Requests Aren't Change Orders Until They're Priced

You're walking the house with your builder. You ask if the pantry could get one more shelf, if the outlet in the island could move to the other end, if the bedroom window could be a little bigger. The answer is "sure, we can do that."

That moment feels like a decision. It isn't one yet. It's a request. It becomes a change order when it has a price and you've approved it in writing. The gap between those two is where a lot of end-of-job friction comes from, on both sides.

How the gap opens

On site, things move fast. "Sure, we can do that" usually means "that's possible," not "that's free" and not "that's priced." The builder may plan to price it later. You may assume it was small enough to be included. Both are reasonable guesses.

Then the work happens, or doesn't. A few weeks later one of three things shows up:

• A change order you didn't expect, for work that's already done.
• Nothing, because the request got lost, and the window is the original size.
• A line on the final invoice for a dozen small things, each reasonable, together a real number.

Nobody acted in bad faith in any of those. The request just never turned into a priced, approved decision.

Why it hurts both sides

For you, unpriced requests make your forecast wrong. You think you know where the job will land, and you don't.

For the builder, they're work done without a signed change, which can be hard to bill and harder to talk about. Some builders absorb small ones to keep the peace, then stop absorbing them, and the relationship gets tense right when the job is getting stressful anyway.

And once work is done, the leverage on price is gone for both of you. A change priced before the work is a conversation. A change priced after is a negotiation.

A simple habit

Three steps, and none of them require being difficult.

1. Log the request when you make it. A note on your phone or in your change order log: what you asked for, the date, who you asked. If it was on a site walk, a photo helps.

2. Ask for a price in writing, within a set time. Something like: "Thanks for being open to the bigger window. Can you send a price and any schedule impact by Friday so I can decide?" A week is reasonable for most small changes. If a request has been sitting for a week with no price, ask again.

3. Approve before the work starts. Sign the change order, or reply in writing that you approve it, before anyone builds it. If the builder needs to move fast to keep the schedule, a short email approving a not-to-exceed amount works for both of you.

That's it. Your list of open requests becomes one of the most useful things you keep during the build. It shows what's still unpriced, which means it shows how much of your forecast isn't real yet.

What to do with the small stuff

Not every tweak needs a formal change order. Moving an outlet a foot before the electrician has roughed in may genuinely cost nothing. The point isn't paperwork for its own sake. It's knowing which requests carry a cost.

A good way to put it: "If any of these cost anything, can you let me know before you do them?" That gives the builder room to handle the small ones without a form, and you still hear about anything that moves the number.

For how to read the price once it arrives, see Is that change order price final?

None of this is legal advice. If you and your builder read the contract differently, that question belongs with a construction attorney.

Questions worth asking

• Does this request change the price or the schedule?
• Can you send a price in writing before the work starts?
• How do you want me to send requests so none get lost?
• Which open requests from me are still waiting on a price?
• Does the contract say changes have to be approved before work starts?