The Domino Effect of a Simple Change

“It’s just a small change, right?”

 

On paper, moving a sink or enlarging a window is a quick edit. On a job site, it can reopen work that three or four trades already finished and passed inspection.

Before construction starts, a change usually costs only a redline on the drawings.

After it starts, every change has to work backward through the trades that came before it and forward through the trades that come after. That’s the domino effect.

Here are five change orders we see all the time. Each one sounds simple, and each one costs real time and money.

The five changes at a glance

Ranges are typical for a custom home in the Palisades and depend on the specific design. Added cost includes the new work, the undoing of finished work, and redesign fees.

1. “Can we make that window bigger?”

Asked after framing · 2–8 weeks · $8,000–$25,000

It usually comes up once the owner walks the house and sees the view. Widening a window by two feet sounds like a framing tweak. But the opening is already framed, inspected and sized for a window that’s already on order.

The dominoes:

1. The structural engineer recalculates the header and the shear wall, which may now need a steel post or a new hold-down.
2. The architect revises the drawings, and the city has to approve the revision.
3. The framer tears out the old header and sheathing and reframes the opening.
4. The original window gets canceled, often with a restocking fee, and a new one is ordered with a 12–16 week lead time.
5. The waterproofing and stucco crews can’t close up that wall until the new window arrives.
6. Everything else is reinspected before the wall can be covered.

The impact: 2–8 weeks and $8,000–$25,000, most of it waiting on the new window.

2. “Let’s move the island sink to the other side.”

Asked after the slab pour · 1–3 weeks · $6,000–$15,000

The sink drain and vent were set in the ground and cast in concrete before the slab was poured. Moving the sink four feet means going back underground.

The dominoes:

1. The concrete crew saw-cuts and jackhammers a trench through the finished slab.
2. The plumber reroutes the drain and vent, and the city inspects the new underground plumbing.
3. The concrete crew patches the slab, which may need cure time before flooring.
4. The electrician moves the outlets and the circuits for the dishwasher and disposal.
5. The cabinetmaker redesigns the island, and cabinets already in production may need to be rebuilt.
6. The countertop is re-templated with a new sink cutout.

The impact: 1–3 weeks and $6,000–$15,000. If the island cabinets were already built, it costs more.

3. “Can we move this wall two feet to make the closet bigger?”

Asked after rough plumbing, electrical and HVAC · 2–4 weeks · $10,000–$30,000

Once the walls are full of wires, pipes and ducts, a wall is no longer just studs. It’s a pathway for every system in the house.

The dominoes:

1. The architect revises the floor plan. If the wall is load-bearing or a shear wall, the engineer gets involved too.
2. The framer removes the wall and rebuilds it in the new spot.
3. The electrician relocates switches, outlets and circuits, and may need to re-pull wire.
4. The plumber and HVAC installer reroute any pipes, drains or ducts in that wall.
5. The city re-inspects framing, electrical, plumbing and mechanical in that area.
6. Insulation and drywall wait until it passes.

The impact: 2–4 weeks and $10,000–$30,000. The closet gets bigger, and so does the bill.

4. “We’d like a TV over the fireplace, with speakers.”

Asked after drywall · 1–2 weeks · $3,000–$8,000

Before drywall, this is an hour of work: some blocking, a box and a few wires. After drywall is hung and taped, the wall has to be opened back up.

The dominoes:

1. The drywall crew cuts open the finished wall and ceiling.
2. The framer adds blocking to carry the TV mount, and fire-blocking at the fireplace if required.
3. The low-voltage contractor runs HDMI, network and speaker wire. The electrician adds a recessed outlet.
4. The city may need to inspect the new electrical before it’s closed.
5. The drywall crew patches, tapes and re-textures, and the patch needs to dry before paint.
6. The painter repaints the whole wall, not just the patch, so it matches.

The impact: 1–2 weeks and $3,000–$8,000 for something that would have cost a few hundred dollars a month earlier.

5. “We’ve decided on stone floors in the great room instead of wood.”

Asked after framing, before finishes · 2–5 weeks · $20,000–$50,000+

This sounds like a finish swap. But stone is much heavier and much thicker than wood once you add its mortar bed, and the house was framed for wood.

The dominoes:

1. The structural engineer checks whether the floor framing can carry stone without cracking it. The framer may need to add joists, blocking or a thicker subfloor.
2. The finished floor rises, so it no longer lines up with the rooms next to it. Transitions have to be redesigned, or the subfloor lowered.
3. Interior doors may need to be trimmed or rehung to clear the new floor height.
4. If there’s a stair, the bottom or top step height changes. Building code limits how much steps can vary, so the stair may need to be rebuilt.
5. Cabinet toe kicks and appliance heights may need adjusting.
6. The new stone has to be selected and ordered, and imported stone can take weeks.

The impact: 2–5 weeks and $20,000–$50,000 or more, before counting the difference in material cost.

When you make the change matters

The same bigger window costs very different amounts depending on when you ask for it. Every stage you wait adds another domino.

How we handle change orders

Changes happen on almost every custom home, and that’s OK. It’s your house. Our job is to make sure you know the full cost before you decide.

Thinking about a change, or want to avoid them altogether? Let’s walk your plans together before construction starts.

Frank Renfro

Pali Construction Group · palibuilds.com
(310) 708-PALI · info@paliconstruction.com
CA License #1136806