DEMITONResearch / Rework statistics
Rework: what it costs a construction contractor
Work done twice: poured to the wrong level, built off the wrong drawing, redone after a failed test.
The record holds 5 figures on rework from 5 sources. No Queensland-specific figure yet; the Australian figures apply.
Updated 2026-09-25 · release data-latest-4-g72a88f5 · all five diseases
Contractor loss · Australia · moderate confidence
Contractor loss · Australia · moderate confidence
Contractor loss · Place unknown · low confidence
Dashed line: planned gross margin on Australian civil and transport work (9.89%)
Steel: money the contractor loses.
Every figure
| Figure | Of | What it measures | Where | Confidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No figure | nobody has published a defensible one | Contractor bore rework cost directly on 93% of projects; 23% of yearly profit lost | Australia | moderate | Love, Ika, Ahiaga-Dagbui, Locatelli & Sing (2019) |
| 12.3% | of contract value | Direct 6.4% plus indirect 5.9% rework cost, 161 Australian professionals | Australia | moderate | Love & Edwards (2005) |
| 10% | of contract value | Mean total rework cost, 115 Australian civil infrastructure projects | Australia | moderate | Love, Edwards, Watson & Davis (2010) |
| 5% | of construction cost | Direct rework 'often' 5% of construction cost (framing in a US study of 359 projects) | US | low | Hwang, Thomas, Haas & Caldas (2009) |
| 0.38% | of contract value | Rework as recorded in one contractor's books, 0.38% rising to 0.76% | Place unknown | low | Love (2026) |
Questions and answers
How much does rework cost a construction contractor?
Other figures in the record: 12.3% of contract value (Australia); 10% of contract value (Australia); 5% of construction cost (US); 0.38% of contract value (Place unknown).
Is there Queensland evidence on rework?
Not yet. The record has no Queensland-specific figure on rework; the Australia-wide figures apply.
How reliable is the rework figure?
There is no headline figure for this disease yet.
The evidence
No figurenobody has published a defensible oneContractor bore rework cost directly on 93% of projects; 23% of yearly profit lostAustraliaModerate confidenceContractor loss
What it is. Incidence and profit impact, not a share of contract value.
Sample. 98 projects with complete cost data (of 346 projects and 19,605 rework events), one contractor, six years of ledger data, public and private clients, building and infrastructure.
What it is not. Recorded rework was only 0.39% of contract value - the ledgers undercount. Margins were 6-9%, which is why 0.39% wiped out roughly a quarter of yearly profit. The 2018 paper on the same data reports 28%; cite one and say which.
Where it came from
- Love, Ika, Ahiaga-Dagbui, Locatelli & Sing (2019), Make-or-break during production: the costs of reworkabstract; results p.11 of the accepted manuscript · source record
12.3%of contract valueDirect 6.4% plus indirect 5.9% rework cost, 161 Australian professionalsAustraliaModerate confidenceContractor loss
What it is. 12.3% of total contract value, direct plus indirect.
Sample. National survey of 161 construction professionals about recently completed Australian projects. Mixed sectors.
What it is not. A perception survey. Design consultants' and project managers' estimates differed significantly. A 'total of 10%' appeared only in a search snippet, not the abstract, so it is not cited from this paper.
Our arithmetic. 6.4% direct + 5.9% indirect = 12.3% (both from the abstract; the sum is ours)
Where it came from
- Love & Edwards (2005), Calculating total rework costs in Australian construction projectsabstract · source record
10%of contract valueMean total rework cost, 115 Australian civil infrastructure projectsAustraliaModerate confidenceContractor loss
What it is. 10% of contract value, including indirect costs.
Sample. Questionnaire survey covering 115 Australian civil infrastructure projects. The only peer-reviewed figure specific to civil work.
What it is not. Respondents' estimates, not measured cost records. Rework amount correlated significantly with cost and schedule growth (p<0.01).
Where it came from
- Love, Edwards, Watson & Davis (2010), Rework in Civil Infrastructure Projects: Determination of Cost Predictorsabstract · source record
5%of construction costDirect rework 'often' 5% of construction cost (framing in a US study of 359 projects)USLow confidenceMoney at stake
What it is. 5% of total construction cost, direct rework only.
Sample. The paper analyses 359 projects in the CII database, mostly US industrial and commercial.
What it is not. The 5% is the abstract's opening framing, not the paper's own measured result, and who bears the cost is not measured.
Where it came from
- Hwang, Thomas, Haas & Caldas (2009), Measuring the Impact of Rework on Construction Cost Performanceabstract, read on TRID: https://trid.trb.org/view/884832 · source record
0.38%of contract valueRework as recorded in one contractor's books, 0.38% rising to 0.76%Place unknownLow confidenceContractor lossSecond-hand
What it is. 0.38% of contract value, direct cost only, as recorded pre-completion.
Sample. One contractor's project data, collected by its quality managers. Adding post-completion corrections raises the average to 0.76%.
What it is not. SECONDARY - the paper itself returned 403 and was read through ASCE's news write-up. The article gives no sample size, country or sector. The same study found actual costs underreported by around 300%, which is the number that matters here: most rework is never written down as rework.
Where it came from
- Love (2026), Quantifying the Costs of Field Rework in Construction second-handabstract, as reported · source recordRead via: ASCE Civil Engineering Source, 22 Jan 2026: https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source/article/2026/01/22/how-much-does-field-rework-in-construction-actually-cost (the paper itself returned 403)
3%of construction costMean field rework above 3% of construction-phase cost, 150+ US heavy industrial projectsUSLow confidenceMoney at stakeSecond-handWithdrawn
Withdrawn. The figure cannot be traced to the source it cites. On 2026-09-25 two agents read CII's page for RS153-1 independently and neither found "above 3%" or "more than 150 projects" on it; the page carries no figure or sample size at all. Other write-ups attribute conflicting numbers to CII's field-rework research (a 5% mean, 144 projects, 4.6% for buildings) without page references. The full report is paywalled and was not read. The figure can return when someone reads the report and cites the page.
What it is. 3% of construction-phase cost, field rework; the mean is above this figure.
Sample. More than 150 heavy industrial projects, US, 2001.
What it is not. Seen on CII's summary page only; the report was not read. Industrial, not civil, and 25 years old. Who bears the cost is not measured.
Where it came from
- Construction Industry Institute (2001), The Field Rework Index: Early Warning for Field Rework and Cost Growth (RS153-1) second-handproduct page summary · source recordRead via: CII's product page for the report; the report itself was not read