Change Orders and How to Limit Them

Why changes happen

The main causes are owner requests after design is set, conditions found during construction, errors or gaps in drawings, and code or authority requirements.

Understanding which type you face helps you decide who carries the cost.

Prevent the avoidable ones

Complete the design before pricing. Confirm finishes, equipment and tenant requirements early. Name one person on your side who can approve decisions quickly.

Tell the team about future needs, such as extra data drops or power for equipment, so the infrastructure is included from the start.

Handle necessary ones well

Ask for each change to be priced and approved in writing before the work proceeds, with the schedule effect stated. Keep a running log so the total is visible at all times.

Where a change affects several trades, our single-team approach gives you one answer, not several competing quotes.

Watch the timing

A change made during design costs little. The same change made after drywall is up can cost a lot, because finished work must be opened and redone.

Review layouts closely before framing begins.

Hold a short decision meeting every week. List open questions, assign an owner and a due date to each, and record the answers. Most changes grow from questions left open too long.

• Freeze the layout before framing starts.
• Confirm equipment sizes before rough-in.
• Approve finish samples early.
• Log every change with cost and schedule effect.

Our approach to changes

We price changes using our own crews and material experience, so quotes come back quickly and are easy to compare against the original scope.

Because electrical, mechanical and interior work are managed by one team, a change in one area is checked against the others before it is priced. That avoids the surprise of a second, related change a week later.