[ US standard practice based ] A change order always changes the cost of the work. “Change order” and “cost of the work” are terms defined in the contact (oft

[ US standard practice based ] A change order always changes the cost of the work. “Change order” and “cost of the work” are terms defined in the contact (often by reference) and come with implementation protocols. Once a person has been around the block a few times, they usually realize that the plans are not the construction, the design brief is not what the owner actually wants, and the contractor doesn’t build everything right. And the whole thing is about working together to get the building built in a way that favors getting the next project.