Why Rough Plumbing and Electrical Changes Turn Into Change Orders
What Rough Plumbing and Electrical Locks In Before the Walls Close
The structure is up at the Cultured Cottage, and we are full court press into rough plumbing and electrical, which is the part of the build where the house stops being a pretty set of drawings and turns into pipe, wire, and fixture locations that will disappear behind insulation and drywall. Right now, we can still move almost anything. After rough installations are approved, however,, every change is a change order. So, let's talk about how we plan for it, and why Chicago makes it a whole different game.
Why Rough Plumbing and Electrical Leave No Room for Error
Rough plumbing and electrical go in after framing and before insulation and drywall. Before anything is piped or wired, moving a fixture is easy. Once pipe connects to that fixture and wire runs through it, moving it means taking things apart. Once the walls are closed, it means opening them back up. The cheapest time to change your mind is before the rough-in starts. Preferably in preconstruction.
Chicago Is a Hard Pipe Nation
A lot of cities run plumbing through PVC and electrical through flexible Romex. Here in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, we do things differently. We are, quite literally, rigid. Plumbing has meant copper and cast iron, and electrical runs through metal pipe, which makes every rough-in decision slower to install and harder to undo.
Chicago has recently started moving to PVC in residential work, but all of our branch lines and water lines are still copper, and copper has to be soldered. So, our plumbers also have to be metalsmiths, to some degree.
Electrical is the same story. We install and fasten metal pipe throughout the building, which we call empty raceways, and then we fish our wires through them. Why? The Chicago Fire. In Chicago, history is still repeating itself. Chicago conduit requirements show up in the budget the minute a fixture moves because rigid pipe has to be disassembled and reassembled to make the change.
Shop Drawings Become the Controlling Documents
Every project starts with architectural drawings and interior drawings, but we only build from those for part of the project. Once rough installations begin, specialty trades issue shop drawings, which are a snapshot and a deep dive into one custom element. When the architect or interiors firm signs off, that shop drawing becomes the controlling document, and everyone builds from it.
Anything the general contractor custom fabricates generally gets a shop drawing. On the Cultured Cottage, that means a millwork built-in in the living room, an architectural fireplace, staircase railings, and tile layouts. Yes, even tile. It all comes down to contract and clarity, so that nobody is choosing between two different standards.
Now, you might be thinking, "Tile layout? What do you need that for? You pick a tile, you decide how you want it installed, and they install it, right?" No. That is cardboard castle developer mentality. A standard developer builds a house and puts finishes in it. As a custom builder, we build the house to the finishes. We don't do half tiles unless they're intentional. We build our walls for full tiles all the way across, and we can't do that if we don't know whether there's a Schluter termination, whether the tiles get mitered, and how thick the grout lines are. You see what I mean? It gets really complicated really fast, but I promise you, the final product is worth it every time.
Some Utility Decisions Are Made for You
Rough-in decisions get made early, and some locations are non-negotiable due to municipal and/or code requirements. On the Cultured Cottage, we already knew where the electrical meter had to be located, where the new water service entered the house, and where the new sewer service entered. Those entry points dictated the basement layout. So, the design had to work around them.
The Electrical Walkthrough Is the Most Grueling Meeting on the Project
Even when working with a great architecture team and a fantastic interiors team, the best way to avoid mistakes is to assume mistakes are going to be made. Electrical is where some of the most common mistakes happen because electrical plans get drawn in 2D and construction happens in 3D.
An electrical walkthrough is a meeting on site where every stakeholder walks the framed house and verifies the location of every single electrical fixture before anything is piped or wired. That means the architecture team, the interiors team, the GC, the Owner, and the electrician are in attendance. It can take anywhere from three to eight hours. It's a big party, and we warn everyone from the very beginning that it will be the most grueling meeting of the entire project. We walk the space, we feel the space, and everyone says what they want, tells us what they need, and forever holds their peace. Because the second we connect pipe to those fixtures and run wire through them, any change is a change order.
What a Missing Zero Does to a Flue Run
Fireplace venting shows how fast a rough-in plan can fall apart. There are really two ways to vent a fireplace: a short flue out through the siding or masonry, or a longer run up through the chimney. The short run is cheaper, but on our house, it would have gone straight through the Versetta Stone.
That stone is the focal point of the facade. So, that was a non-starter. If you remember, we already voted for the exterior fireplace off the island back in Episode 3, so this one was staying. Because of the flue size needed for code and for the manufacturer's warranty, running it up through the chimney mI thought we were in a good place. I had paid the rough carpenters to frame everything to the vendor's specs, and moving the flue from the facade to the chimney was going to be about $600. No-brainer. Then the vendor informed me that his change order price was missing a zero. The $600 change was actually $6,000.
This is where a good interiors firm earns its keep. While I was in a mental death spiral, they were the ones calmly saying, "The fireplace isn't working, but that doesn't mean we're not going to have a fireplace." And they figured it out, but more on that later.
What to Lock In Before Rough-In Starts
The decisions that are cheap today get expensive the moment pipe, wire, and drywall get installed. Here's what we want settled before rough plumbing and electrical begin on any custom home:
Utility entry points for the meter, water service, and sewer service, and the basement layout that follows them.
Shop drawings underway for anything custom, from cabinetry and millwork to stairs, fireplaces, and tile layouts.
Finishes. All of them. Including paint schedules.
Every electrical fixture location walked and signed off by every stakeholder.
Any venting run, like a fireplace flue, priced in writing with manufacturer specifications before framing.
Watch the rough-in in progress in Episode 6 here. And if you're just finding us, start the build from the beginning in the Cultured Cottage Series on YouTube.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is rough plumbing and electrical?
It's the stage where pipe, wiring, and fixture locations are installed after framing and before insulation and drywall. It's the last point where fixtures can move without opening walls.
Why does Chicago use conduit instead of Romex?
Chicago runs electrical wiring through rigid metal pipe, called empty raceways, instead of flexible Romex. The practice goes back to the Chicago Fire.
What is an electrical walkthrough?
An electrical walkthrough is an on-site meeting where the architect, interiors team, GC, Owner, and electrician verify the location of every electrical fixture before anything is piped or wired. It can take three to eight hours.
What are shop drawings in construction?
Shop drawings are detailed drawings that a specialty trade issues for one custom element such as cabinetry, stone, a staircase railing, or a tile layout. At Integro, once the architect or interiors firm approves them, they become the controlling document for that element. Note: that is not necessarily true in a standard AIA contract.
Why are changes after rough-in so expensive?
Once pipe is connected to a fixture and wire runs through it, any change means taking that work apart and redoing it. After insulation and drywall go in, the walls have to be opened too. More work…is more work.