Change orders

[Fordean]

When a Change is brought to contractor. And alterations that were just completed, Need to be ripped out and redone. Curious on when the Paper work should begin. Should they hand you Change order during conversation. Or do work and submit, ( Which I do sometimes and hard getting paid). Also, Do you affix a dollar value immediately or when you send in invoice. Im sure this will help many. Any answers.

 

[macmikeman]

If you are doing work for a gc on a project I would turn in a change order form for every change prior to performance. It is best to have a place for signature of the gc and the owner of the property on the change order. If this holds up work flow so be it, GC's have no problems telling you to wait while they conduct their operations , how many times you heard stuff like - nobody on site today cause we are pouring concrete and we don't want any interference with parking or some such . On resi work payment up front is the only way to fly.

 

[petersonra]

I hate change orders. We usually have a small contingency budget built into projects but it can get eaten up very fast.

Most of our customers we can deal with in a reasonable way on small changes. I just tell them what it will cost and send them a form to sign acknowledging the added cost. We have yet to not get paid on a signed C.O.

We have been stiffed a few times when we proceeded on faith and verbal promises though.

IMO, get it in writing before you do the work.

 

[roger]

When a Change is brought to contractor. And alterations that were just completed, Need to be ripped out and redone. Curious on when the Paper work should begin. Should they hand you Change order during conversation. Or do work and submit, ( Which I do sometimes and hard getting paid). Also, Do you affix a dollar value immediately or when you send in invoice. Im sure this will help many. Any answers.

If the GC or owner wants it immediately they should give you some sort of "notice to proceed" with the extra work, it can be a CCD (Construction Change Directive) or a PPO (Proceed and Price Order), or any other type of directive that has some sort of acknowledgment that this is extra and you will be compensated.

If they are asking for a quote on the proposed extra work they should give you a time frame on when the pricing should be submitted.



Roger

 

[mkgrady]

There are numerous types of changes and all should be documented depending on what the situation is. Examples are:
The customer wants something different from what is described in the contract. You propose a change with a price and when you have agreement on the price and the work you both sign an agreement on the price and the amount of time to be added to the schedule. This is the type of change that protects both parties.

Another type of change is where the customer tells you they want something different from the contract requirements or something is added. The contractor proceeds with the change without a written agreement. This type of change might work out and it may result in a serious dispute or it may fall somewhere in between.

A third type is one where the customer informs you of something they want and they claim it is required by the contract and you disagree that it is required. The normal response here is to provide written notice that they are asking for extra or changed work that is not part of the contract. This notice of change is critical to your ability to legally collect on the claimed extra work. It is normally rolled with a request for a cost proposal if you convince them you are right or it may result in a written directive to proceed with the work. In this case you will need to keep accurate contemporaneous records in order to submit a successful claim.

There are a few other examples such as a value engineered changes proposed by either party or you might just sell them a change that is a better design. Remember changes can also be deduct changes proposed by either party. But the bottom line is that changes are suposed to be administered in accordance with the changes clause in the contract where the procedures should be spelled out. There is also something called differing site conditions where you encounter conditions that are differerent than those represented in the plans or specifications. When you encounter these the most important thing to do is to submit written notice and ask for written direction on how to proceed. Do not proceed without written direction

 

[Fulthrotl]

When a Change is brought to contractor. And alterations that were just completed, Need to be ripped out and redone. Curious on when the Paper work should begin. Should they hand you Change order during conversation. Or do work and submit, ( Which I do sometimes and hard getting paid). Also, Do you affix a dollar value immediately or when you send in invoice. Im sure this will help many. Any answers.

well, the way it normally works.... if you put it in without a written and signed change order,
you are putting it in for free.

if i'm doing a hard number job, and the scope of the work changes, then i write it up on the
spot, and have the GC sign it, and we both get email copies of it, before i order extra material,
or do any work.

or, it's *free*. :weeping:

 

[jmellc]

I would do it at no charge if something simple like moving a receptacle or switch a few feet to accomodate a doorway, etc. No real cost in this if told ahead. I would still get a signed change order and mark it "no charge". Just in case the specs change again & the GC gets a memory lapse.

Anything bigger, or changing work already done, I would get a signed change order before doing the work. Again, memories are conveniently deceiving. Keep your boss in the loop at all times, unless you are the boss. If so, keep your office manager involved, to keep all your official copies up to date. Don't rely solely on field copies, as they can be easily lost or rained on, etc. If someone doesn't want to sign a change order, he is planning on stiffing you. "No problem, we always pay for these things" will turn into "I don't recall that" and for sure won't mean anything when you deal later with an out of town/out of state office manager with no record of the request. Your only leverage is before the work is done.