How to Avoid Change Orders During a Remodel (2026 Guide)

The Real Cost of “Can We Just Change This One Thing?”

You are three weeks into your kitchen remodel. The cabinets are framed, the plumbing rough-in is done, and then you realize the island would work better two feet to the left. Or your contractor opens a wall and discovers galvanized pipes that need replacing. Either way, the result is the same: a change order.

Change orders are formal modifications to your original construction contract. They adjust the scope, cost, timeline, or all three. While some are unavoidable, the majority of change orders in residential remodeling stem from one root cause: incomplete planning before construction begins.

Industry professionals estimate that poorly scoped projects can see change orders adding 10-30% to the original contract price. On a $200,000 Bay Area remodel, that is $20,000 to $60,000 in unplanned spending. The good news is that most of these costs are preventable with the right approach to the design and planning phase.

This guide breaks down what causes change orders, how to prevent them, and what to do when a change is truly necessary.

What Causes Change Orders in Home Remodeling?

Understanding the common triggers helps you anticipate and prevent them. Change orders generally fall into three categories.

Owner-Initiated Changes

These are the most common and the most preventable. They happen when a homeowner changes their mind about materials, layout, fixtures, or finishes after construction has already started. Common examples include:

• Switching countertop material after cabinets are installed
• Changing the floor plan once framing is complete
• Adding features that were not in the original scope (such as an extra outlet run, a pot filler, or radiant floor heating)
• Upgrading fixtures or appliances mid-project

The reason these changes are so expensive is timing. Moving an electrical outlet during the design phase costs nothing. Moving it after drywall is hung means cutting, patching, repainting, and coordinating an electrician who may not be scheduled to return for weeks.

Contractor-Discovered Conditions

When walls open up, surprises appear. Bay Area homes, especially those built before 1980, frequently reveal conditions that were invisible during the initial assessment:

• Dry rot and termite damage in framing
• Asbestos in insulation, flooring, or popcorn ceilings
• Lead paint in older finishes
• Outdated knob-and-tube wiring or galvanized plumbing
• Foundation cracks or settling
• Improperly permitted work from previous owners

These change orders are largely unavoidable. No amount of planning can predict what is hidden inside walls and under floors. However, a thorough pre-construction assessment can reduce the surprises significantly.

Code-Required Changes

Building codes evolve. When you pull permits for a renovation, the work must meet current code requirements, not the standards that applied when your home was originally built. This can trigger change orders for:

• Electrical panel upgrades to handle modern load requirements
• Seismic retrofitting to meet current structural standards
• Energy efficiency requirements (Title 24 in California)
• Egress window additions or modifications
• Updated fire separation between living spaces and garages

An experienced builder will identify most code-triggered changes during the design and permitting phase. However, inspectors occasionally flag items that were not anticipated, creating mid-project change orders.

How to Prevent Change Orders Before Construction Starts

Prevention is where you have the most leverage. The strategies below address the planning and design phase, where your decisions have maximum impact and minimum cost.

Complete All Design Decisions Before Demolition

This is the single most effective strategy for avoiding change orders. Every material, fixture, finish, and layout decision should be finalized before construction begins. That means selecting:

• Exact countertop material, edge profile, and slab
• Cabinet style, finish, hardware, and interior accessories
• Flooring type, color, pattern, and transition details
• Tile selections for every bathroom and backsplash
• All plumbing fixtures (faucets, sinks, showerheads, toilets)
• Light fixtures and switch/outlet locations
• Appliance models with confirmed dimensions
• Paint colors for every surface
• Door and window styles, sizes, and hardware

This level of specificity requires time and effort during the design phase, but it is exponentially cheaper than making changes once construction is underway.

Invest in Detailed Construction Documents

Vague plans lead to vague pricing, and vague pricing leads to change orders. Your construction documents should include detailed floor plans with dimensions, electrical plans showing every outlet and switch location, plumbing plans, elevation drawings for kitchens and bathrooms, and a comprehensive specifications sheet listing every material by manufacturer, model number, and finish.

The more specific your plans, the less room there is for misinterpretation, assumptions, or “I thought it was included” conversations later.

Use 3D Visualizations and Renderings

One of the most common triggers for owner-initiated change orders is the gap between what homeowners imagined and what the space actually looks like in three dimensions. A floor plan can show you the layout, but it cannot show you how the room feels.

3D renderings, virtual walkthroughs, and detailed elevation drawings close this gap. When you can see your kitchen from multiple angles before a single cabinet is ordered, you catch layout problems, proportion issues, and aesthetic mismatches early, when changes cost nothing.

Build a Realistic Contingency Budget

Even with perfect planning, some change orders are unavoidable. Hidden conditions, material discontinuations, and code surprises happen on every project. A contingency budget is not a sign of poor planning. It is a sign of realistic planning.

For Bay Area remodels, industry professionals recommend the following contingency ranges:

Home Age	Recommended Contingency
Built after 2000	10-15% of project cost
Built 1960-2000	15-20% of project cost
Built before 1960	20-25% of project cost

This contingency covers genuinely unforeseen conditions. It should not be used to fund design changes you could have made during the planning phase.

Review Your Contract Thoroughly

Before signing, read every line of your construction contract. Pay specific attention to:

• Scope of work: What exactly is included and, just as importantly, what is excluded?
• Allowances: Are material allowances realistic, or are they set artificially low to make the bid look competitive?
• Change order process: How are changes documented, priced, and approved?
• Payment schedule: Is it tied to milestones, not calendar dates?
• Dispute resolution: What happens if you disagree on pricing for a change?

If your contract includes material allowances, verify them against actual prices at your local suppliers. A $500 allowance for a faucet sounds reasonable until you realize the fixtures you prefer start at $800. That gap becomes a change order on every fixture in the house.

Conduct a Thorough Pre-Construction Assessment

Before finalizing your budget, invest in a detailed assessment of your home’s existing conditions. For older homes, this may include:

• Hazardous material testing (asbestos, lead paint)
• Structural evaluation of foundation, framing, and load paths
• Electrical system assessment (panel capacity, wiring type)
• Plumbing system inspection (pipe material, condition, capacity)
• Roof and exterior envelope evaluation

Identifying these conditions before pricing is finalized allows your builder to include remediation costs in the original budget, not as change orders later.

Communication During Construction: Your Second Line of Defense

Even with thorough planning, ongoing communication during construction prevents misunderstandings from becoming expensive change orders.

Establish a Weekly Check-In Schedule

Set a recurring weekly meeting with your project manager or general contractor. Review progress, discuss upcoming decisions, and address any concerns before they escalate. These meetings keep both parties aligned and provide a natural opportunity to catch potential issues early.

Visit the Job Site at Key Milestones

Walk the site during framing, before drywall closes the walls, and at the start of the finish phase. Seeing the space in person at these critical moments lets you confirm that everything matches the plans while changes can still be made with minimal cost impact.

Document Everything in Writing

Verbal agreements on a job site are a recipe for disputes. Every discussion that involves scope, cost, or timeline should be confirmed in writing, whether by email, a project management app, or a formal change order document. If a conversation leads to a potential change, follow up with a written summary that both parties acknowledge.

When Change Orders Are Unavoidable: How to Handle Them

Some changes are genuinely necessary. When they arise, handle them with a clear process.

Get the Full Picture Before Approving

For every proposed change order, request the following in writing before signing:

1. Detailed description of the change and why it is needed
2. Cost breakdown showing materials, labor, and any markup
3. Timeline impact on the overall project schedule
4. Cascading effects on other trades or systems

Never approve a change order based on a verbal estimate. The “it’ll be about $2,000” conversation on a job site has a way of becoming a $4,500 invoice.

Understand the Markup Structure

Change order pricing typically includes a markup over direct costs. This markup covers the contractor’s overhead, profit, and the administrative time required to reprice, reschedule, and coordinate the change. Markups of 15-25% on change orders are standard in the industry. Some contracts specify a fixed change order markup percentage. If yours does not, ask about it before you sign.

Track Cumulative Change Order Costs

Individual change orders may seem manageable. A $1,200 outlet relocation here, a $2,500 tile upgrade there. But small changes accumulate quickly. Maintain a running total of all approved change orders alongside your original contract price and contingency budget. When cumulative changes approach your contingency limit, it is time for a serious conversation about priorities.

The Design-Build Advantage: Why Process Prevents Change Orders

The structure of your project team has a direct impact on how many change orders you face. Traditional bid-build projects, where you hire an architect and a separate contractor, have a built-in vulnerability: the contractor was not involved during design, so discrepancies between plans and field conditions surface during construction as change orders.

Design-build firms eliminate this gap by keeping design and construction under one roof. Custom Home’s two-phase process takes this approach a step further.

Phase 1 (Design) is dedicated entirely to planning. Your design team works with you to finalize every detail: floor plans, material selections, 3D renderings, construction documents, engineering, and permitting. No construction begins until every decision is locked in and a comprehensive, fixed-scope proposal is complete.

Phase 2 (Construction) begins only after Phase 1 is fully approved. Because every specification, material, and layout decision was finalized during design, the construction team builds from complete plans with no gaps, no assumptions, and no last-minute decisions.

This separation between design and construction is the most effective structural protection against change orders. It ensures that the most expensive phase of your project (construction) proceeds from a foundation of complete, thoroughly reviewed plans.

Keep Your Remodel on Budget

Change orders are not inevitable. The majority of them trace back to decisions that should have been made during the design phase, not the construction phase. By investing time in thorough planning, finalizing every selection before demolition, building a realistic contingency, and maintaining clear communication with your builder, you can keep your remodel on budget and on schedule.

If you are planning a remodel in the Bay Area and want a process designed to minimize surprises, reach out to Custom Home. Our two-phase design-build approach completes every design decision before construction begins, giving you cost certainty and a clear path from concept to completion.