How Should You Review a Custom-Home Change Order?

A conversation, sketch, request for information, design comment, or contractor proposal may identify a potential change, but it does not automatically revise the construction contract. Start by identifying the document in front of you and the decision it asks you to make. A proposal requests agreement; an executed change order records an agreed modification; a directive may authorize work under a separate contract procedure before every adjustment is settled.

The North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors advises homeowners to require a written contract, note changes in writing, and keep the contract, written changes, bills, invoices, payment receipts, correspondence, and progress photographs. That record matters because field conversations are easy to remember differently after materials are ordered or work is covered.

Ask who has authority to request, price, review, and approve the change under the project agreements. On a project using AIA documents, the architect may have a defined role in preparing or reviewing change documents. Other delivery methods assign responsibilities differently. Use the actual owner-contractor and owner-architect agreements rather than assuming a familiar form controls every custom home.

A useful change description can be understood by someone who was not part of the original conversation. It should identify what is added, removed, relocated, substituted, or revised; where the work occurs; and which dated drawings, specifications, schedules, selections, or other contract documents are affected. Attach the relevant proposal, sketch, product information, or marked drawing and identify its date and revision.

Next, compare the proposal with the current contract requirements. A price is not automatically a change merely because it appears on a new sheet. Confirm that the work is not already included in the plans, specifications, allowances, accepted submittals, or a prior change. If the scope is partly included and partly new, separate those portions before evaluating the adjustment.

Check the interfaces, not just the item named in the heading. Moving a window can affect structure, exterior material, flashing, trim, electrical work, built-ins, furniture, and the elevation. Changing an appliance can affect cabinetry, ventilation, plumbing, electrical service, clearances, and delivery access. The change should resolve those connected decisions rather than creating a trail of later surprises.

The contract should establish how changes are priced. Depending on the agreement and the event, the adjustment may use an agreed lump sum, unit prices, documented cost of the work with stated markups, an allowance reconciliation, or another defined method. Review the proposal using that method instead of applying a new rule after the change appears.

Ask for enough detail to understand the adjustment. That may include quantities, labor, material, equipment, subcontractor proposals, credits for deleted work, taxes, delivery, supervision, overhead, profit, bonds or insurance when applicable, and the treatment of previously purchased items. Confirm that the proposal does not charge twice for work already included in the base contract or another change.

Read credits and deductions as carefully as added costs. Removing one finish may create a material credit while leaving design, restocking, patching, or sequencing effects that the contract treats separately. Likewise, an allowance reconciliation is not necessarily an owner-requested scope change. Keep the reason, pricing method, and supporting math visible so the revised contract sum can be reconciled later with payment applications.

A change can affect time even when its added cost is small. Ask whether the proposal changes procurement, design review, fabrication, delivery, inspections, dependent work, substantial completion, or another milestone. A statement such as ‘time to be determined’ leaves an important part of the decision open; the contract should explain how unresolved time effects are handled.

Request a practical explanation of the schedule effect rather than accepting an isolated number. Which activity changes? Is it on the controlling sequence? Can other work continue? Does the change require revised drawings, engineering, a new submittal, owner selection, permit review, or a long-lead product? If no time adjustment is requested, confirm that the document says so instead of leaving the field blank.

Distinguish the time needed to perform the changed work from delay caused by a late decision. Set a clear decision date and document the information the owner still needs. If the owner requests additional study or alternatives, record whether the project can continue around that review and when the unresolved choice begins affecting procurement or field work.

Once a change is approved, the project team needs more than a signed cover page. Update or clearly reference the affected drawings, specifications, selection schedule, submittal log, procurement record, budget, construction schedule, and field information. Superseded documents should remain in the record but be marked so they are not mistaken for the current instruction.

Confirm that the people performing connected work receive the same revision. A stair change may affect framing, guard details, lighting, flooring, wall finishes, millwork, and inspections. A revised exterior opening may affect structure, weather protection, cladding, trim, interior finishes, and product orders. The useful question is not only whether the main trade saw the change, but whether every dependent decision now points to the same approved information.

Track cumulative effects as well. A series of individually manageable changes can alter the contract sum, completion date, cash-flow plan, and remaining contingency. Maintain a running log with the original contract sum and time, each approved addition or deduction, unresolved proposals, and the current totals. Do not mix pending proposals into approved totals.

Before changed work begins, confirm the document identifies the project, change number, reason, exact scope, affected attachments, contract-sum adjustment, contract-time adjustment, and required signatures. Use dates and revision numbers. If an item is intentionally unchanged, say ‘no change’ rather than relying on an empty field.

AIA Contract Documents distinguishes an agreed change order from a construction change directive. Under the AIA process, a change order records an agreed modification, while a directive can address work that must proceed before cost or time is fully agreed. Do not borrow that authority from a different contract. If urgent work is proposed, identify the governing clause, written authorization, pricing method, recordkeeping requirements, and path to a final adjustment before treating the work as approved.

Keep a concise change log through payment and closeout. Include the proposal and change numbers, description, origin, dates issued and decided, status, approved addition or deduction, time adjustment, attachments, signatures, related payment application, and final contract totals. For disputed scope, legal rights, directives, lien effects, or contract interpretation, obtain advice from a North Carolina construction attorney and the project's qualified design and construction professionals. Max Built can help establish a clear decision process while planning and building a new custom home in the Charlotte area.