There are two words every homeowner dreads during a home remodel... CHANGE ORDER!
A change order means that you and your contractor agreed to one price/schedule, and now your contractor is telling you the price and/or schedule have changed.
The good news is that this situation is avoidable. All it takes is a well-planned design that puts your material choices on paper BEFORE construction begins. And I have more good news: I have been building you a set of worksheets to do just that for the last twenty years!
Let me show you an example...
^^^ Above is one of the plumbing worksheets I will give you as part of my signature interior design program. In the industry this is called a "specification sheet" or "spec sheet". Organizing your material choices, as shown here, will make your project run more smoothly for some apparent reasons. However, here are some not-so-obvious mistakes you will avoid if you complete this worksheet before your project starts.
The sink above sits 6.5 inches above the countertop. This means your countertop height must come down by 6.5 inches to accommodate. If this detail is missed, your cabinet must be reordered, and your project will be delayed for weeks.
The sink also has a 6-10 week lead time. A contractor would need to know or plan for this. This could also delay the project for weeks.
The overflow hole on the sink has a chrome trim ring that will not match the faucet. This finish mismatch could be an unwelcome surprise to you after your sink is installed.
The faucet above can come with or without a matching drain assembly. Forgetting to order the drain might result in an additional trip charge for your plumber.
The faucet above is also a single-hole faucet. Your countertop fabricator will need to know this so they don't accidentally drill for a three-hole faucet.
Considering the examples above, you can see why changes to schedule and budget during the remodeling process are common, but they don't have to be! If I save you just one or two of these headaches you will have recouped the cost of my signature interior design program!
