Price the risk of a failed slip test into the tender
For builders pricing a job whose package asks for slip testing. On-site testing to AS 4663, P-rating language from AS 4586, the report, a retest if a floor fails, and a rectification allowance — hold those in the price before a fail is a variation or a defect.
A tender that names slip resistance testing is asking you to carry a measurement risk, not just a day on site. The pack will usually speak in AS 4586 classification language — a wet-pendulum P rating for the finish. The floor you lay is then measured in place. Price the test, the report, and the chance that the number comes in under the specified class, while you still hold the pencil.
AS 4586 on the spec, AS 4663 on the floor
AS 4586 is how new pedestrian surface materials are classified. Wet pendulum is the method most specs mean when they write a P class. That language is useful: it tells you the target — P5 in a commercial kitchen, P3 in a hospital bathroom, whatever the specifier wrote.
AS 4663 is the method for measuring a pedestrian surface that is already down. That is the on-site test a builder should allow for. A product datasheet is not a substitute for that visit. Sealer, grout film, polish, and the way the tile was laid all sit between the sample and the corridor.
If the pack is vague — “slip testing required”, no standard, no P class — treat that as a risk, not as a line you can leave blank. What a failed AS 4663 slip test means is the handbook reading we use when the spec points at HB 198 or the NCC instead of a number.
What a builder should include in the price
Four lines, not one:
- Site testing. An on-site wet-pendulum visit to AS 4663, covering the locations the spec actually names — not one token reading in the dry foyer.
- The report. The written slip resistance record the superintendent, certifier or client will ask for. A verbal “it felt fine” is not a report.
- A retest allowance if a floor fails. One fail does not close the clause. Someone has to come back after the rectification. Hold a second visit.
- A rectification contingency. Clean and chemicals, an anti-slip treatment, a grind, or a replace — the path depends on the gap. How to rectify a failed slip test names those four. The contingency is there so a fail is not automatically a variation.
We will not invent a dollar figure, a pass, or a timetable. Send the clause. We will tell you what we would hold, write a rectification opinion if you already have a result, and quote Premrest to do the works nationally if you want us. You can take that scope to another contractor for a second quote. We are not a referral broker.
How quickly to ask for a quote
Ask while the tender is still open on your desk. Once the price is in, a failed pendulum result is a variation argument or a defect — and you are negotiating from a number you did not hold. Call 1300 207 915 if the close is this week. Still send the spec so we read the class from the paper.
If the floor is already down and the test sits in front of practical completion, that is a different page: slip test before handover.
Where we work
National coverage. Perth and Western Australia by arrangement. Send the site address with the enquiry. We quote from that address; we will not tell you we only cover one coast.
Premrest has built a business on long-standing, honest, trustworthy relationships. A works report is not a compliance certificate. No pass guarantee.
Questions builders ask while the tender is still open
The specification is usually speaking AS 4586 classification language — a wet-pendulum P class for the material. The measurement of the floor you have actually installed is an on-site wet-pendulum test, commonly reported against AS 4663. Same P scale, different document. Do not price a laboratory sample and assume the laid floor will match it.
Site testing, the written report, a retest allowance if a location fails, and a rectification contingency. Leave any of those at zero and a fail becomes a variation or a defect. We will not invent a dollar figure for you; send the clause and we will say what we would hold.
While you still hold the pencil — before the tender is locked, not after a fail lands as a variation. Call 1300 207 915 if the close is this week, and still send the spec so we read the class from the paper, not from the call.
Yes, nationally. Perth and Western Australia by arrangement. Send the site address with the enquiry. We will not tell you we only cover one coast.
No. No pass guarantee, and no claim that a treatment produces a stated P class on a timetable. The contingency is there because the retest is a separate measurement.
Send the spec, or the report if you already have one
Or call 1300 207 915 if the tender close is this week.