How a commercial builder fixed a $30,000 financial exposure in 3-days, not two weeks — and kept a multi-million-dollar client relationship intact.
In commercial construction, a scratch on a window frame is not a big deal. Except when it is. And on a $2.5 million school build near Ballarat, at handover— it very quickly became a very big deal.
Andrew Quinlan of Q Construction knows exactly the challenges of managing details big, and small, on commercial projects. As a full-service construction company, successfully delivering 300+ commercial projects of the highest quality over the last 15+ years across Geelong, Surf Coast, Bellarine Peninsula, Ballarat, Bendigo, Western Victoria and beyond, he and his team have seen it all.
Andrew also knows only too well how fast a small defect can compound into a serious financial and reputational problem.
The Project & The Scratch
Q Construction had just completed a Primary School in Ballarat — a $2.5 million commercial build. They were days from handing over the brand-new facility. The site was in final inspection mode, with the construction supervisor and the project superintendent conducting their pre-handover walkthrough.
That’s when they found it. A scratch on the aluminium window suite. Not the glass — the aluminium framing. While only small, it had big consequences.
“It was a minor scratch that would take a major amount to fix.”
The Cost of Delays
To understand why a scratch on a window frame becomes a critical issue, it helps to understand how commercial construction contracts work at handover.
In Andrew’s world, there are two key milestones: the Certificate of Occupancy (which allows the building to be occupied from an authority perspective) and Practical Completion — known as PC. PC is what triggers payment by the client.
“Without PC, I don’t get paid. It delays everything..”
If the client can’t utilise a facility the head contractor can be exposed as the contract can allow for liquidated damages to kick in. Liquidated damages are agreed prior to start and for a school facility they sit at approx. $1,500 per working day.
A two-week window suite replacement would mean 10 working days minimum while the window suite is remanufactured. That’s potentially $15,000 in damages alone, before a single tradesperson lifts a tool.
And because payment in commercial construction operates on monthly cycles, missing the handover date by even a day doesn’t mean getting paid a day late. It means waiting until the following month.
“If we don’t achieve it, they don’t say, ‘Oh, you achieved it today, we’ll pay tomorrow.’ It just clicks over to the following month — and all of our subcontractors need to be paid because they’ve done nothing wrong. So that scratch hits our cashflow.”
What Replacement Would Have Cost
The conventional path to replacing a scratched aluminium window suite is long and expensive. Andrew’s team had already worked through the scope:
- Remove skirts and architraves.
- Remove the window suite.
- Wait two weeks for a replacement suite to be manufactured and delivered.
- Reinstall.
- Replaster.
- Re-stretch the carpet.
- Complete.
The Ballpark cost is $14,500 to $18,000. And what’s worse, the turnaround time is a minimum of two weeks. And that’s before the damages from the client due the delays.
With replacement costs of up to $18,000, liquidated damages of up to $15,000, and subcontractors charging urgency premiums across every trade involved, the full exposure for a scratch on a window frame was creeping toward $30,000.
And Q Construction would have had to fund all of that, while waiting weeks, if not a month to be paid themselves.
And that’s just the money.
Reputational Risk
Q Construction had more than this project riding on the outcome. While the build was in its final days, Andrew was in discussions with the same client about a follow-on project worth $2.5 to $3 million.
In commercial construction, a builder’s pipeline is their business. Reputation, track record, and the ability to deliver what you said, when you said you would — these are what keep the next contract coming. A missed handover, even if damages are waived by a generous client, is noted. It follows you into the next negotiation.
“It’s only money. But future reputation and future projects is my business. I’m finished if I don’t have that pipeline. And it’s so easy to erode that confidence.”
The FIX ‘N’ CHIPS Solution – Repair, Don’t Replace
Andrew had already been introduced to FIX ‘N’ CHIPS and knew what they did – high quality repairs to accidental damage. When his project managers flagged the scratch as a potential major, he put forward an alternative to the time, cost and hassle of replacement.
Dale Barry, the FIX ‘N’ CHIPS franchisee for Ballarat and Bendigo, was called in. He reviewed photos of the damage, quoted the job, and completed the repair within 3 days.
When the site supervisor and superintendent went back to inspect, they had to go back to the original photos to find where the damage was.
A $2.5 million project with a critical handover. A scratch with a potential $30,000 exposure. Resolved in three days, not visible to the naked eye. Practical Completion granted by the client, payment received, reputation intact. That’s what FIX ‘N’ CHIPS is about.
Commercial Construction’s Secret Weapon
Q Construction hands over a project roughly every three to five weeks. And on every site, with up to 60 tradespeople working in close proximity, accidental damage is not a question of if — it’s a question of when.
“There’s always stuff. Someone accidentally knocks a hole in the plaster; a trade accidentally drops a tool – you’ve got 60 tradespeople in a condensed space — it could’ve been anyone.”
What FIX ‘N’ CHIPS changes is not whether damage happens. It’s what happens next.
“It’s not about the scratch. It’s about minimising the exposures all around it. The scratch is the nucleus to the problem, but it’s not the big problem.”
What Andrew Would Say to Others
For any builder, project manager, or construction professional navigating the pressures of handover, Andrew’s view is direct.
“Everyone has the best of intentions and looks to execute to the highest of levels. But things go wrong. And when things go wrong, it’s about meeting clients’ expectations and minimising your exposures.
FIX ‘N’ CHIPS are the only way through — the service and repair quality are what matters in those moments.”
The risk, the timeline pressure, and the flow-on consequences of a missed handover date — financial, contractual, and reputational — are all very real. A high-quality repair completed quickly changes all of it.
“The risk is so minimised through a quick action and great repairs. It just takes all your headaches away.”
Have you had some accidental damage on one your builds? Get in touch today for a free quote.
