One · When the number stops moving
Nearly every dispute we have seen comes down to which number was real. We use three, named differently on purpose.
Specimen
| Stage | What it is | Binding |
|---|---|---|
| Order of cost — Phase 01 | A range, from completed comparable work | No |
| Preliminary budget — Phase 02 | Line items against a real site, not an average | No |
| Contract sum — Phase 05 | Trades have bid the permitted set. Allowances resolved. | Yes |
| After Phase 05 the sum moves only by written variation, agreed in advance. | ||
We will not fix a price against drawings that cannot be built from. A number given that early is not a commitment. It is a bid that will be corrected later, at your expense.
Two · A specimen allowance schedule
Allowances are where budgets quietly fail. Every line carries a dated deadline, because two weeks lost choosing tile becomes a month lost on site.
Rev 2 · Phase 05
| Item | Decide by | Allowance |
|---|---|---|
| Exterior doors and windows | Wk 2 | $96,000 |
| Plumbing fixtures — primary bath | Wk 3 | $38,000 |
| Tile and stone — throughout | Wk 4 | $62,000 |
| Appliances | Wk 6 | $54,000 |
| Lighting fixtures | Wk 8 | $41,000 |
| Cabinetry hardware | Wk 10 | $12,500 |
| Landscape and hardscape | Wk 14 | $78,000 |
| Total carried in the contract sum | $381,500 |
Specimen figures, on an illustrative project. Selections above allowance are added by written change order. Selections below are credited back in full — we keep none of it.
Credits returned in full
Three · The change-order clause, in our standard wording
Most budget disputes happen here. Read it before you sign anything, ours or anyone's.
Our standard wording
No work altering the contract sum shall proceed until the Owner has received, in writing, a description of the change, the reason it arose, its cost, and its effect on the schedule, and has approved it in writing. Where a concealed condition is discovered, work in the affected area shall stop and the Owner shall be notified the same business day.
The two words doing the work are until and same business day. A clause that promises you will be informed, without saying when relative to the work, permits the work to happen first.
Four · What a Friday update looks like
Every client receives one every week for the duration. This specimen is written the way ours are.
Friday · from M. Newman
Where we are
Rough plumbing and electrical complete on the upper floor and signed off Wednesday. Framing inspection for the rear addition passed Thursday morning. Insulation begins Monday.
Schedule
On schedule. Week 19 of 44. The window delivery moved forward four days, which recovers most of the time lost to the March rain.
Cost movement this week
None.
Decisions I need from you
- Grout color for the guest bath — by Wednesday next, or it affects the tiling sequence
- Confirmation of the pendant height over the island — no schedule impact, but easier now than after the ceiling closes
What to expect next week
Insulation and the start of drywall on the upper floor. Site will be dusty Tuesday through Thursday; the driveway stays clear.
Photographs
Fourteen photographs attached: framing, rough-in, and the rear elevation.
Ten questions for any builder, us included.
Ask all ten of everyone you are considering. The pattern tells you more than any one answer.
- What year was your license issued? Not the founding year. It is public at cslb.ca.gov, with classification, bond and workers’ compensation status: two minutes, and the most useful check you have.
- Who will actually be on my site? Ask who runs the job day to day, and how many other jobs that person runs at once. Meeting the principal only at the sales stage is a common complaint in this industry.
- What is your workmanship warranty, in years? Then ask what happens the month after it expires. That answer tells you more.
- At what points can I stop? Ask where the exits are, what you keep at each, and whether any deposit comes back. A vague answer means none.
- Who owns the drawings I have paid for? It matters most with design-build: get in writing whether you may take the set elsewhere to be priced.
- What is your process for a change in cost? Before the work, or after? Get it in writing. Most budget disputes start here.
- How will you establish what is behind the walls? On an older house: exploratory demolition in preconstruction, or surprises as they arise? The second is cheaper to quote and more expensive to finish.
- Which review bodies will my parcel answer to? A builder who works here should know from the address: city or county, which design review board, whether coastal jurisdiction applies. Vagueness is an answer.
- May I speak to a client whose project went badly? Everyone has good references. Ask for a job that went badly, and listen to how the builder tells it. The most uncomfortable question here, and the most informative.
- What will you tell me that I do not want to hear? If a builder cannot name one thing about your project that concerns them, they have not looked at it, or they are managing you.
Our answers
License issued 2001, number 802739, Class B General Building. Matt Newman on site, sole named principal. Two-year workmanship warranty, plus a twelve-month return whether or not you call. Three exits, set out on your schedule before work begins. You own everything you pay for. Cost changes in writing, in advance, always. Exploratory demolition in preconstruction, as standard. Review bodies named from the parcel number in Phase 01. References, including difficult ones. And if a project does not work, we say so before you pay for drawings.
Ask any builder for these four documents.
Allowance schedule, change-order clause, a real weekly update, and when the price becomes binding. Whether they hand them over tells you most of what you need.
- Same dayMatt confirms he has it, and flags anything obvious that is missing.
- Within two business daysA written reading of your parcel: jurisdiction, review bodies, constraints, an order of cost and the permit path.
- Then nothing, unless you askNo follow-up sequence, no call from anyone else. The assessment is yours to keep, and to take anywhere.