Just hit a huge unexpected cost with our foundation pour in Austin

We broke ground on our custom build back in March, and I thought I had everything planned out. Last week the excavator hit a layer of limestone that wasn't on the soil report. Ended up needing to bring in a hydraulic hammer to break it up, which added about 12 hours of machine time and a whole extra day of labor. The contractor hit me with a $4,800 change order for the work, plus another $900 for disposal of the extra rock. I get that this stuff happens, but it really stung because we already blew our contingency budget on a tree removal we didn't expect. Anyone else run into surprise rock layers that threw off their foundation timeline and budget?

3 comments

3 Comments

margaret_williams510d ago

And $5,700 is the kind of number that makes you second-guess every other decision on the build too. It's not just the money, it's the principle that a change order that big can pop up from something nobody could've predicted. Makes the whole "contingency" feel like a joke when you're already burning through it on stuff like tree removal.

john_cooper10d ago

Honestly, that $5,700 total is rough for something that wasn't even in the plan.

jessica_ross385d ago

Margaret brings up a good point about that doubt creeping in after a hit like this. It reminds me of my buddy who was building a garage slab last year and found a buried stump right where the footer was supposed to go. He had to bring in a mini excavator just to dig it out, and that surprise cost ate up half his extra money too. @margaret_williams5 is right that when you're already stretched thin, a rock layer feels like a personal attack from the ground itself. It just sucks how one unexpected thing can make you question your whole plan, even though you had no way of knowing.