After the contract is signed, arrangements must be made for financing, billing, scheduling, and obtaining building permits.  Then the job can start.  But, often there are changes.  "Sometimes after we get the drywall up the homeowner will decide he really did want a built-in speaker system.  We can do that, but we have to charge for more drywall work."

Sometimes changes result from unexpected discoveries, especially in older homes. "We were working on one property and found that the sewer line was actually on the next-door neighbor’s property," she says.  "We couldn’t disrupt one without the other, so the neighbor got a new sewer line.  He was tickled pink, but they aren’t always.  You have to deal with the unexpected.