Remodeling Change Orders Can Cost You. Here's How To Avoid Them

Surprises are one of life's little pleasures! Nothing is better than surprising your spouse with a weekend getaway, or your kid with a surprise birthday party. But there is one place where you never want surprises, and that's when you're remodeling your home.

Surprises during your home remodel can not only cost you financially, but they can also be stressful and stretch your project out for much longer than necessary. If you've never lived through a home remodel, you might be unfamiliar with the term "change order." In this post, we're going to take a look at what remodeling change orders are, why they happen, and how to avoid them in your next home remodeling project.

What Exactly is a Remodeling Change Order, and How Do They Happen

The most basic definition of a "change order" is -  any change in an agreed-upon plan for your home remodeling project. Home remodeling is a complicated process that has many layers. Planning your remodeling project early in the process with your contractor is crucial for maintaining your budget. 

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Your design-build-remodeling contractor works hard with you from the earliest stages of the design process to determine the scope of work of your project. This process includes picking materials like countertops, flooring, lighting, cabinets, fixtures, and tile, as well as choosing a color palette.

Change orders are not something to be afraid of. That being said, you need to make change orders judiciously. Too many changes in the project can quickly blow-up even the best-planned budget. The truth is, today it's rare to remodel any room without having at least one remodeling change order. 

Typically, remodeling change orders fall into one of four categories:

• Changes Requested By The Homeowner

For some homeowners, it's sometimes difficult to make a decision on material like tile, or a countertop from a few sample tiles, or a 6-inch square piece of countertop material. While we try to discourage it, it's not unusual for a homeowner to change their mind about a product or finish, like wanting to switch from a granite countertop to marble. Sometimes they'll want to add an element like a skylight or extra window to their project. However, it's always best to take the time up-front when planning to solidify your design.

• Contractor-Generated Changes

Sometimes your contractor might have a constructive suggestion, for example, swapping the marble countertop you want, for a marble pattern quartz to save money.

• Unforeseen Circumstances

While every quality contractor provides a thorough assessment of a project, including potential issues, sometimes unforeseen stuff happens! For example, your contractor might begin taking down a wall in the kitchen, only to find mold as a result of a damaged, leaky roof. Repairing the roof leak will need to come before the job can proceed. This type of issue is likely in older homes where you are bound to find problems like asbestos, termite damage, rotted subfloor, or old wiring. You must address these issues to pass inspection and proceed.

• Inspector Generated Change Orders

Inspections are another reason for many change orders. Sometimes a project is delayed due to required additional work to meet local building codes. Building codes are constantly changing, and these remodeling change orders are the most difficult to anticipate. Like the unforeseen circumstances mentioned above, these types of change orders come with older homes.

While change orders typically can add to the cost of a project, that's not always the case. Some can lower costs, for example choosing a less expensive product or finish. Some firms may require a change order for things like changing a paint color, even though that does not impact the budget.

The Key Is Pre-Planning

A design-build professional will spend a lot of time on the initial planning stages of your project. Planning and design is a very involved process, and as the homeowner, you should be intimately involved from the earliest stages. Pre-planning is one of the most important steps you can take, that will save you money later. The more well thought out and detailed your plan is before you start, the fewer surprises you'll experience. The planning and design process should include:

• If you're planning an addition, you should include any land surveys or samples needed to understand that land on which the addition will be built.

• An initial floor plan, called a schematic, which you will review and approve before you begin to make sure that you're happy with the layout. Your designer should go over this item in detail.

• Detailed blueprints or drawings based on the homeowner approved schematics, stamped and sealed.

• A detailed scope of work, written by your contractor, or design-build professional clearly explaining everything that is included in the project, and any items that are expressly excluded!

• Any other specific instructions, requests, or items you might require. It's always best to have everything that is included in the project and anything that is expressly excluded.

Once you've begun construction, the design and planning process should stop! One of the biggest reasons for remodeling change orders are homeowners who change their mind in the middle of construction. Design changes can often mean structural changes. 

For example, if your bathroom remodeling project calls for a standard faucet, your builder will put in a plumbing set-up for that specification. If, however, the homeowner designs to change to a wall-mounted faucet halfway through the job, that means going back and redoing a lot of the work. This can be expensive if, for example, the plumbing has been roughed in and the tile work and painting are already complete. 

At Degnan Design-Build-Remodel Our Goal is "0" Change Orders

Here at Degnan Design Build Remodel, we understand that sometimes change orders need to happen, but our goal for every project is zero change orders. Our "Proven Process for Your Successful Project" is how we avoid change orders for our clients. Our process outlines all of the steps from planning and design through construction to completion. 

All project planning and research are done upfront during the design and pre-construction phase. We work with our clients to discover everything possible before any work begins. That includes visiting the house to make sure that there are no surprises. 

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Our goal for every project is to have zero change orders. We work with the homeowner to make our choices early in the process, and then our experience allows us to know what to expect when construction begins. One of the significant benefits of working with a design-build-remodeling company like Degnan is that the planning, design, and construction of your project are done under one umbrella company. Not only is this much more convenient for you, the homeowner, it means that everything is done right the first time – with no surprises!

If you live in the greater Madison, Wisconsin area and are planning a home remodeling project, give the award-winning designers at Degnan Design-Build-Remodel a call at (608) 846-5963.

Our design team is always happy to answer your questions and are ready to help you to design your dream home.