Change orders: notice, pricing and getting paid for extra work

A change is any work outside what your contract and qualifications define — an unexpected slab condition, an added room, a product swap. Give written notice within the subcontract's deadline before doing the work, price it from your contract's unit prices or signed daily time-and-material tickets, document it with photos and logs, and get written approval before you bill. Extra work done without notice and authorization is the most common way flooring subs work for free.

By Michael Reddy, IntelBid

After this lesson you can

Recognize a change using your contract and qualifications
Give notice and get authorization the right way
Price and document a change so it gets approved and paid

How do you know it's a change?

Compare the request or condition with your subcontract, the documents it lists, and your attached qualifications. If moisture readings exceed the limits your proposal stated, or the GC adds a room, or the owner changes a product, it's a change. This is where the work you did in Module 7 pays off — clear qualifications turn arguments into change orders.

What's the process?

Give written notice right away
Before doing the extra work, and within the subcontract's notice deadline. Describe the condition, where it is, and that you consider it a change.
Document it
Photos, test results, daily log entries, and who told you what and when.
Price it
Use contract unit prices where they apply; otherwise a lump sum from your estimate, or time and material with signed daily tickets.
Include time
Ask for the schedule days the change needs, not just the money.
Get written authorization
An approved change order — or a written directive to proceed while the price is settled — before you do the work.
Bill only when approved
Approved change orders go on the pay application as their own lines.

“Just go ahead, we'll sort it out later” isn't authorization

A verbal go-ahead in the field often doesn't meet the subcontract's written-authorization requirement. If you're told to proceed, confirm it by email the same day — or ask for a written construction change directive — and keep your notice on record.

How do you price a flooring change?

Method	Best for	Watch for
Contract unit prices	Added or deleted quantities, mitigation and prep	Use the rates exactly as the contract states
Lump sum	Defined extra scope you can estimate	Include remobilization, material, labor, overhead and margin as the contract allows
Time and material	Unknown or open-ended work	Signed tickets every day — unsigned hours are hard to collect

A change order for moisture mitigationWorked example · illustrative numbers

Condition: Slab readings above the manufacturer's limit in Rooms 101–110
Area: 3,000 SF
Contract unit price for mitigation: $4.25 / SF
Extra mobilization to return after curing: $292
Schedule impact: 3 working days

Mitigation: 3,000 × $4.25 = $12,750.
Remobilization: $292.
Change order total: $12,750 + $292 = $13,042, plus 3 days added to the schedule.

Submit CO #1 — $13,042 and 3 working days, citing the test results and your proposal's moisture qualification. Illustrative prices.

Keep a change order log

Track every change on the job: the date of notice, description, amount requested, status (pending, approved, rejected), amount approved, and when it was billed. A pending change that nobody tracks usually becomes a change nobody pays for.

What is the change order process for subcontractors?

Give written notice of the change within the contract deadline, document the condition, price it from unit prices, a lump sum or signed time-and-material tickets, request any schedule time, get written authorization before doing the work, and bill it once approved.

Can a subcontractor bill for unapproved change orders?

Generally no. Pay applications usually include only approved change orders. Keep pending changes on a log and follow up until they're approved or resolved.

What happens if I miss a change order notice deadline?

Depending on the contract and state, missing a written notice deadline can waive your right to be paid for the change. Know the deadline before starting work and give notice immediately.

Key points

Notice in writing, on time, before the work.
Price from contract unit prices, a lump sum, or signed daily tickets — and ask for time.
No written authorization, no billing — keep a change order log.

In IntelBid · Change order builder

Change orders from the contract

IntelBid's change order builder starts from your contract proposal's terms, has its own Notes for what the change is predicated on, and prices lines with the scope calculator from crew days and material cost. Record the conditions in the project's Daily Log so the documentation sits with the job.

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About the author. Michael Reddy builds IntelBid, bid management software for commercial flooring subcontractors. These lessons come from the bid desk: how the work is priced, won and paid for.