Close to $1.3 billion of residential alterations and additions is approved across Australia every month. On those jobs the finished surfaces were there before the builder arrived, and they belong to a client who lives with every mark. That is the problem Goop Guys have built their protection system around.
Most builders protect what they install. On a renovation, the bigger exposure is often what they did not install.
The client’s existing kitchen benchtop. The bath in the second bathroom that is not in the scope. The timber floor in the hallway that every trade walks across to reach the extension. These surfaces were there before the job started, and the client expects them to be exactly the same when it finishes.
That is the gap Goop Guys work in every week. The Sunshine Coast business has been making and applying its paint on, peel off protection coatings since 2001, for builders and renovators alike. Renovation work asks something different of that protection than a new build does.
How much renovation work is coming through?
In August, the value of residential alterations and additions approved nationally was $1.28 billion, according to seasonally adjusted ABS building approvals data. July was $1.29 billion. The ABS only counts residential approvals valued at $10,000 or more, so the smallest jobs are not in that number at all.
That is roughly $1.3 billion of approved work a month on homes that already have finishes in them, running alongside new house approvals at their highest level since 2021. Many of those homes are still lived in while the work goes on.
Why is a renovation harder on surfaces than a new build?
On a new build the sequence works in the builder’s favour. Benchtops, baths and floors go in late, and the site is under the builder’s control from slab to handover.
A renovation turns that around. The finished surfaces are there from day one. Trades cross existing floors to reach the work area. Demolition dust settles on benchtops in rooms nobody is touching. Tools land on the nearest flat surface, which is often the client’s kitchen bench.
Then there is the family. In an occupied home, the client is cooking, showering and walking the same hallway as the plasterer. Every surface is in use as well as at risk.
On a renovation, the finished surfaces are there from day one, and every one of them belongs to someone who lives with it.
Why does damage to an existing finish cost more?
When a new surface is damaged, the builder is usually fixing something they supplied, with a known product and a supplier behind it.
An existing finish is a different problem. The product may be years old. The tile range may be discontinued. A timber floor may have aged in a way new boards will not match. A repair that would be simple on a new build can become a whole room replaced, or a patch the client sees every day.
It also sits outside the job. The scope and the contract cover what the builder is there to change, not the hallway floor they walked across to get there. Damage to something outside the scope is a cost with nothing on the other side of the ledger.
What changes when the existing benchtop is engineered stone?
Engineered stone adds a newer complication. Since 1 July 2024, a national prohibition has banned the manufacture, supply, processing and installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs. An import ban followed from 1 January 2025.
Stone already installed in a home can stay. Legacy engineered stone can be repaired, removed, modified in minor ways or disposed of, but the work health and safety regulator has to be notified first, and cutting, grinding or drilling it with power tools is treated as high risk crystalline silica work.
For a renovation, that means a damaged engineered stone benchtop the client wanted to keep can no longer be replaced with a new one in the same material. The options become a controlled repair, or a new top in something else.
What is legacy engineered stone?
Legacy engineered stone is engineered stone that was installed, or bought, before Australia’s national prohibition began on 1 July 2024. It does not have to be removed. It can be repaired, removed, modified in minor ways or disposed of, provided the work health and safety regulator is notified beforehand and the controls for high risk crystalline silica work are followed. New engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs cannot be supplied or installed.
How does Goop protect surfaces in a home that is still lived in?
Goop is a water based coating that goes on like paint, sets into a tough translucent film, and peels off in one continuous sheet when the job is done. No scrapers or chemical removers are involved, and the peeled film goes out with general waste.
In an occupied home, what the coating is made of matters. Goop Guys formulate all Goop products without solvents and describe them as low VOC and non hazardous. Bath Goop is rated by the business as safe for use in confined areas, which is exactly what a small bathroom is. Bench Goop is described as safe for indoor use on kitchen, bathroom and laundry surfaces.
Trained Goop Guys applicators come to the site, coat the surfaces and leave. In the right conditions the coating sets within an hour, so the family is not locked out of the kitchen for the day.
Which existing surfaces can Goop protect?
The range is built around the surfaces that tend to get damaged.
Bench Goop covers non porous benchtops and cabinetry, including granite, marble, engineered stone, stainless steel, glass and laminate, for up to 12 months from one application.
Floor Goop covers almost any non porous floor, including sealed tiles, polished concrete and sealed engineered timber. It is not for raw timber, and Goop Guys recommend testing an inconspicuous area first. Applied internally at the right thickness, it can stay down for up to six months.
Bath Goop protects a bath that stays in place while work goes on around it. Window Goop protects glass and aluminium frames, and has been tested to 12 months of external exposure.
In a testimonial published by Goop Guys, a project officer at Platinum Residential Designer Homes says he has been surprised by how much can now be protected, listing tiled floors, windows, kitchen and vanity benches and baths.
What does protecting existing finishes do for a renovation builder?
Renovation clients are usually the most watchful clients a builder will have. They are home when the trades arrive. They see the boots, the dust and the toolbox on the bench. And the job ends with a walk through of their own house, not a new one.
When the surfaces they already owned come out the same as they went in, that is a large part of how a renovation builder earns the referrals that bring in the next job.
Protection is also something the client can see from the first week. A coated benchtop or bath tells them their home is being looked after before anyone has said a word. Some builders now go further and record surface protection as a QA step, with photos, so it sits in the job file alongside every other check.
The surfaces the client already owns
On a new build, the builder hands over a house. On a renovation, they hand back a home.
The finishes that were there before the job are part of what the client is judging at the end, and they are the hardest to put right when something goes wrong. Looking after them is part of building better, and it is the work Goop Guys have been doing for Australian builders and renovators for more than two decades.
To find a local applicator or request a quote, visit goopguys.com or call 1300 674 667.
The Good Builder Take
On a renovation, the costliest damage is often to surfaces that were never in the scope.
Existing finishes can be hard or impossible to match, and since July 2024 a damaged engineered stone benchtop cannot be replaced like for like.
Goop Guys’ solvent free, peelable coatings protect those surfaces from day one, in homes where the client is still living.
Frequently asked questions
Existing benchtops are commonly protected with a temporary peelable coating applied before work starts nearby. Bench Goop from Goop Guys is painted onto non porous benchtops such as granite, marble, engineered stone, stainless steel and laminate, protects for up to 12 months, and peels off in one sheet when the job is done.
Goop Guys formulate all Goop products without solvents and describe them as water based, low VOC and non hazardous. Bath Goop is rated by the business as safe for use in confined areas, and Bench Goop as safe for indoor kitchen, bathroom and laundry surfaces.
Not with new engineered stone. Since 1 July 2024 the national prohibition has banned the supply and installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs. Legacy engineered stone can be repaired, removed or modified in minor ways after notifying the work health and safety regulator, or replaced with a different material.
Goop Guys say Bench Goop protects for up to 12 months from one application, Floor Goop can stay on internal floors for up to six months at the correct thickness, and Window Goop has been tested to 12 months of external exposure.
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- House Approvals Reach Their Highest Level Since 2021 as Unit Approvals Drop Away
Last updated: 19 October 2026. Figures from ABS Building Approvals, Australia, August 2026.
Partner content: This article was produced in partnership with Goop Guys, a commercial partner of The Good Builder.
General Information Only: This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal, financial, workplace health and safety or professional advice. Requirements for working with engineered stone vary between jurisdictions. Readers should check with their state or territory work health and safety regulator and seek appropriate professional advice for their circumstances.
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