No topic generates more anxiety in a renovation than change orders. For many homeowners, "change order" is synonymous with "the GC found a way to charge me more." And sometimes it is — but the honest version of change orders is different, and understanding it is the best protection you have.
A legitimate change order is documentation of work that was not in the original contract, for three possible reasons: a change in scope you requested, a code or inspection requirement that was not anticipated, or a hidden condition discovered during construction. Every one of these is real and common in Philadelphia housing stock, and every one of them should be documented in writing before the work proceeds.
What a fair change order process looks like
When a condition is discovered — say, demo reveals a section of deteriorated framing at the party wall bearing — your project manager shows you the photos, explains the options, and presents a written change order with cost and schedule impact before a hammer swings. You sign off. Work proceeds. No retroactive invoice, no pressure, no ambiguity.
An unfair change order process looks like this: work proceeds without your knowledge or approval, and the invoice appears at the end with a new total. This is not a disagreement about what "change order" means — it is a contractual violation. Any contract you sign with a GC should specify that all change orders require written owner authorization prior to work. If yours does not, add it.
The contingency conversation
The other side of the change order problem is insufficient contingency. In Philadelphia rowhome renovation, a 10% contingency budget is minimum; we recommend 12% to 15% for pre-1950 properties. That contingency is not extra profit for us — it is the reserve that covers the legitimate surprises so that when the cracked lintel appears, it does not break the project budget.
In 22 years we have had clients use every dollar of contingency and clients who used none. The ones who budgeted it properly sleep better throughout the renovation. The ones who were sold a "no contingency" quote by a competing GC often end up calling us from a half-finished kitchen.