Change Orders: Agree on Scope and Price Before Work Changes

State the reason without confusing it with permission

Record whether the change comes from an owner selection, an observed concealed condition, a design correction or another cause. The reason explains why the proposal exists; it does not automatically determine who owes money. Attach relevant photos or drawings, and distinguish confirmed observations from guesses. A simple evidence trail reduces argument over what everyone saw at the time. See CSLB consumer guidance for the applicable official information.

Describe the new boundary of work

List the affected locations and the work that will replace or supplement the original scope. If something is deleted, show the deletion too. Avoid approve all necessary work language without a meaningful description. Ask what restoration, disposal and later trades are affected, because a small change at rough-in can alter several finish tasks.

Show price and time effects separately

A change can have a cost effect, a schedule effect, both or neither. Ask for an explanation of each, including any selection deadline or delivery dependency. If the final price cannot yet be established, do not silently treat an estimate as a fixed commitment. Agree on the next investigation or pricing step and how further authorization will work.

Maintain one running change log

Give each proposed change a number and status: proposed, revised, approved or declined. Record the approved amount and relevant document version. Include credits and no-cost changes, not just additions. The log should let a person unfamiliar with the conversation reconstruct the current scope and total without searching through unrelated text messages.

Decide who can authorize the change

Name the owner representative who may approve price and scope, and identify the contractor contact who can commit the business. If several family members discuss selections with different crew members, send decisions through that agreed route. An enthusiastic conversation about a possible upgrade can otherwise be mistaken for authorization. Keep the difference between requesting a price and approving the work explicit.

Attach the revised drawing or marked photograph when location matters. Confirm that downstream trades received the same version. A signed change order that never reaches the installer can still result in the old layout being built. During the next update, check that the contractor has incorporated the change into the schedule and invoice forecast. When work is completed, close the log entry with the relevant evidence and retain any credit or deleted item. This gives the change a complete history from proposal through authorization to delivery instead of treating the signed page as the end of coordination.

Use a change-order completeness test

Before approving, ask whether a reader who never attended the conversation could understand the change. The document should identify the original item, the replacement or addition, the affected location and the financial adjustment. Attach the relevant specification or drawing version rather than saying as discussed. Include a credit when work is removed and explain any remaining charge tied to an existing commitment.

Next check the sequence. Does approval allow ordering, investigation or construction, and what remains undecided? If a product substitution needs design or permit review, identify that step rather than treating the signature as approval by every other authority. A change order is not a substitute for required professional review or inspection.

Finally, update the overall project record. Reconcile the contract total, selection list and schedule after each approved change. Check the next invoice against that updated record. This avoids the common problem of every individual change looking understandable while the cumulative total becomes a surprise. Keep declined and superseded proposals in a separate status so the project team cannot accidentally build an option that was priced but never accepted.

Follow through on the decision

Before closing a change entry, check three results: the approved work reached the installer, its financial adjustment reached the account and its schedule effect reached the current plan. These are separate handoffs. If a change is approved but later cancelled, record the cancellation and any agreed remaining cost rather than deleting the entry. If an installed item differs from the approved version, raise that specific mismatch promptly. A short regular review of the log helps prevent small decisions from becoming a large unexplained final balance. It also gives the owner a chance to see the cumulative effect before requesting another upgrade.

Decision checklist

• Identify the affected location, original item and proposed new work.
• Record additions, deletions, credits and the expected effect on timing.
• Obtain written approval through the agreed representatives before changed work.
• Update the current drawings, change log and cumulative contract amount.

A fixture move affects more than one trade

Hypothetical example. An owner asks to move a shower control after rough plumbing. The change document should identify the location change, rework, any wall repair, inspection implications and cost or time effects. It should not say only shower upgrade. If the owner decides against the move, retain the declined proposal so it does not reappear later as supposedly approved work.