Wet weather doesn't have to be dead money. The builder with the better daily record wins the extension of time - and the builder with no record pays liquidated damages. Here's the chain, start to finish.
An EOT claim stands on what you recorded at the time, not what you remember at the end of the job. Every day, rain or shine, the Site Diary captures weather, crew on site, and what got done. The dry days matter too - they prove what your normal production looks like, which is what the lost time gets measured against.
Most contracts require written notice of delay within a set number of days (often 5-10 business days) of the delay arising - miss the window and many contracts bar the claim entirely, no matter how good your diary is. The notice is short:
Send it even if you think you'll catch up. You can always withdraw a notice - you can't backdate one.
Time (EOT) protects you from liquidated damages - that alone can be worth thousands a day. Money (delay costs) is a separate and harder claim - usually only where the delay is the principal's fault, not the weather's. Read your clause; when serious money is on the line, get proper contract advice - this guide is general information, not legal advice.
Diary every day (2 minutes) · delay tracker the moment something stops work · notice within the window, every time, no exceptions. Do that and the money conversation at the end of the job starts from your paperwork, not theirs.
The tools above are free and yours to use. When you need the paperwork behind them reviewed by someone who has run sites, Obras HSE Services is a live consulting business in south-east Queensland.
