That’s a fair call. Salt air is brutal—honestly, I’ve never seen it fail to cause some kind of surprise in older beach places. Even with a solid inspection, there’s always something hiding where you can’t see. I usually run numbers with a 20-25% contingency, and even then, I’ve had projects that ate through that buffer faster than I expected. Once had to rewire way more than planned because the corrosion was worse than it looked on the surface.
I get wanting to keep the budget lean, but shaving the contingency too much can really backfire. If you end up not needing it, great—you’re ahead. But if you do, at least you’re not scrambling. It’s just tough to predict what’s behind those walls, especially when you throw salt and humidity into the mix. Better safe than sorry, in my book.
