The anatomy of a good change order
The reason line matters more than it looks. Discovered condition, homeowner request, product substitution, and professional recommendation are different animals: they carry different negotiating positions and different schedule sympathies. Naming the origin honestly keeps the conversation about the change rather than about fault.
Price and time travel together. A change priced without its schedule effect is half-documented, and schedule effects compound: a small addition during rough work can cascade through inspection timing and finish sequencing. Ask for both numbers on every change, even when the answer is zero, so silence never becomes an assumption.
The authorization signature is the load-bearing element. Verbal go-aheads in a hallway produce the most expensive misunderstandings in remodeling, because both parties remember the conversation differently and both are sincere. A signature rule protects the relationship precisely because it removes memory from the system. The crew benefits too: authorized changes are changes nobody argues about at invoice time.
