Topic 1 – Commercial Specifications

Specifications serve two purposes. They assist in the bidding and estimating process and assist the trades in the construction of the project. Specifications provide the general contractor and subcontractors with the scope of work which defines what they are responsible for in their tender. The specifications show specific information on the quality of products and materials used in construction. This information is useful to the contractor in submitting their bid for that particular scope of work.

For carpenters and other trades, the specifications will complement the drawings with additional information. As an example, a blueprint will show the location of the HVAC unit, but one would need to refer to the specifications for make and model.

As some specifications can be thousands of pages they are categorized into different divisions for ease of reference. Often these divisions are trade specific such as mechanical and electrical. A carpenter’s scope may be covered in most or all divisions. A few examples include Concrete, Doors and Windows, and Finishes.

For additional information please review the following:

Brightspace Instruction Sheets:

BPRT 300 Construction Drawings (2017) Learning Outcome 2 Learning Step 1 (p. 28-30)

Texts:

Review Questions

1. What are specifications and what are they designed to do?
2. If there are discrepancies between the prints and the specifications, which is considered to be correct?
3. True or False: only large commercial projects require specifications.
4. Who is responsible for writing the specifications?