Construction management Q&A
How do I get paid for extra works that come up on site?
Short answer
- Hold the extra work until there is a written instruction ordering it.
- Ask the designer for a site instruction if the extra changes the technical solution.
- Price the work by cost-estimate line, with quantities and unit rates, not as a lump sum.
- Sign the contract addendum or additional order note before you build it.
- Issue the work statement for extras separately, so it doesn't blend into the original budget.
What the law says (brief)
- Civil Code, Art. 1270(2) — a contract is amended by agreement of the parties; extra work built without an addendum is a claim that is hard to prove.
- Public Procurement Law 98/2016, Art. 221(1) — additional works that have become strictly necessary are documented by addendum, and the price increase may not exceed 50% of the original contract value.
- Law 10/1995 on construction quality — departures from the verified technical design require the designer's written agreement, issued as a site instruction.
- Fiscal Code, Art. 281(7) — for construction and assembly works the taxable event arises on issuing the work statement or, per the contract, on the client accepting it.
Practical examples
- Example: excavation uncovers an old foundation the geotechnical survey missed. Demolition and backfill are priced at 34 m³ of concrete broken out and 41 m³ of compacted fill, i.e. 18,600 RON. The additional order note is signed, then the work proceeds; skip that step and the 18,600 RON stays with the contractor.
- Example: the client asks for a partition wall to be moved after services have been run. This is not remedial work, so it is quoted separately — 3,200 RON labour and materials plus 900 RON to redo the services — and accepted in writing before anything is taken down.
Common mistakes
- Building on a verbal request made on site, then negotiating the price once the work is done.
- Presenting the extra as a lump sum with no quantities — the client disputes exactly the part you cannot evidence.
- Mixing extras into the original budget, so you can no longer show the overrun didn't come from execution.
- Skipping the designer's site instruction on a change of technical solution, which then blocks handover.
How 4construct helps
- Extra works are recorded as distinct stages with their own budget, separate from the project's original budget.
- The documents ordering them stay attached to the stage, so at handover you're not hunting through email.
- The work statement for extras is generated separately, from the stages confirmed in the journal.
- The budget dashboard shows the original budget and the extras on separate lines.