Nobody has Superman eyes! Your inspectors, your designer and your contractor will do their best to include all required repairs based on what they can see, but they can’t see through walls or under roof shingles any better than you can.

BE PREPARED

Be prepared for surprises once the work begins. When you calculate your budget, hold aside at least 20% of your construction money for surprises that are bound to crop up on the jobsite once the work begins.

There are only two reasons why you would change the scope of work after the work begins:

• OBLIGATORY CHANGES happen when the contractor uncovers a problem that you must repair. You are at greatest risk for these kinds of surprise costs in the first third of the project when the contractor is opening everything up and taking things apart.
  
  
• DISCRETIONARY CHANGES happen when you change your mind about something — the color of the paint in the kitchen, for example. These changes would also add cost and some extra time to your project. Try not to make any discretionary changes until you’re about 50% complete, you’ve uncovered all of the hidden problems and are sure you won’t have any more surprises.

PLANNING AHEAD

If you’re smart, you will have anticipated as many of both kinds of changes as you can, and you’ll have bid all of the possible changes as Alternates. If you’ve done this, you will be able to purchase the work at the competitive, bid price, and execute a change order (a document that incorporates changes into your contract) without having an argument with your contractor about what the new work should cost.

If you were unprepared for a change, you’ll have to negotiate a cost for the additional work at a time when you have very little leverage. You may want to invite your designer to help you with this negotiation. Their knowledge of what things cost and how long they take to complete will be very helpful.

INCLUDING CHANGES IN THE CONTRACT SCOPE OF WORK

Once you and your contractor have agreed on a price and a time allowance for the new work, execute a change order to make your agreement a part of the construction contract. Add this cost to your contract total and deduct it from your contingency allowance.

MORE INFORMATION

You’ll find lots more information about the home remodeling process in Managing a Renovation: Staying in Charge and Out of Trouble, our friendly and comprehensive homeowner’s guide to remodeling project management. Download the table of contents and a sample chapter, or go to the order form to purchase it.

We offer ready-to-use construction forms, including a complete remodeling contract, in our Bookstore, as well. Have a look.

And, you may want to look at our list of More Resources for some great design ideas.

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