Real answers about pricing change orders, stopping scope creep, and protecting profit when the job grows beyond the contract.
Do not just price materials plus hours. Add admin time (quoting, scheduling, approval), schedule delay (crew standing idle), overhead recovery, and margin.
Without the admin, delay, and overhead, you would have billed $840 and eaten $671 of cost. The calculator shows this breakdown so nothing is missed.
Scope creep is unapproved work expansion — the customer asks for small additions that individually seem trivial but accumulate into significant unbillable labor and materials.
Yes, typically. Change orders disrupt schedule, add admin burden, and carry higher risk of dispute. 25–35% margin on change orders vs 15–20% on the base contract is common.
You are pricing disruption, not just materials and labor. A change order pulled mid-project means re-mobilizing, re-scheduling, and often idle time for the crew that was on the next job. That cost belongs in the change order price.
Four things:
1. Written scope with explicit exclusions — if it is not listed, it is not included.
2. A change-order process clause in the contract: any work outside the scope requires a signed change order before crews begin.
3. Site approval required before extra work begins — the foreman cannot say yes on their own.
4. A written change-order signature before crews start.
Stop work on the changed scope. Document the request in writing — email, text, or a change-order form with a refusal note. Do not proceed on good faith.
Proceeding anyway converts a scope disagreement into a free upgrade. Stop, document, and escalate to the contract's dispute resolution clause.