Extra work and changes during construction
Extra work is normal A surprise at the end is not
You replace the insulation, open things up and find damaged roof timbers. New items are added to the original job. Record them with their price so you see the effect on your budget before you decide.
Your budget does not change behind your back. You know exactly how much it moved and why.
A cascade of unexpected costs
One problem Four new items in the budget
Replacing the loft insulation for €4,200. Once the ceiling is opened up, the roof timbers turn out to be damaged. Click the planned work and watch what happens to the budget.
Things like this cannot be predicted in a budget. They can be recorded straight away, and that is exactly what Quotioo does.
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Once the old insulation came out, part of the rafters turned out to be affected by wood rot. The structural engineer recommended replacing four rafters straight away and treating the neighbouring timbers.
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To reach the damaged roof timbers at all, another 12 m² of ceiling lining had to come down, and 2 more skips of waste had to be taken away than planned.
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The original membrane was damaged during demolition. Without a new vapour barrier, condensation would form in the new roof structure and replacing the rafters would have been pointless.
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While the roof structure was being rebuilt, the lighting and socket circuits in the loft had to be disconnected and then reconnected, including an electrical inspection report.
Just a preview for now. Once you click, each item is added to the budget on the right.
Budget for the job
€4,200
- Original plan
- €4,200
- Current forecast
- €7,500
- Difference
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€4,200 has become €7,500. But you know exactly what every extra euro is for.
A change flows through the whole budget
Extra work does not stay with the item you added it to. It is carried through to that part of the build and to the budget for the whole build, so you see straight away whether you still fit within the sum you started with.
When the costs of any part of the build deviate from the plan by more than the limit you set, Quotioo alerts you. You do not find out about an overrun from the final invoice.
What a documented change gives you
The difference between saying “the build costs more, I don’t know why” and “the build costs €3,300 more, here are four items and the reason for each” is the difference in how you talk about price with the supplier you agreed a price with.
A recorded change is a basis for negotiation, for deciding where else in the budget to cut back, and for knowing a year later where the money really went. A budget overrun rarely happens all at once. It builds up from dozens of changes that nobody added up in time.
Handling a change
What to do when extra work turns up on site
You cannot prevent change. You can decide when you agree to it and for how much. The first two steps you take with your supplier, the next two in Quotioo.
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Get the extra work priced in advance
Ask for the price before the work starts. A price agreed in advance is easier to decide on than a figure on an invoice.
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Agree the scope and the price
How a change is confirmed is set by your contract with the supplier. Check it before the work starts, and get the agreement in writing.
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Record the change in a change order
In Quotioo, for each line of the change order you choose the part of the build, describe the work and add the amount. Work that has been dropped goes in as a negative amount. The original budget is not overwritten.
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Approve or reject it
Approving it creates a new version of the budget and keeps the previous one. A rejected change order stays in the list as a record of the decision. You then compare costs with the price you agreed.
You record a change order against the budget you approved as the plan. The change overview then shows the original price, the total of approved changes and the expected final price, including changes you have not decided on yet.
Frequently asked questions about extra work
Short answers to what people deal with when something they did not plan for turns up on site.
Cannot find your answer?
Write to us →Extra work is work that was not in the original budget and only came to light during construction. It most often appears once structures are opened up and the real condition of the roof timbers, masonry or services becomes clear. It is common in renovations; in new builds it tends to come from changes to the brief.
A change order is a record of extra work with its scope, reason and price. In Quotioo you prepare it for approval. Once approved, a new version of the budget is created, so you can always go back to the original plan.
A recorded reason gives you a basis for negotiating with the supplier and for deciding where else in the budget to cut back. Without it, all that remains after the build is a higher final figure, and a year later nobody remembers where it came from.
Not entirely. A contingency in the budget helps: around ten per cent for a new build, more for a renovation. So does recording every change as soon as you agree it, not when the invoice arrives.
Read next
Extra work is a deviation From what?
A change only makes sense against a plan. These pages cover how the plan is made and how actual costs are compared with it.
Expert sources outside Quotioo
Extra work also has a legal side. What applies to your build is set mainly by your contract with the supplier. These are the provisions of Slovak law that contracts for work refer to on price. Both links lead to the official texts in Slovak.
- Slovak Civil Code, price based on a budget (Sections 635 and 636) www.slov-lex.sk A price set according to a budget, and work the budget did not include. Applies when a private individual orders the work.
- Slovak Commercial Code, price based on a budget (Section 547) www.slov-lex.sk The same question for a contract between businesses, for example when one company builds for another.
Changes under control
Record your first change before an invoice does it for you
Set up a budget for your build or renovation, approve it as the plan and record extra work in change orders as you go, with the reason. After the build you will know not only how much, but also what for.
No itemised budget yet? Start with a construction budget.
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