Renovation pricing,
out in the open.

No, and we won’t pretend otherwise. The published ranges are honest brackets built from 2026 Melbourne market pricing and our own completed jobs. They exist so you can work out whether a project is remotely in reach before spending an evening on phone calls.

Your fixed price comes after a free site visit, in writing, itemised, with inclusions and exclusions listed. That’s the number we’re bound to.

What we won’t do is quote low to win the job and recover it through variations. If the site visit reveals your project sits above the published range, we’ll tell you why, with the specific reason.

Two things matter.

Domestic building insurance (now Home Warranty for new eligible contracts signed from 1 July 2026) is required for domestic building work over $16,000 in Victoria. It protects you if the builder dies, disappears or becomes insolvent before the work is finished, and it covers defects for a period after completion. You should receive a certificate before you pay a deposit.

Public liability insurance covers damage to your property or injury on site during the work. Every builder should carry it; ask for the certificate of currency.

Ask for both in writing before signing anything. A builder who hesitates is telling you something.

Under the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995, the maximum deposit is:

• 10% of the contract price if the contract is under $20,000
• 5% of the contract price if the contract is $20,000 or more

Demanding more than that is an offence. If a builder does, you may avoid the contract at any time before it’s completed.

The limit exists so that if a builder fails mid-project, your exposure is capped. Anyone asking for 30% up front to “order materials” is asking you to carry their cash flow risk, and you should walk away.

Every variation is quoted in writing and approved by you before the work happens. No exceptions, no verbal agreements, no “we’ll sort it at the end.”

Variations come from three places: you change your mind, we find something hidden (rot, failed waterproofing, non-compliant old wiring), or a regulatory requirement emerges. The first is yours, the second we carry a stated contingency for, and the third we flag as soon as we know.

The dishonest version of this industry quotes low, wins the job, then recovers margin through variations once you’re committed and the house is half demolished. The defence is a detailed scope document — which is why ours lists exclusions as explicitly as inclusions.

Within 2 business hours of your enquiry, from Kusal directly — not a call centre and not an automated sequence.

The site visit is usually within a week, and the written fixed-price quote lands within three business days of that visit.

If you use the estimator, your answers come through with the enquiry, which means the first conversation starts from the detail rather than from scratch.