What Do Construction Documents Consist of

The mechanical contractor must know all the contractual documents for all trades and coordinate with other contractors. Until this question can be answered objectively, the amendment to the contract will probably remain the barometer of measuring the quality of construction documents. Your architect, along with engineers and other consultants, will prepare detailed construction documentation before placing your shovel in the ground. In short, construction documents are written and graphic documents for the tendering and construction of the project. These documents are used to make many decisions and have an impact on the outcome of the final project and the budget. In addition, the design documents: MasterFormat™ defines the organizational format of the project manual, which contains the specifications as well as the requirements for procurement and contract. It describes where the specification documents and sections are located in logical and numerical order. The second component of the sheet number is a number that tells us the type of drawing. This organizes the drawings of the discipline into a coherent and standardized sequence of drawing types. It`s not news that many sets of design documents contain errors, whether they`re in drawings or specifications. Construction documents are human products and are not guaranteed to be perfect. Architects and engineers are subject to a standard of care that is compatible with other professions such as lawyers and doctors, which means that they must work in the same way as other architects or engineers who are in the same area at the same time under comparable conditions. While architects and engineers don`t need to provide perfect documents, they should provide documents that are as clear, concise, complete, and correct as possible.

An example of this problem is illustrated in the following actual note, which is used on the first sheet of mechanical drawings in a series of design drawings: There are two things that are included in the design documents: drawings and specifications. All construction documents follow this standard, which helps the reader know where to look among the hundreds of pages of architectural drawings and specifications. Each affiliated construction firm offers both types of construction documents: architecture, structure, mechanics, electrical, plumbing, landscape architecture and construction. The first part of the sheet number is a letter that tells us the discipline to draw. These disciplines are organized in the same order (United States National CAD Standard) to ensure consistency of design documents. This helps everyone involved: designers, engineers, contractors, licensing authority and owners. Schedules are an important part of construction documents. The most common schedules that appear in construction documents are door, hardware, window and equipment plans.

The U.S. National CAD Standard contains standard formats for schedules in design drawings and specifications. The calendar helps the contractor understand the position of each part of the building in the architectural design. Drawing errors vary, but can range from something as simple as a wrong dimension to something as complex as detailing an assembly that could not be produced as directed. Many of these errors are unique to drawings, but some can be shared with specifications. Specifications, like drawings, have their unique common flaws – but what may be considered a mistake by some can actually only be a violation of best practices. Therefore, the rest of this article does not deal in any particular order with errors and violations of best practices (i.e., problems) that often occur in design specifications. This is not to say that a previously edited section of another project could never be used. If the current project planner wrote the previous project section, they may be aware of what needs to be changed to make the section suitable for the current project. Therefore, caution should be exercised when reusing specification sections, and sections should be compared to unmodified main sections to identify differences.

The exact dimensions are crucial for the representation of the project in all architectural drawings, starting with the plan. Precise dimensions make it possible to avoid discrepancies and conflicts between the different drawings and disciplines. Companies will periodically apply a standard sizing method to ensure consistency between all types of drawings. These standards may include the following: Interestingly, while more construction changes result in increased costs than otherwise, ConsensusDOCS 200 does not require the designer to pay the owner 50% if the cost is estimated. In addition, as with the change order, the interim controlled change does not include A/E in the change process; Only the owner is required to sign the provisionally ordered modification document. Demolition plans show the existing state of the building (an important element for foam::: designs, as we almost always work with existing buildings) and are covered with notes on what needs to be removed (and protected/preserved) to make way for new construction. Although the A201 A201 document describes the three methods of modifying a construction contract, it does not specify the actual forms used for each of them – a situation in which a section of department 01 should be used. Section 01 26 00 «Contract Amendment Procedures» should be included in a project manual to specify exactly which forms are used to record official contract amendments. Many articles have been written about the design-build deployment method and how design requests are submitted from the owner to the Design Build Entity (DBE). Typically, contract documents for design-build projects include a project description in the form of performance-based requirements. Performance requirements describe the desired outcomes and the means used to verify compliance.

Therefore, an owner must be clear about what is required of the EPD, and these requirements must be included in the documents that become the contract between the owner and the design builder. The document that the contractor submits to the architect in response to a request for quotation issued by the owner or architect or a claim by the contractor is commonly referred to as a change order request or COR. However, some contractors may use different names to identify documents that serve the same purpose. Thus, construction documents are not only a legally binding document that is necessary for the success of projects, but also ensure precise coordination between the contractor and the client. Construction documents include calculations, drawings, specifications and any other data required to indicate compliance with the applicable building code. The other is that the contractor, through the architect, submits a change request to the owner after discovering a condition that requires additional work. B e.g. an unforeseen condition, a constructability problem or additional work that is not addressed in the contract documents. This is commonly referred to as a «claim» submitted by the contractor. A «claim» is defined in A201 A201 as construction «contract documents», which are the written documents that define roles, responsibilities and «work» under the construction contract and are legally binding on the parties (owner and contractor).

The individual documents that make up the construction «contract documents» are defined (in the standard EJCDC and AEOI documents) in the owner-contractor agreement (in EJCDC® C-520 (2013), see Article 9). Creating construction documents requires a joint effort of many design professionals. Preparation will likely include architects, construction, construction, mechanical and electrical engineers, landscape architects, fire safety specialists, interior designers, safety consultants and other professionals. As working drawings take shape, work with your development team to formulate more detailed budget estimates. It is important that you are very involved at this stage. It is much cheaper to make changes on paper than to tear off a section of wall later. Contract changes are just that: changes or changes to the requirements of a contract; in this case, works contracts. Contract amendments usually have a negative connotation, especially for owners, as evidence of poorly prepared construction documents. Although changes are more frequent than not, a large number of changes or some changes with significant associated costs are certainly not desirable and have some relevance to the quality of documents prepared A/E. However, it should be clarified that not all changes are the result of errors in drawings and specifications. Drawings and specifications follow standard work (the standard for orders and types of drawings will be discussed later in this essay).

MasterFormat is a specification standard of the Construction Specifications Institute. This is a common method of specification in design documents. MasterFormat regularly updates its information and specification templates so that all planners and engineers can create safe, durable and sustainable construction specifications. Construction documents are not supposed to be perfect and owners and contractors need to understand that.. .