Through a written change order, priced and signed before any work begins. At Anasazi a change becomes a separate contract with its own fixed price, quoted to you first and then submitted to the bank. The original contract number does not move on its own.

The short version

  • Get the price before the work, always. Verbal changes create billing disputes.
  • A change is a separate agreement, not an adjustment to the original number.
  • Ask about schedule impact separately. It is a different answer from cost.
  • Some changes cost no time. Some add months. Your builder should say which.
  • Changes are normal. Unpriced changes are the problem.

How does a change order actually work?

You describe what you want, the builder prices it, and you decide. Nothing starts until you have seen the number and signed. At Anasazi the change moves through a formal change order booklet with written terms, signed by you and by John, then submitted to the bank and normally paid through the regular 30-day draw.

“The homeowner wants something, wants a change,” John Worlund says. “At that time we figure out what they want and then we give them a price. At that point they say yes or no.”

Occasionally a major purchase item gets paid immediately rather than waiting for the draw cycle. That is a cash-flow detail rather than a change in how the approval works.

The important structural point: your original contract price stays where it is. A change sits alongside it as its own agreement.

Fixed price versus cost plus home building contracts

John and Stephen Worlund reviewing a custom home change order
A documented change order keeps scope, price, lender approval, and the construction sequence aligned.

Will a change delay your build?

Sometimes, and sometimes not at all. Exterior work can often run alongside the house without touching the schedule. Interior changes are more likely to move the completion date, because they sit in the middle of a trade sequence that has to run in order. Ask for the schedule answer alongside the price.

A real example of the first kind: on one Anasazi project a set of long retaining walls at varying heights, with staircases between them, was added mid-build. Because the concrete work happened outside the house, the interior sequence continued and the schedule held.

Many changes can be accomplished while the house is being built, and some do affect the construction schedule. The schedule may or may not be impacted by the change request. Which one you are looking at is a question, not an assumption.

Best practices for managing your custom home build timeline

Finished Anasazi Builders custom home with exterior site work
Exterior additions can sometimes proceed beside the main build without interrupting the interior trade sequence.

What does an expensive mid-build change look like?

About six weeks into one build, a client’s wife arrived on site with an interior decorator. John got off the roof, drove to where the husband was, and told him plainly that what they were describing would add two months and about thirty percent to the job.

The husband’s answer was short: they were only going to do this once, so go ahead.

“And it was really pretty accurate,” John says. “It did take the extra two months, and it was an extra hundred thousand dollars.”

That project is not a cautionary tale. The clients got what they wanted and knew what it would cost before a dollar was spent. The lesson is the sequence: the number arrived before the work did, delivered in person, on the same day the request was made.

How to avoid cost overruns on a custom home build

Completed Anasazi Builders custom kitchen with coordinated interior selections
Interior changes touch several connected trades, so the price and schedule impact should be clear before work begins.

When is the cheapest time to change your mind?

During design, before anything is built. A decision revisited on paper costs nothing. The same decision after the related work exists has to be paid for twice, once to build it and once to change it, and the second time is at construction prices rather than planning prices.

This is why Anasazi runs a dedicated selections session covering every decision in the house, and why clients get taken to the supply houses rather than left to picture a tile from a catalog.

If you are between two options, resolve it before the slab is poured. That is the window where changing your mind is free.

Common questions about construction change orders

Can a builder refuse a change?

They can tell you it is impractical, unsafe, or disproportionately expensive. A good builder explains why rather than simply declining.

Does the bank need to approve changes?

On a financed build the change order goes to the bank, since it affects the total project cost the lender is funding.

What if the builder made a mistake?

Correcting an error against the agreed specification is not a change order. That distinction is exactly what the detailed specifications document exists to settle.

Can I supply my own materials for a change?

Ask before deciding, since it affects both the price and the warranty on that item.

How late can I make changes?

Until the related work is scheduled. After that you are paying to undo something, which is a different conversation.

Changing your mind is part of building something custom. Paying for it without knowing the number first is not. Ask how Anasazi handles change orders, read the nine-stage process, or see what a fully custom home includes and who is running your project.

Related: What to expect when building a custom home · What should a custom home builder contract include? · How to communicate effectively with your builder