Roofing Change Orders for Rotten Decking: A Worked Example, AI-Drafted

Stop work on that section, photograph every bad sheet with a tape in frame, and send the customer a change order stating a price per sheet, the estimated count and a ceiling, quoted from the unit rate already in your contract. Replace nothing until the signed approval comes back.

Customers rarely fight the extra money. They fight surprises: a bill for sheets nobody showed them. A rate that was in the contract, photos with numbered chalk marks and a signature before work turn the conversation into a confirmation. AI helps with the wording and the message to the customer. The rate, the count and the clause are yours.

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Start from the contract clause, then write the change order to fit

The change order is only as strong as the clause behind it, so check what your contract says before you write a word. Three situations cover almost every job.

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A clause that works in practice looks like the one below. It is an illustrative draft, the kind AI can produce in seconds from a plain description, and it still needs a qualified adviser's review for your contract. The roofing contract template tutorial covers what a lawyer checks when AI tightens contract wording.

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7.2 HIDDEN DECKING
The contract price includes replacement of up to [3] sheets of roof decking found rotten or damaged once the existing roof covering is removed. Further decking replacement is charged at $[rate] per sheet (4 ft by 8 ft, supplied and fitted), or $[rate] per linear foot for plank decking, counted from numbered photographs. We will stop work on the affected area, send photographs and a change order, and replace decking only after you approve it in writing.

Whatever your clause says, the change order must quote it by number and use its figures. If the clause says $95 a sheet and the change order says $110, you have created the dispute yourself. Paste the clause into the AI prompt word for word and tell it never to alter the numbers.

Pricing a sheet: a quick sum you can defend

A unit rate that cannot be explained invites haggling. Build yours from parts, so you can answer "why $110?" in one breath. Every figure below is illustrative, so use your own costs.

A sheet covers 32 square feet, so $110 works out at about $3.44 a square foot. That is a handy number for a customer who asks, though you should still quote per sheet. Older roofs often have plank decking instead of sheets, and that needs a different unit plus a counting rule written down in advance.

Pick your own counting rule and write it down, because partial sheets are where arguments start. For squares, waste and bundles on the roofing material itself, roofing takeoff with AI covers the other half of the job's arithmetic.

Setting the included count from your own job history

The "first 3 sheets included" figure in the clause is a business decision, and your own jobs should make it. Pull the last twenty tear-offs and count how many sheets of decking each one needed. The table below is invented to show the method.

With these figures, including three sheets means 15 of the 20 jobs (75%) never need a change order at all, which stops small finds souring a sale. The other five jobs get a change order with a count and a photo set, and that is where the clause earns its keep. Included sheets are not free, though. Assume the seven small jobs averaged two sheets each, and the five larger ones absorbed their first three: that is 14 plus 15, or 29 sheets, and 29 at $110 is $3,190 across twenty jobs, about $160 a job. Either build roughly that amount into the base price of every roof or lower the included count. Pretending the cost does not exist is how margins thin without anyone noticing.

Photo evidence that settles it before anyone argues

The customer cannot see the underside of their own roof, so the photos are the whole argument. Make them impossible to misread:

• Chalk-number every bad sheet (S1, S2 and so on) and use the same numbers on the change order lines.
• One wide photo per affected area, showing where it sits on the slope.
• One close-up per sheet with a tape across it, so size and condition are both visible.
• An underside photo from the attic where you can reach it, which shows rot or staining from the other direction.
• A probe test noted as a fact: "screwdriver goes through the sheet", not "structurally unsound".
• Time and date on every photo, kept in the job file with the signed change order.

In the example that runs through this tutorial, the crew finds 14 bad sheets on the rear slope in three areas: five along the eave course (S1 to S5), four around the vent stack (S6 to S9) and five in the valley (S10 to S14). That grouping is useful on the page, because a customer who sees "three areas" understands the problem faster than one who is handed a list of 14 numbers. If you want a captioning routine for the photos themselves, the same method described in turning inspection photos into a customer-ready report works on a tear-off.

The change order itself: a filled-in example

Here is the form for the rear slope, filled in. It is one page, it has one decision for the customer, and every number on it can be traced to the contract clause or to a photo.

CHANGE ORDER CO-01
Job: [job reference]   Date: [date]   Contract clause: 7.2 Hidden decking
Customer: [first name] [last name]

WORK FOUND
While removing the existing roof covering on the rear slope we found rotten
roof decking in three areas: along the eave course, around the vent stack and
along the valley. Each affected sheet is marked with a chalk number (S1 to S14)
and shown in photos P1 to P31, attached.

WORK PROPOSED
Remove and replace 14 sheets of decking (4 ft by 8 ft) and fasten them to the
rafters, at the rate in clause 7.2. The first 3 sheets are included in the
contract price.

PRICE
Sheets replaced: 14    Included in contract: 3    Charged: 11
Rate: $110.00 per sheet    Additional cost: $1,210.00
Ceiling: replacement beyond 20 sheets in total needs a further written
approval before work.

PROGRAMME
Adds up to 1 day to the job. No change to materials or colours.

IF YOU DECLINE
We will not replace the decking. [state exactly what you will do instead, in
line with your contract and warranty terms]

APPROVAL
I approve CO-01 for the 14 sheets listed (11 chargeable) at $110.00 per sheet,
up to a maximum of 20 sheets in total.
Name: ____________   Signature: ____________   Date and time: ____________

Three details do most of the work. First, the price block shows sheets replaced, sheets included and sheets charged on one line, so the customer sees that the first three were already theirs. Fourteen sheets less three included is eleven chargeable, and eleven at $110 is $1,210. Second, the ceiling: replacing up to 20 sheets means at most 17 are chargeable, a worst case of $1,870, and the customer can see that number before signing. Third, the "if you decline" block is written before the customer needs it. Decide what you will do and check it against your contract and warranty terms, because a vague answer here is where goodwill goes.

A prompt that drafts the wording and stays inside your numbers

The AI writes the sentences. It must not touch the numbers. Paste the clause word for word, supply the facts, and ban the reassuring claims models like to add.

You are drafting the wording of a roofing change order for rotten decking. Use only the facts and numbers below. Do not change the rate, the sheet count or the ceiling. Quote the contract clause exactly as I paste it and refer to it by number.

Rules:
- Plain words a homeowner can follow in one reading. No claims about structural integrity, safety, warranties, causes or insurance.
- Say what was found, where (use my area names), how many sheets, with the photo references.
- State the rate, the number included in the contract, the number charged, the total and the ceiling.
- Give the customer exactly one decision: approve or decline. Say what happens in each case using the text I provide.
- Do not promise dates or times beyond what I give you.

CONTRACT CLAUSE (paste verbatim):
[clause text]

SITE FACTS:
[areas, sheet counts, photo references, rate, included count, ceiling, programme effect, what happens if declined]

An illustrative first draft of the "work found" paragraph came back like this:

While removing the old roof covering on the rear slope we found approximately 14 sheets of roof decking that are rotten, so replacement is unforeseen but necessary work to ensure the structural integrity of your roof. We will begin immediately on your approval and finish within 24 hours. Your warranty is unaffected.

It reads smoothly and has five problems. "Approximately 14" blurs a count you made sheet by sheet; say "14 sheets" and show the photos. "Necessary" is a conclusion your contract may not support, and the customer is entitled to decide. "To ensure the structural integrity of your roof" is a claim about safety that nobody has verified, and it sounds like pressure. "Within 24 hours" is a schedule the model invented. "Your warranty is unaffected" is a promise about terms the model has not seen. Cut all five, keep the plain facts, and run the corrected version past your adviser's wording once.

Getting approval before work: what each route proves

Approval has to arrive before the first sheet comes off the roof. The route you use decides how strong the evidence is later.

The message that carries the change order matters as much as the form. Keep it short, specific and free of pressure. This is an illustrative draft with placeholders:

Hi [first name], it's [your name] at [company]. We've found rotten decking under the old roof on the rear slope: 14 sheets, photos attached and numbered. Your contract (clause 7.2) covers the first 3. The other 11 are $110 each, $1,210 in total, and we will ask you again before going past 20 sheets. We have paused that section. Reply APPROVED CO-01 to go ahead, or call me on [number] to talk it through.

Send it within the hour, because a half-open roof waiting on a reply costs you both. If your notes begin life as scattered site messages, the general contractor tutorial on turning site messages into change orders shows how to get from the messages to a clean order quickly.

What to say when the customer pushes back

Most pushback is a question wearing a complaint's clothes. Have a short, factual reply ready for each of the usual five, and let the AI draft them in your voice from your clause and your photos.

Draft a reply of two sentences or fewer to each of these customer objections, in a calm, plain tone. Use only the contract clause and the facts below. No pressure, no claims about structure, safety, warranties or insurance, and no promises I have not listed. If an objection needs a decision from me, say so instead of inventing an answer.

CLAUSE: [paste verbatim]
FACTS: [sheet counts, rate, included count, ceiling, photo references, what happens if declined]
OBJECTIONS: [paste the five questions above, or the customer's own words]

The last line of that prompt matters. Customers use their own words, and the best replies answer the actual question. Read each draft aloud before you send it. If it sounds like a script, shorten it until it sounds like you.

When the count changes halfway through

The first count is rarely the last. The deck under the valley turns out to be worse than it looked, or a second layer of roofing hid more. Three rules keep a growing count from becoming a dispute.

1. The ceiling in CO-01 gives you authority up to 20 sheets, but still send photos and a short note for any sheets not shown in the original set before you replace them. Customers approve numbers, not surprises.
2. Beyond the ceiling, raise CO-02. Never edit CO-01 after it is signed.
3. Carry the chalk numbers on (S15, S16 and so on), so the photo trail stays continuous.

The sums are simple. If the final count is 19 sheets, 16 are chargeable, $1,760 in all, which is $550 more than the 14-sheet estimate and inside the ceiling. If it reaches 23, that is 20 chargeable sheets, $2,200, and it needs CO-02 before the last three sheets go on. Small wording changes help with this kind of drift:

The crew that replaced 22 sheets on a 14-sheet approval

Picture a crew that gets a text approval for 14 sheets, then finds more while they are up there and replaces 22 without asking. The change order had no ceiling and no rule about further finds. The customer pays for the 14 they approved and disputes the other 8, which is $880 at $110 a sheet. The crew has numbered photos for only 17 of the 22, so just 3 of the 8 extra sheets can be proved. The firm collects $330 and writes off $550, plus some goodwill that is harder to price.

Three small habits would have prevented it: a ceiling on the first change order, a second change order for the second discovery, and a chalk number and photo for every sheet before it comes off. None of them is clever. They are the difference between a documented extra and a favour you did for free.

A second change order: plank decking on an older roof

Sheet decking is the common case. An older roof with plank decking needs a different order, because boards vary in width and the count is in feet, not sheets. Say the crew finds six rotten boards on a house with plank decking and marks them B1 to B6 with a tape reading beside each.

Suppose the clause includes the first 20 linear feet of plank replacement and charges $11 a foot beyond that. The change order then reads: boards replaced 44 ft, included 20 ft, charged 24 ft, at $11 per foot, additional cost $264. Each length in the table has already been rounded up to the next whole foot, as the counting rule says, so the customer can check every figure against the tape in the photo. Add one line to the form that the sheet version does not need: whether the replacement boards match the thickness of the existing deck. Customers ask, and the answer belongs on the page, not in a phone call later.

When a job has both kinds, for example a main roof with sheet decking and an older extension with planks, write two price blocks on the same change order, one per decking type, each with its own count, included amount and rate. A single blended figure hides the arithmetic that makes the order easy to approve.

Eight checks before the change order is sent

1. The clause number is quoted, and every rate and count matches the clause exactly.
2. Sheets replaced, included and charged add up, and the total is rebuilt in a spreadsheet rather than copied from the AI draft.
3. Every chalk number on the form has a photo, and every photo reference exists.
4. There is a ceiling, and the worst-case figure is stated or easy to work out.
5. There are no claims about structure, safety, causes, warranties or insurance.
6. The decline option says exactly what happens.
7. The approval line names the document, the count and the maximum.
8. The signed copy, the photos and the message thread go into the job file together.

A second AI pass catches mismatches between your clause and your form. In a fresh chat, paste both and ask:

Compare this contract clause with this change order. List every difference in rate, sheet counts, ceiling, units and wording. Do not comment on anything else. If there is no difference, say so.

An illustrative result: the form uses "sheets (4 ft by 8 ft)" where the clause says "sheets of roof decking" (harmless); the form adds a 20-sheet ceiling that the clause does not contain (confirm the customer agreed to it in the signed contract, or in the change order itself). That second finding is the useful one. A ceiling that is new on the form is a term the customer must accept in writing, and the approval line already asks them to.

When an insurer is paying for any of the roof, keep the change order to facts: what was found, where, how many sheets and the photos. Leave coverage out of it, and see roof damage reports for insurance claims for neutral wording. For the pricing side of changes on any job, how small builders use AI to price variations and change orders covers the rate-sheet habits that make a per-sheet price easy to defend.

For the next quarter, log each change order with three numbers: sheets found, sheets billed and the hours between sending and approval. If approvals take more than a day, the message or the route is the problem. If billed sheets keep falling short of found sheets, the photos or the ceiling are.

Questions roofers ask about decking change orders

Can I charge for rotten decking my quote never mentioned?

That depends on your contract and the rules where you work. The safest route is a hidden-decking clause in the contract plus a signed change order before any replacement. If the contract is silent, get a signed addendum first, then add a clause to your template, and ask a qualified adviser what your jurisdiction requires for written changes.

What if the customer's insurer is paying for the roof?

The insurer's scope and approvals may govern what extra work is paid for, so notify the customer and keep your documentation neutral: what was found, where, how many sheets, with photos. Do not negotiate coverage yourself. The customer decides whether to raise the extra decking with their insurer.

Should I price decking per sheet or per square foot?

Per sheet for sheet decking, because a customer can count sheets in photos and agree the number. Per linear foot for plank decking, counted along each board. Square foot pricing suits large areas but invites argument over how the area was measured, so keep it for tear-off that exposes a whole section.

Can AI write the whole change order for me?

It can draft the wording, the customer message and a second-pass check against your contract clause. It cannot know your rate, the sheet count or what the contract says, so those come from you and are pasted in. Read every sentence, because models add reassuring claims about structure or warranty that nobody has verified.

Further reads

• Plumbing Change Orders: Four Worked Examples Drafted With AI — Four more worked change orders from another trade.
• Electrical Change Orders Written With AI: Ask for Extra Work Clearly — Asking clearly for extra payment on electrical jobs.
• Roofing Proposal Software: Adding AI-Written Scopes and Warranty Wording — Putting scope and warranty wording into your proposals.
• Construction Final Account: Variations, Deductions and Sign-Off With AI — How approved changes settle in the final account.
• Painting Contract Template: Colour Approval and Change Orders With AI — Another contract clause set for approvals and changes.
• AI in Roofing: Weather-Delay Messages and Rescheduling Checklist — Messages and checklists when weather moves the job.
• AI Automation for Roofing Companies: A Worked Map for a 10-Person Firm — One imaginary 10-person roofing firm mapped from call to invoice, with owner hours, monthly tool cost, an eight-week set-up order and the jobs left manual.
• CompanyCam Alternatives for Roofers: AI Photo Reports and Checklists — Mitti, Fieldwire, GoAudits, Jobber, Housecall Pro and a DIY AI workflow scored against CompanyCam on photo reports, checklists, AI and cost for a small roofer.
• Roofing Accounting Software: Deposits, Progress Invoices, Job Costing, AI — Deposits, staged invoices and job costing for roofers, tested on one $16,800 re-roof across QuickBooks and Xero, with what each AI feature really does.
• ChatGPT for Roofing: 10 Prompts for Estimates, Inspections and Warranty — Ten ChatGPT prompts for a roofing company's inspections, estimates and warranty replies, each with a filled example and a check before it is sent.
• Insulation Quote Template: Material, Thickness and Area Lines With AI — A line-item insulation quote with thickness, area and exclusion wording, plus a prompt that flags missing measurements instead of inventing them.
• Scaffolding Invoice Template: Erect, Hire and Dismantle Billing With AI — A worked $5,706 job shows erect, hire and dismantle invoices, an extra lift, call-off references and reminder wording you can adapt.
• Tile Installation Contract: Substrate and Warranty Clauses With AI — Five clauses carry most of the risk in a tile contract. Here is how to have AI draft them from your own numbers, then fix what it gets wrong.
• How to Respond to Negative Roofing Reviews With AI: Claims and Delays — Eight example replies to negative roofing reviews about claims and delays, plus an AI prompt that drafts them without leaking claim details.
• Can Roofers Use Voice AI to Turn Inspection Notes Into Estimates? — A phone voice-note workflow that turns spoken roof inspection notes into a draft estimate, plus the checks that stop expensive mistakes.
• Quote vs Estimate for Trades: Which to Send and What It Commits You To — A send-which rule for tradespeople, with a binding-price worked example, copy-ready wording and the moment an estimate becomes a quote.
• AI Tools and AI Development: The Complete 2026 Guide — the AI hub, including every tutorial in the AI-for-business series.

Sources: rates, counts and clause numbers in the worked example are invented for illustration; standard 4 ft by 8 ft sheet size; contract wording should be reviewed by a qualified adviser.