In theory, if you plan your renovation properly, there should be no surprises. But, in almost every job I've done, there are extras. No matter how thorough the planning, no matter how good the contractor, no matter how simple the job, something comes up.
You may decide to change a countertop from laminate to granite. Excavating for a new foundation for an addition, you may find a pre-existing problem with the original foundation that has to be fixed. Or a job you had wanted or needed to do for a long time — such as replace the wiring — becomes cheaper during the renovation, and you decide to go ahead with it. All of those are extras and will increase the cost of the job beyond what was agreed on in the contract.
So how do you manage extras with your contractor? Your guiding principle should be fairness. Whose choice — or mistake — was involved? Did you change your mind about something after the contract was signed? Should the contractor — the expert in the relationship — have predicted the problem and included an extra cost in the contract price?
I think most pros have a pretty good idea what's behind walls, but they might not know what shape things will be in back there. They should alert you to the possibility that there may be some surprises, and what they might cost.
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For example, on one of my projects, we pulled up the floor tile in a kitchen renovation and discovered a bare wire buried in the mortar. We looked further and discovered hidden junction boxes, hot wires dead-ended in walls, and dozens of other code violations that could result in the house burning down.
There was no way we could have anticipated wiring so bad, and no way we could have left it as it was. If your contractor finds a similar situation in your home, it is fair that he add the cost of fixing it on to the contract price. Of course, he'll have to explain it to you, and have you sign off on the extra before he starts the work, not after.
If you change your mind on the colour of paint or the style of a countertop, what's fair then hinges on the cost of materials, and how the changes will affect the work schedule. Changes to the schedule will cost your contractor extra time, and money on top of the contract price.
Before work starts, a good contractor will have given you a list detailing the decisions you have to make. There are lead times involved in ordering and obtaining things such as bathroom fixtures, doors and windows. If you don't make your choices in a timely way, the materials won't be delivered according to the work schedule, and there is a chance you could be charged for delays or changes to accommodate you.
And sometimes you may be forced to pay an extra fee to a supplier to have your order rushed to the site so there are no further delays. That's fair. It's not your contractor's fault that you made a late decision or changed something.
If you make changes that are clearly not part of the original contract, you should expect to pay for them. And your contractor should have you sign a change order that details the extra cost and the estimated new completion date.
Unscrupulous contractors will enter a low initial bid and then come up with extras as a way of increasing their margins. If you get a price that is substantially lower than the others and you go for it, watch out for pricey extras. And by the same token, you can't hire a contractor for a fixed price and then, every time you change your mind or there is a surprise, expect him to "throw it in."
Good planning from the beginning will reduce the number of extras you have, and the best way to control your costs is to keep extras down. A good contractor will handle them properly by including a fair-pricing procedure for extras in the original contract. He'll charge in one of two ways — time and material, or a fixed price. Whenever possible, go with a fixed-price approach. And make sure that extras cannot proceed without a written and signed change order from you.
Mike Holmes is the host of Holmes on Homes on HGTV. E-mail Mike at mikeholmes@holmesonhomes.com or go to www.holmesonhomes.com.
