Customer redrew the whole layout after I built it

Client emailed back Tuesday saying they moved the sink and outlets 6 inches, but I already cut all the boxes for the old plan. That's 14 panels of maple ruined, about $220 in material plus my Saturday. How do you guys word contracts to stop this kind of chop and change without sounding like a jerk?

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rowangonzalez26d ago

I handle this with a change order clause on the back of the estimate, signed before I start. Anything past the deposit is locked in, and if they move walls, outlets, or fixtures after that, it's a new price plus my time at $65 an hour. The 14 panels of maple is exactly why I stopped eating that cost, since the client thinks a 6 inch shift is nothing but to us it's a whole rebuild. You can say it plain: "Changes after build starts are billed at cost plus labor, and I'll send a revised quote before I touch anything." That isn't being a jerk, it's just running a business.

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