Blueprint for Design

Change can be exciting. New beginnings, going forth into uncharted territories, so much fun you can puke. Joking aside, change can be hard to handle, especially for a construction project. If change isn’t managed properly  by all team members, it can shut down a job.

When is change good?

Change can fit into a project, it just depends on when.  If the owner, contractor, or architect make design changes during the design process, it can be amazing. Change can take a good design to the next level and make it great. Typically, change works best early in the design phase, before construction documents are ready to go out for bidding.

If changes happen after a bid is accepted, they require a modification to the design, which may change cost and time, since the contractor has based is price on a specific set of drawings.

Why do changes happen?

EXISTING CONDITIONS: Let’s say you’re remodeling a house. And, we are going to redo the kitchen floors, ceiling, walls, the works. During the design phase, we can measure the floor/ceiling space based on some overall dimensions, floor to floor minus floor to ceiling. Unless we have direct access to that inside floor space, we can’t directly measure it or know exactly how the joists span. We can assume based on other elements exposed in a building, but we won’t know for sure until the demolition starts and the actual space is exposed.  Do surprises lurk during demolition? Sometimes.

BUDGET CHANGES: Sometimes those discoveries made by exposing existing conditions can stop a project.  Especially, if a structural problem is discovered. One project can turn itself into two or three, just to correct the problem. Also, budget changes can happen due to salary changes, owner’s losing jobs or getting promotions can affect the budget in either direction.

DESIGN CHANGES: No matter how many beautifully rendered plans, elevations or perspectives you generate, seeing something built gives you that real-world perspective. Once you’re experiencing the space, your opinion may change. And, there is indecisiveness.  If you put off finishing the design until it’s under construction, it’s difficult for the contractor, if not impossible, to have figured for the change in their budget.  If an unknown has to exist and you know there’s no way to make a decision until construction is underway, the contractor can figure in an Allowance. An allowance is an agreed upon amount built into the proposal for a specific item. Sometimes kitchen cabinets will be listed as an allowed amount of money in the budget. In commercial construction, typically door hardware may have an allowance budgeted into the project.

How do you manage change?

Managing change can be difficult, if not impossible. But, trying to have a complete design with the complete scope of work represented may help. Also, I recommend having a contingency amount built into your budget. That contingency is something you can discuss with your architect. The amount varies depending on the project and the complexity. Sometimes ten percent is fine, sometimes twenty is a more conservative choice fitting for a project with plenty of unknowns.

photo credit: Florencia Guedes