Change orders can be valuable tools to both the contractor and the homeowner during the planning and building of projects. They allow homeowners to add to or deduct from the contracted scope of work and to change the plans and specifications that have been established for the project. Change orders are also essential for contractors and homeowners when managing unanticipated conditions or circumstances that arise during the project.
In remodeling, I have often seen clients walk a home or condo after the demolition phase and experience an unexpected change in perspective with opportunities for modifying the planned floor plan to take advantage of a view. A home tends to look demonstrably different when all the finishes are gone, and walls have been taken down. Over the course of a lengthy construction schedule, homeowners may also find new technology, materials, or design ideas they would like to incorporate into their finished project. In other cases, we need change orders to accommodate local building department requirements in older homes which may lack features or systems that are compliant with the most current building codes. For example, Life-Safety issues like smoke detectors, GFI circuits and railings are often required to be added or upgraded to meet current codes. Change orders provide a useful tool for both the contractor and the homeowners in managing the costs and scheduling of those changes.
To employ change orders correctly, the base contract must be an assembly of professional documents including the legal section, plans and other drawings, detailed scope of work, finish specifications and a construction schedule. With a strong contract as a foundation, the change orders need to follow a similar format with timely, accurate, and relevant information. Change orders can enhance the construction process and the completed project, or they can create individual points of contention when referenced back to a weak, vague, or incomplete original contract. Change orders, for whatever reason they are undertaken, should be managed with the same professionalism as the original contract.
Finally, remember that change orders are intended to be mutually beneficial and mutually agreed upon. Both parties should find value in using change orders to modify the project.
