A friend of mine is in the middle of a kitchen remodel, and the project has taken a familiar turn. What started as a simple upgrade has become a slow drift into frustration — unclear scope, incomplete design decisions, and a growing list of misunderstandings.

Listening to him describe the situation reminded me just how common these patterns are for owners and developers on far larger projects. Whether it’s a kitchen, a corporate office, or a multi-building capital plan, the early signals of trouble look remarkably similar.

In his case, a wall damaged during demolition never had a defined repair standard. The marble countertop and backsplash arrived, but no one had discussed how the veining should align. And instead of communication flowing through the General Contractor, he found himself speaking directly with subcontractors who had received inconsistent instructions from their GC.

These aren’t unusual challenges. They’re the natural outcome of projects that start without clear expectations, defined roles, or well-documented scope. As Engineering News-Record noted in a 2023 analysis, a significant share of construction disputes originate from “poorly developed scope documents and breakdowns in communication protocols” (ENR, 2023). And a recent Construction Dive piece highlighted that scope gaps remain one of the top three drivers of cost escalation across U.S. projects.

I see this every week in my advisory work. The problems don’t begin in the field — they begin on day one.

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The Top 3 Things Owners Can Do to Avoid These Issues

1. Treat Scope as a Living, Breathing Document — Not a Rough Outline

Owners often assume that the team will “figure out the details,” but construction doesn’t work that way. Without precise definition, every trade inserts its own interpretation.

In my friend’s case, the wall repair was described only as “patch and repair as needed.” That sounds clear enough, but it left out the level of finish required, the alignment with adjacent surfaces, and the expectation that the repair should be invisible when complete. Those omissions created debate later — and risked additional cost.

Whether it’s a residential remodel or a complex commercial build, scope is the foundation. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, rework accounts for roughly 2–9% of total project cost nationally, with the largest portion fueled by unclear expectations (BLS, 2022).

Owners can avoid this by documenting decisions early, no matter how small. Material orientation, finish transitions, sequencing assumptions, access conditions — these aren’t embellishments. They’re the guardrails that keep the project out of the weeds.

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2. Make Design Decisions Early — and Document Them More Thoroughly Than You Think You Need

When the marble countertop and backsplash arrived at my friend’s project, the team realized no one had clarified how the veining should align. Some design elements can tolerate interpretation; stone veining is not one of them.

This kind of issue appears constantly on commercial projects. Small aesthetic or functional decisions left vague during design become flashpoints during installation. FMI’s 2024 Construction Report points out that late-stage decision-making is one of the strongest predictors of schedule drift in interiors-driven scopes, where finish coordination matters more than owners appreciate in the early phases.

Owners rarely under-specify out of neglect. Most simply don’t know which decisions will matter later. That’s where an owner-side advisor becomes essential — someone who has lived through enough projects to know which details need definition while there’s still time to influence cost and sequencing.

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3. Establish Communication Protocols Before Construction Begins — and Stick to Them

This is the issue that ultimately created the most tension in my friend’s remodel. Instead of speaking only with the GC, he began fielding questions directly from subcontractors. Each was reacting to gaps in direction from the GC. Each had its own interpretation of the scope. And each conversation created more confusion.

Communication structure is one of the most underappreciated components of project governance. As highlighted in Project Management Institute’s 2023 Pulse of the Profession report, more than half of troubled projects show symptoms of “role ambiguity” and “unstructured communication flow” during their early stages.

When owners communicate directly with subcontractors, even with good intentions, they unintentionally disrupt the builder’s chain of command. Subcontractors may act on comments that were not instructions, or they may wait for owner validation that should come from the GC. The result is a slow erosion of site control.

Clear communication protocols prevent this:

• The GC receives, manages, and distributes all direction.

• Subcontractors never receive direct instructions from the owner.

• All questions flow upward, and all answers flow downward, through the same point.

When this structure is respected, projects move steadily. When it’s ignored, friction follows.

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The GOA Perspective

At GOA, we’ve seen how the smallest gaps at the beginning of a project become the largest sources of cost, conflict, and delay later. That’s why we front-load clarity into every engagement. We help owners define scope in practical, technical terms. We align design intent so there is no guesswork in the field. And we establish communication protocols that keep the GC fully in control of the site while keeping the owner fully informed.

Owners don’t need to micromanage projects — they need someone to protect them from the friction that emerges when details are left to assumption. In my experience, owners who invest early in clarity save more time, avoid more conflict, and gain more confidence than any “fast-tracked” project ever provides.

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Close & Engagement

How are you defining scope and roles on your current capital program?
Which small decisions tend to get lost between design and construction?
Where do you see communication drifting on your teams?