MODULE 2
HOW TO WRITE CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATION
SPECIFICATION LANGUAGE
Clear And Concise - Contract Specifications must be clearly and concisely worded and must state exactly
what will be required from the Contractor.
Words, Sentences, Paragraphs – Avoid long words, long sentences, long paragraphs. Use simple
words. Use standard abbreviations. Technical terms should be those in common usage in the
building trades. It is better to repeat the noun than to use pronoun.
Punctuations Misplaced punctuations should not obscure the meaning of the sentence.
Example: Let’s eat Grandma! Let’s eat, Grandma! Eat your dinner! Eat.
You’re dinner!
CAPITALS
– All capitals are used for chapter headings, for paragraph headings the procedure varies.
1.
Capitalization should be used as in the following instances:
a. The parties to the Contract: Owner, Architect, Contractor, etc.
b. Contract Documents: Agreement, Drawings, General Conditions, Specifications
c. Areas in the building: Lobby, Office, Lounge
d. Abbreviations, such as ASTM for American Society for Testing and Materials
e. Grades of Materials, such as S2S.
INDICATIVE/IMPERATIVE
– The instructions in the specifications are mandatory and imperative. Use future tense form “Shall”
and “will”. “Shall” refers to Contractor’s obligation; “will” refers to acts of the Architect and to work
to be done by the Owner. Put verb as first word in the sentence.
Example:
Indicative Mood:
Contractor shall install finishing hardware which will be provided by the Owner.
Imperative Mood
Can be written as: Install finishing hardware to be provided by the Owner
NUMERALS, ETC.
– Numerals should be used for dimensions listed in the Specifications in preference to spelled-out
numbers.
Etc.
is vague and indicates that the specification writer either does not know the exact requirements or is too lazy
to write them out. A contractor cannot be expected to fulfill requirements that are not specific.
PHRASES AND CLAUSES TO BE AVOIDED
– Vague general clauses designed to cover all contingencies at the expense of the Contractor and a mark of
indecision on the part of the specification writer and a poor substitute for definite description. In a
dispute they do not stand the test of law.
Contractor in his bid must provide for a most costly interpretation.
“To the satisfaction of the Architect,” “as required by the Architect,” “a workmanlike job,” ‘a first-class
job,” “unless otherwise specified,” and similar phrases should be avoided; the type of workmanship
required should not be open to question.
“Or equal,” “other approved equal,” or similar phrases should not be used because of the controversies
that arise as what is equal.
WORDS BETTER OMITTED
– The, a, an, all, any, and of, and clauses introduced by which, can be omitted.
For example:
a.
Poor: Apply a coating of parging to the exterior block walls below grade.
Better: Apply parging to exterior block walls below grade.
b. Poor: Install all finishing hardware listed in the schedule of hardware.
Better: Install finishing hardware listed in hardware schedule.
c.
Poor: Contractor shall install lighting fixtures which are to be furnished under an allowance.
Better: Install lighting fixtures to be furnished under an allowance.
d. Poor: Any materials condemned by the Architect shall be removed from the site.
Better: Materials condemned by the Architect shall be removed from the site.
Or: Remove from site materials condemned by the Architect.
STEP-BY-STEP SPECIFICATION WRITING
STEP 1: List down all pertinent work items to be covered in the project according to the 16-Division of
Uniform Construction Index. For example for a residence and for a four-storey Building the applicable
divisions may be the following
STEP 2: Collect product literature, technical brochures, or any available specifications
written for the specific division and rewrite to conform to the 3-part section format as
described in the CSI Document.
STEP 3: Review and check the specification language
STEP 4: Compile, review and edit the specifications
STEP 5: Make the final copy.
MasterFormat is the master list of titles and numbers used to organize specifications and other project
information for most commercial building design and construction projects in North America. It lists titles
and section numbers for organizing data about construction requirements, products, and activities.
PRELIMINARY WRITING PROCEDURE
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Some Principles in Writing Specifications
The layout and grouping of subjects should be logical. These need planning out beforehand.
Requirements for each subject should be stated clearly, in logical order, and checked to see all
aspects are covered.
Language and punctuation should be checked to see they cannot give rise to ambiguity.
Legal terms and phrases should not be used.
To define obligations the words ‘shall’ or ‘must’ (not ‘should’ or ‘is to’, etc.) should be used.
Quality must be precisely defined, not described as ‘best’, etc.
Brevity should be sought by keeping to essential matters.
It is not easy to achieve an error-free specification. It is of considerable assistance to copy model clauses
that, by use and modification over many previous contracts, have proved satisfactory in their wording.
Such model clauses can be held on computer files so they are easy to reproduce and modify to make
relevant to the particular project in hand.
Copying whole texts from a previous specification which can result in contradictory requirements
should not be adopted. Entirely new material is quite difficult to write and will almost certainly require
more than one attempt to get it satisfactory.
CCOMPONENT PARTS OF SPECIFICATION
Each specification section is divided into three parts:
Part 1–General,
Part 2–Products, and
Part 3–Execution.
Each part includes particular information about the subject of the section.
These three parts are fixed in number and title and are included in all specification sections. Each part
provides a standardized format of presenting specific product information.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Technical specifications (specifications) are defined by ASTM International as “an explicit set of
requirements to be satisfied by a material, product, system, or service.”
A technical specification (tech spec) is a document that explains what a product or project will do
and how you'll achieve these goals. In a tech spec, show your client and team members what
problem you're solving, the goals or requirements for your project or product, and how you plan to
achieve this.
MASTERFORMAT Groups, Subgroups and Divisions