Flooring Change Orders Contractors Should Put in Writing, and How the Process Works

Flooring subcontractors lose money on changes more often than on bids. The bid assumed a flat, dry slab and a clear schedule. The job delivered a slab that needs grinding and patching, and a moisture test that fails. Then came an owner who wants a different product, and a superintendent who brings the crew back three times instead of once. Each of those is extra work. Whether it gets paid depends on whether it was put in writing before it was done.

Change order or change directive

AIA Contract Documents explains the two tools used on most commercial projects. A change order is a written modification to the contract, signed by the owner, architect and contractor, that adjusts the contract sum, the contract time, or both.¹ A construction change directive is a written order from the owner, prepared by the architect, directing the contractor to proceed before cost or schedule impact is agreed.¹ Under A201, the owner can issue a directive without the contractor's signature, and the contractor is generally required to proceed.¹

A directive is not a free order. AIA notes that it still protects the contractor's right to a fair adjustment to the contract sum and, where applicable, the time.¹ If the parties cannot agree, A201 sets out how the amount is determined, including by the architect based on the contractor's documented costs.¹ Those documented costs are the contractor's job to keep.

How the process runs

AIA describes five steps.¹ Identify the need for a change. Document the proposed change in a proposal request, RFI or supplemental instruction. Price the cost and schedule impact. Have the architect review it and recommend it to the owner. Execute the change order once all three parties agree. Change orders can add to the contract sum, deduct from it, or change the scope at zero cost.¹ A zero-cost change order still matters. It records who decided what.

Flooring changes that need paper

Extra floor preparation. Bids usually assume a substrate that meets the specification. When it does not, the work to fix it is a change. The VA master specification, for example, requires slabs to comply with ASTM F710, and existing slabs to measure no worse than FF30/FL20.² Measure, record and price grinding, patching and leveling beyond the bid before doing it.

Moisture mitigation. A failed moisture test is the classic flooring change. INSTALL, the installers' training organization, notes that when tests show moisture or pH problems, mitigation must happen before installation. That may mean a surface-applied epoxy or urethane system, or specialty primers for alkalinity.³ That is real cost and real time. Send the test results with an RFI, then price the answer.

Product changes. A different product, color or adhesive changes cost, lead time and sometimes the preparation. Price all three.

Resequencing and extra mobilizations. AIA lists repeated changes to work sequencing that reduce productivity, and delayed decisions that force work to be done differently, among the informal changes that need documenting.¹ A crew sent home because the area is not ready, then brought back, is a cost.

Avoid the handshake

AIA calls informal changes, made through verbal instructions, emails or field conversations, a constructive change. It warns that without documentation, parties disagree later about whether the work was authorized, what it costs, and whether more time is justified.¹ Its advice is to convert informal direction into a change order or directive before the work progresses whenever possible.¹ On a flooring job, that means a short written notice the day the condition is found. Say what was found, what it requires, an estimate of cost and time, and a request for direction.

Prove the condition

A change is easier to get paid when the condition is documented before it is fixed. Paul Pleshek, a flooring inspector writing in Flooring Contractor magazine, advises photographing subfloor conditions, test results and meter readings. He includes how flatness was determined and the materials used to correct high and low areas.⁴ He writes with warranty claims in mind, but the same photos support a change order. Photograph the slab with a straightedge and the gap under it, the meter reading in place, the area to be patched. Keep the time sheets and material tickets for the extra work separate from the base contract.

Pricing a change

Price changes the way the contract says. Many contracts set markups for overhead and profit on changed work. Break the price into labor, material, equipment and any subcontracted work, and show the time impact separately. If a directive is issued with no agreed price, track actual costs daily. AIA notes that until agreement is reached, the contractor may document the directed work and include eligible costs in payment applications.¹ See price increases and bids for material cost changes.

Read the contract first

The tools above come from the AIA family of documents, which many commercial projects use. Subcontracts often add their own rules: written notice within a set number of days, a required form, or a clause that bars claims for work done without written authorization. Read those clauses before the job starts, and set up the notice letter as a template. AIA's advice applies whatever the form: if work changes, the documentation should change too.¹ A notice sent late can cost the right to be paid, however real the extra work was.

A change order checklist

• Stop and notify in writing when a condition differs from the bid.
• Photograph and measure it before fixing it.
• Ask by RFI how to proceed; price the answer.
• Get a signed change order, or a written directive, before the work.
• Track costs for changed work separately, daily.

For the question-asking side, see writing a flooring RFI.

Sources

1. AIA Contract Documents, “Construction Change Directive vs. Change Order: What is the Difference?”. learn.aiacontracts.com/articles/construction-change-directive-vs-change-
2. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (via WBDG), “Section 09 65 19, Resilient Tile Flooring (master specification)”. nibs-s3-wbdg3-production.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com:443/FFC/VA/VANCAS/VA
3. INSTALL (International Standard & Training Alliance), “Avoiding Moisture Mistakes in Substrate Preparation - INSTALL Floorcovering Professionals”. installfloors.org/news-events/avoiding-moisture-mistakes-in-substrate-pr
4. Flooring Contractor magazine, “Inspector Input (Winter 2019)”. digitaladmin.bnpmedia.com/publication/

General information for the flooring trade. This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed above; the manufacturer's current instructions and the project specification govern any real job. If something here is wrong or out of date, tell us.