the contracting customer or a named representative. Do not assume that any person standing at the property can change the scope.
Write down the primary contact, a backup contact and the place where approval must be sent. Record any customer reference that must appear on the variation.
The approval needs to cover the defined work, price, GST treatment and schedule effect. A general request to “fix what you find” is not a useful instruction.
Separate weather protection from permanent repair authority
Decide what the crew may do when the customer is unavailable and rain is possible. Temporary protection can secure the opening while approval is pending. It does not authorise permanent unquoted replacement.
Write four instructions before strip-off. State what limited investigation removal is pre-authorised, what safe work inside the original scope may continue, what temporary weather protection may be installed and that no permanent extra work may start without written approval. If weather changes the job, follow the roofer wet-weather shutdown and restart process.
Use the roofer variation process at the deck-exposure hold point
The covering and sarking come off beside a valley. Soft sheet decking appears outside the included area. Stop removal at the edge needed to inspect the visible condition safely.
Control access to the affected roof plane. Do not send a crew member onto material that may not support them. Follow the job’s safety method before anybody measures, cuts or removes more material.
Give one person responsibility for the discovery record. Several descriptions from several phones create arguments about location, quantity and timing.
Map the condition to fixed roof points
Start with the roof plane. Then locate the damage from fixed points such as the ridge, eaves, valley, wall, chimney or opening.
Mark the visible boundary. Take one wide photograph showing where the area sits on the roof. Add close photographs showing the condition. Use a tape, rule or marked sketch when it helps explain the measurement.
Photographs show evidence. They do not define the added scope, price or approval by themselves.
Record the time of discovery, the person who found it and the point where work stopped. That record connects the site condition to the later variation.
Remove only what the inspection allows
Sometimes one damaged section must be removed to see whether the problem continues. Keep that removal controlled and limited to the inspection boundary allowed by the job method.
If the visible problem continues towards a supporting member, stop again. Do not turn an inspection opening into authority to remove a larger section.
Protect the area while the next decision is made. The person assessing supporting members may need different qualifications from the roofing crew doing routine deck replacement.
Measure and classify the changed roof scope
Measure hidden roof deck damage with the method stated in the quote. Record the gross exposed quantity first. Then compare it with the included work already used.
A quantity without a location is not enough. The customer must be able to see where the added work starts, and the crew must know where approval ends.
Deduct the included quantity first
Suppose the quoted deck allowance has already been used on another roof plane and more damaged material appears near an opening. Record where the allowance was used before pricing the new discovery.
If some included quantity remains, deduct it from the measured change. Price only the extra work left after that deduction. Otherwise, you charge twice for work already covered by the original price.
Use the quote’s original unit and partial-area rule. Do not invent a new rounding method on site.
Put each discovery in the right bucket
Classify the exposed work before costing it:
- included repair within the quoted quantity
- added deck work requiring a variation
- another roof component requiring its own scope
- uncertainty around supporting members requiring further assessment
Keep the buckets literal. Boards, sheets, battens, sarking, framing, flashings and masonry are different items. “Extra roof repairs” is too vague to approve or support an invoice.
If an included repair can proceed independently, record it against the quoted quantity and allow only that work to continue. Do not let that approval spill into the added area.
Stop again when the boundary moves
Approval covers the stated location and quantity. If removal exposes more damage beyond that boundary, stop and repeat the record.
Do not stretch the first approval to cover a new roof plane, another component or suspected structural work. Hidden roof deck damage can lead to several narrow decisions rather than one open-ended instruction.
Run the state, safety and GST gates separately
Australian jobs can raise different questions. Send each question to the body responsible for it. Do not treat one answer as permission for everything else.
Ask the licensing regulator about changed trade or contract scope
If the changed work raises a trade licence or home building contract question, pause that part of the job. Ask the licensing regulator for the state or territory where the property is located.
For a NSW job, ask NSW Fair Trading about licensing and home building contract questions (opens in a new tab). For work elsewhere, use that jurisdiction’s licensing regulator instead. Describe the original scope and the proposed added work before restarting it.
Stop for a structural check
If damage reaches framing or another supporting member, pause permanent work in the affected area. Ask the relevant state or territory licensing regulator what competent or registered person must assess and specify that work.
Do not restart the affected work until that person has inspected the condition and given a clear scope. Photographs from the roofing crew are not a structural assessment.
Ask the WHS regulator about the changed site risk
A soft or unstable area can change access, fall risk, temporary protection and the safe sequence of work. Send that workplace safety question to the state or territory WHS regulator.
For a NSW site, use SafeWork NSW for workplace safety questions (opens in a new tab). Use the WHS regulator for the state or territory where the work is being done on other jobs.
Record the site instruction before the crew returns to the affected area. Customer approval does not override the safety method.
Ask the ATO about GST and BAS treatment
If the office is unsure how to record the variation for GST or BAS, check with the Australian Taxation Office (opens in a new tab). Keep that tax question separate from permission to restart the roof work.
Price only the extra work
The roofer variation process prices the measured work left after any included quantity has been deducted.
List the changed labour tasks. Use your own labour cost for removal, handling, cutting, fitting, fastening, reinstatement and site clean-up where those tasks were caused by the change.
Add materials from your supplier and job records. Include boards or sheets, fixings and consumables required for the extra work.
Add access, equipment, disposal and subcontractor costs only when the variation causes them.
Labour cost + materials + variation-caused access, equipment, disposal and subcontractor costs = cost base.
Cost base + markup = variation price.
Markup is what you add to cost. Margin is the profit measured as a share of the selling price. Use the profit margin calculator with your recorded job costs rather than guessing from the invoice total.
Worked example: keep the documents connected
The house document-control example is electrical, but the same chain applies to roofing work. Quote Q-1847 covered a bathroom exhaust fan, 150mm and ducted through the roof, and four LED downlights for R. Chen at 14 Oak Street. The quote total was 1,105 sample currency units.
The ceiling was lined and the quote excluded chasing. Extra cable and chasing were approved on site as a 160 variation. Invoice INV-1847 was 1,265.
The job cost of 850 is measured against the original quote only. Profit is 1,105 − 850 = 255. Margin is 255 ÷ 1,105, about 23%. Markup is 255 ÷ 850 = 30%.
The variation costs are not given. Do not combine the 850 cost with the 1,265 invoice or calculate profit from the final invoice. A larger invoice does not prove that the extra work made money.
All figures in this worked example are sample currency units. They are not roofing prices or a rate card.
Send one written variation for approval
Give the customer one decision containing the photographs, measurement, price and revised work date. Use the record below to link the customer, property, job and original quote, and describe only what the crew can see.
This is an operational record, not a complete statement of Australian contract law. Before relying on it, ask the relevant state or territory licensing regulator about any mandatory variation form, approval process and home building contract requirements.
Copy this blank record into the job file:
Variation number: [reference] Customer: [name] Property: [address] Job reference: [job number] Original quote: [number and date] Discovery date: [date] Recorded by: [name] Discovered condition: [Describe the visible condition.] Location: [Roof plane and fixed reference points.] Evidence: [Photograph and marked drawing references.] Original scope boundary: [Quoted assumption, inclusion, exclusion or allowance.] Measurement method: [Unit and rule for partial or irregular areas.] Included quantity already used: [Quantity and location.] Gross measured change: [Quantity and location.] Extra work after deduction: [Gross change less remaining included work.] Changed labour tasks: [List the work caused by the change.] Added materials and job-specific costs: [List materials, access, disposal, equipment or subcontractor costs.] Variation price: [Price and whether it includes GST.] Schedule effect: [Revised work date or delay, if any.] Temporary protection instruction: [Work already completed or authorised while approval is pending.] Approval statement: [I approve the extra work, price and schedule effect stated above.] Approved by: [authorised name] Approval date and time: [date and time] Approval record: [signature, email or accepted digital record]
Record approval from the authorised contact using the form and process required for that job. Approval covers only the stated location, component and quantity. Further damage needs another stop and decision.
Carry the approved work into the job record
Give the crew the approved variation reference, location and quantity. Mark the approved boundary on the site record or drawing. Do not tell them only that “the customer said yes”.
When the work is complete, record the actual labour, materials and job-specific costs against the variation. Compare those costs with the variation estimate only after every cost has been captured.
Show the approved variation separately on the invoice and preserve the link to the original quote. Keep the site photographs, measurement, approval and invoice with the same job. Yes Foreman can hold that document chain together without turning a site message into the approval record.
Put the roofer variation process into the next quote by adding the deck-exposure hold point, expected roof build-up, concealed-condition assumption, measurement rule and authorised contact. Open that quote now and write the stopping instruction before sending it.