Is My Contractor Overcharging Me? A Practical Homeowner Checklist

If a change order feels expensive, that does not automatically mean it is wrong. It means you need enough structure to verify the price quickly.

Quick overcharge checklist

• Confirm each line has description, quantity, unit, unit cost, and line total.
• Ask whether labor and materials are itemized or bundled.
• Check if overhead and profit (OH&P) appears once or multiple times.
• Verify whether permits, fees, or equipment carry separate markup.
• Look for missing receipts on major material purchases.

Three common pricing problems

1. Lump sums with no cost basis

A lump sum can hide a valid scope or hide inflated assumptions. Ask for the labor-hour and material breakdown.

2. Duplicated markup

A subcontractor quote may already include overhead and profit. If the GC adds another full OH&P layer, the total can jump fast.

3. Scope mismatch

The change order sometimes includes work that appears in the base contract. Ask for exact contract references when scope is disputed.

Questions that get useful answers

• Which line items are labor, which are materials, and which are markup only?
• What labor rate assumptions were used for this ZIP code?
• Which costs are pass-through versus managed work?
• What changed in scope, schedule, or site conditions that caused this increase?

Approval rule of thumb

Approve when the scope is clear, pricing basis is documented, and markup is transparently applied once. Pause when one of those is missing.