The covering comes off. The sheathing is soft, the disposal bin is on site and the weather window is closing. Roofing contractor change orders keep that discovery from turning into unpaid work or a surprise invoice.
Treat deck exposure as a hold point. Inspect the substrate. Record the damage. Measure the changed scope. Get approval before the crew installs permanent extra work.
Write the concealed-deck risk into the original roof quote
A pre-work inspection can find visible trouble. It cannot show every part of a deck hidden by roofing and underlayment.
Your quote needs to say what deck condition you priced. It also needs to say what happens when the exposed condition does not match that assumption. For the rest of the roof scope, use the same clear approach shown in the roof leak repair quoting guide.
State the deck condition assumed by the price
Write the assumption in plain language. Do not hide it in a broad exclusion such as “unforeseen work extra.”
State that the price assumes the existing roof deck or sheathing can hold the specified fastening system and receive the new assembly. If accessible areas showed a known defect, identify that defect and deal with it in the quoted scope.
Older roofs may have boards rather than sheet goods. Name the substrate you expect where you can. If you do not know, say the deck type will be confirmed after tear-off.
Separate included work from changed work
Visible deterioration is not automatically an extra. The quote decides whether the work was included.
Write down:
- any deck repair already included in the price
- the location or quantity included
- the condition that triggers a change order
- work excluded from the deck allowance or repair scope
- framing, flashing or structural assessment that is not included
- the point when the crew must stop and report the condition
Avoid “repair deck as required.” That gives the customer no boundary and the crew no stopping point.
If the quote includes a quantity of deck repair, state how that quantity will be applied. Do not let an included allowance float across the roof without a measurement record.
Choose a pricing method before tear-off
Do not guess how much hidden roof deck damage exists. Choose a method for pricing it when the amount becomes known.
You can use one of these approaches:
- Include a defined quantity, then price work beyond that quantity through a change order.
- State a measurement-based pricing method for exposed deck replacement.
- Prepare a separate fixed price after the deck is exposed and measured.
Each method needs a clear boundary. State whether the approved price is fixed for the measured area or whether further concealed damage requires another approval.
A measurement method is not just a unit price. State the unit, the rounding rule and the treatment of partial sheets, partial boards or irregular areas. Say whether the measurement covers removal, cutting, fitting, fastening, handling and disposal.
If you need a cleaner base document, start with the contractor quote template and add the deck assumption, measurement method and change trigger to the scope.
Set the approval chain before the crew starts
The person standing in the driveway may not be allowed to approve extra work. Find the decision-maker before the roof is open.
Record the primary authorized contact and a backup authorized contact. Write down each person’s approval limit, the order in which the crew should contact them and where written acceptance must be sent.
Agree on the exact temporary protection the crew may install if neither contact responds. Record any agreed cost limit for that protection. Local contract and consumer-protection rules may affect what a customer can authorize in advance, so check the government consumer-protection body for your province or territory before using the clause.
Separate temporary protection from permanent repair
A customer who cannot be reached creates two different decisions. The crew may need authority to protect the building from weather. That does not automatically authorize permanent deck replacement.
Describe temporary protection as its own instruction. State how the crew should record the condition, the protection installed and any delay.
Your weather response should already cover stopping, securing materials and documenting the site. Use the roofing bad weather plan to set that routine before the forecast becomes a site argument.
Check Canadian contract, permit and safety requirements
The change-order process sits inside local contract, consumer-protection and occupational-safety rules. These requirements differ by province, territory and job type.
Ask your provincial or territorial government consumer-protection body what contract-change records and customer authorizations apply to the job. Write its answer into your quote and approval process rather than assuming an email or site signature is enough.
If added deck or structural work may require a building permit, ask your municipality before the work proceeds. For trade licensing or trade-specific safety permits, ask your provincial or territorial trade licensing and safety authority which requirements cover the work.
Check the occupational-safety rules issued by your provincial or territorial safety authority before setting the crew’s inspection and temporary-protection method. Record the site procedure your crew must follow; a signed change order does not replace safe-work requirements.
Stop at the deck-exposure hold point
The covering and underlayment come off. Sheathing that looked sound from accessible areas is soft or delaminated. This is the hold point.
Control access around the affected roof plane. Keep workers off material that may not support them. Follow the site safety plan before anyone measures or removes damaged material.
Mark the affected locations. Use roof planes, ridges, valleys, walls, chimneys and openings as reference points. A total quantity without a location is hard for the customer to understand and hard for the crew to follow.
Take photographs before removal. Include a wider image showing the roof location and closer images showing the condition. Photographs support the record. They do not replace a measured scope, price and approval.
Measure using the quote method
Use the unit and rounding rule already written into the quote. Record sheets, boards, area or another defined unit consistently.
For sheet sheathing, note partial areas and explain how they are counted. For board decks, record the board locations and the measured extent of replacement. Do not switch measurement methods because one produces a better price after exposure.
Record nearby conditions that could extend the work. Damage may continue toward a wall, chimney or roof opening. Mark the current boundary before controlled removal continues.
Decide whether the discovery changes the roof scope
Compare the exposed condition with the quote. Use the written assumptions, inclusions, quantities and exclusions. Memory is not the scope.
If the discovered work falls within an included quantity, record it against that quantity. If the condition or amount exceeds what was included, treat it as a roof scope change.
Keep the categories boring. Deck replacement is one category. Suspected framing damage is another. Flashing changes, wall repairs and work around roof openings may be separate again.
Do not describe suspected framing damage as routine sheathing replacement. Record what the crew can see without making a diagnosis outside its competence. Pause the affected work and route the condition to the right qualified party.
The test is simple: point to the line in the original quote that includes the work. If you cannot, define and price the changed scope before proceeding.
Build roofing contractor change orders from measured work
Start with the affected roof area. Then describe the work. A vague instruction such as “replace rotten deck where needed” is not enough.
Good roofing contractor change orders identify the original job and quote, state what was discovered, locate the damage and define the approved work. They also say what remains excluded.
Use a copy-ready record like this:
Change order number: [CO number] Job: [customer, property address and job number] Original quote: [quote number and date] Discovery date and time: [date and time] Recorded by: [crew member] Authorized customer contacts: [primary and backup names, roles and approval limits] Discovered condition: [Describe the visible deck or sheathing condition without diagnosing unrelated work.] Location: [Roof plane and reference points such as ridge, valley, wall, chimney or opening.] Evidence: [Photo numbers, file names, site-note references or marked drawing references.] Original quote line or allowance: [Copy the exact line being exceeded.] Quantity already included: [Included unit and quantity.] Quantity now added: [Added unit, quantity, rounding rule and treatment of partial areas.] Added work: [Removal, replacement material, cutting, fitting, fastening, handling, disposal and reinstatement.] Price basis: [Fixed price for the measured scope or stated method for the approved quantity.] Price build-up: [Crew time by task × your own labour cost] [Material from approved measurement and purchase quantity] [Job-specific equipment] [Job-specific disposal] [Job-specific subcontractor cost] [Defined cost base + chosen markup = change price] Still excluded: [Framing, flashing, structural assessment or other work not approved here.] Timing effect: [Change to the work sequence or completion timing.] Temporary protection instruction: [Exact protection allowed, agreed cost limit and record required.] Approval: [Name, date, written acceptance, approved amount and acceptance destination] Crew release instruction: [Approved location and quantity the crew may complete, plus the next stop point.]
Build the price from the changed scope
Estimate crew time separately for removal, cutting, fitting, fastening and handling. Multiply each task by your own labour cost, then add the task costs.
Calculate material from the approved measurement and the purchase quantity needed to complete that measured scope. Add the required fasteners and consumables. Then add job-specific equipment, disposal and subcontractor costs.
Those entries form the defined cost base. Apply your chosen markup to that base to form the selling price.
Markup and margin are not the same. Markup is added to cost to make a price. Margin is profit as a share of the selling price. Use the profit margin calculator when checking the difference with your own job figures.
The house electrical example shows the arithmetic. On quote Q-1847 for R. Chen at 14 Oak Street, the original quote was 1,105 sample currency units and the given job cost was 850. Profit was 1,105 − 850 = 255, margin was 255 ÷ 1,105, approximately 23%, and markup was 255 ÷ 850 = 30%.
Do not apply those figures as roofing prices. Use your own labour, material and job records.
Get extra roof work approval before releasing the crew
Send the authorized contact one complete approval request. Include the location, photographs, measured quantity, work description, price basis, exclusions and timing effect.
Ask for a clear acceptance at the destination named before the job started. Attach the written extra roof work approval to the job record before permanent additional work starts.
If both authorized contacts are unavailable, follow the agreed temporary-protection instruction and cost limit. Secure the exposed area, record what was done and hold the permanent extra.
Once approval arrives, give the crew the release instruction from the change order. If removal reveals more damage outside that location or quantity, stop and record a new change.
Track the added deck work as its own cost bucket
Create a separate cost code or job phase for the approved deck work. Book actual labour, replacement material, equipment, disposal and subcontractor charges to that change.
Keep the buckets simple. The point of cost tracking is to compare the measured scope and expected inputs with what the work actually consumed.
Record crew time against the change while the work is happening. Attach material records, disposal records, site notes, photographs and the approval. Do not try to rebuild the file at invoice time.
If further damage extends beyond the approved area, keep the original change intact. Create the next measured decision rather than quietly increasing the first quantity.
After completion, compare the expected labour and material use with the actual records. The job-costing guide for contractor records explains how to make that comparison without turning one job into a rate card.
Carry the approved change to the invoice
Show the original contract work and the approved change as traceable entries. Reference the change order number and description. Do not bury concealed deck work in a line called “extras.”
The invoice should match the accepted record. If the approved change had a fixed price, use that price. If it used a defined measurement method, attach the final approved measurement record.
Worked paperwork example: Oak Street
This is the house electrical example, not a roofing rate.
R. Chen at 14 Oak Street received quote Q-1847 for a bathroom exhaust fan and four LED downlights. The quote total was 1,105 sample currency units. The ceiling was lined, and chasing was excluded.
Extra cable and chasing were approved on site as a 160 change order. Invoice INV-1847 was therefore 1,265. The paperwork chain is clear: original quote, excluded condition, approved change and final invoice.
Use the same discipline on a roof. Keep roofing contractor change orders tied to the original quote, written approval, final invoice and separate job costs.
Open the next roof quote now and add the deck-exposure hold point before you send it.