CONTRACTS AND SPECIFICATIONS In order to build intelligently and with profit, it is essential after the scheme has been developed on the drawings—that the materials and their qualities be so selected and so designated that there can be no misunderstanding relative thereto, on the part of either the owner or the builder, and that only such materials be required as the former is prepared to pay for. INTRODUCTION THE SPECIFICATION AND ITS FUNCTION Essential Characteristics. The province of a specification is to supplement the drawings, setting forth those points in the proposed work which cannot be readily expressed by diagram and figures. It may therefore be said that its principal object is to define the general conditions under which the work is to be done, and to describe the quality of the materials to be used. In other words, a specification is a statement of the conditions under which the building is to be constructed, and of the items necessary therefor which are not indicated on the contract drawings. The specification also presents the general conditions under which the work indicated by the drawings is to be executed. It stipulates the kind and quality of labor and materials desired, and contains all the written instructions and descriptions that may be needed to indicate fully to the bidders just what must be furnished. Clearness. The completeness and clearness of the specification materially govern the amounts of the bids, and also regulate the amount of extra charges brought in by the contractor at the final settlement; a simple description, therefore, giving as briefly as possible the correct idea to the bidder, is likely to achieve a better result than a long treatise on what is recognized as good workman'ship and material by any workman capable of undertaking the contract at all. Quality and Kind of Materials. As a general rule the specification should give the quality and kind of material to be used, and the method of workmanship, leaving the quantities and sizes to be obtained from the plans. This method, if carefully followed, simplifies the checking-up in completing the plans. Changes in quantities and dimensions can be made on the plans, while changes in material are looked for in the specification. Notes on Drawings. Specifications are sometimes written in the form of notes on the drawings; but these easily become separated, so that the specification might not be considered for every part of the work on which it would have a bearing. Moreover, as there is not usually room on the drawings for the necessary detail, they never can be as complete as a written description, and at the same time they tend to lead the contractor to neglect the complete specifications. On the other hand, notes on the drawings have a certain advantage in being directly before the contractor. They can be easily and permanently put on when making the drawings, and they show the exact location of the materials mentioned. General Comments on Wording. Clear and Exact Language. Specifications must be written in language perfectly intelligible to all persons connected with the work; special care must be exercised in this, since the specifications, together with the contract drawings, form the basis of the final agreement or bargain between the owner of the proposed building and the builder, this agreement being called the contract. The building to be erected is described by the architect in two ways-namely, by drawings and by a written description, the specification. The same experience and ability that enable him to make the drawings, will be required in formulating the written statements necessary to express what cannot be fully shown in the design. The importance of the specification is shown in the fact that in case of discrepancy it takes precedence over the drawings. The diction employed, should, therefore, be carefully considered, so that the specification will be a continuous description of the matter, dealing fully with each subject or each part of the work in proper sequence, and, avoiding all reiteration of requirements either in whole or in part. Short sentences referring first to one subject and then to another, and of doubtful connection, should never be allowed. Terms Used in Grading Material. Words should be used in their most common meaning, and if an expression indicates only a trade term for a locality, it should be so stated. "First quality" as a trade term, for example, may not mean the best in the market; "Extra No. 1" shingles are not so good as "Extra"; "6-cut" stonework may show many stones which would not appear if "Good 6cut" were called for. If the architect is not fully informed on these points, he should study more carefully the grades of materials being put into buildings, and how they appear in structures that have stood for some time. Visits to supply houses, mills, shops, and stoneyards, will repay the time spent. Such expressions as "best", "proper", "sufficient', etc., are capable of being interpreted in very different ways, according to the point of view of a good or a poor workman. Accuracy of Statement. Generally speaking, adjectives and adverbs and all general description should be dispensed with. The requirement that work shall be finished "in the best possible manner" means very little. A reasonable interpretation of "best work" for a house costing $1,500, would be entirely unsuitable for a house costing $15,000; and as all through the scale the meaning varies, it will be evident that the contractor, influenced by his intent to make a profit, and the owner, influenced by his desire to get his money's worth, will have widely separated views as to what the "best" is. The architect, in attempting to decide the question, is likely to get the ill-will of both. Each requirement should be so carefully written that there can be only one interpretation, with absolutely no doubt as to its true intent. If the specifier hopes to get better work through some hidden meaning in the specification, he is doomed to disappointment; for the more expensive interpretation will be used by the contractor in making his bid, but later, when the work is required, he may plead that, on account of the uncertainty of meaning, he should not be required to do the work the more expensive way without extra compensation. Make the specification fair and honest, for it is the basis on which the architect will stand as arbitrator during the progress of the work. It should be remembered that it is the province of the workmen to comprehend and not to originate; and so the statement of what is to be constructed should be made very clear, leaving nothing to the imagination of the contractor. A statement in the specification of what could be better shown on the drawings is likely to be poorly comprehended by the builders; on the other hand, the owner of the building will be wont to think more of the specification, since he can understand this more clearly than he can the drawings. There should be nothing, however, in the specification, or in any part of the work, to discourage originality, personal interest, and the exercise of judgment on the part of the workmen. Province of Specification. Before a specification is begun, its limits are fixed by the drawings; on them the scheme is illustrated fully, the material indicated in a general way, and all sizes shown. Two tasks are the imperative duty of the specification writer: (1) To acquaint himself most carefully with all that is illustrated by the drawings; (2) To determine all that is not given in the drawings. Having settled in his mind the second point, he has the province and the limits of his work before him; for, as above stated, it is the province of the specification to set forth those points which cannot be explained by the drawings. A most careful study of the drawings, therefore, is necessary, in order to learn every point in the proposed scheme which they do not cover-points which must be covered in the specification. To attempt to emphasize requirements already fully shown in the drawings, by calling attention to them again in the specification, adds nothing in the way of obligation, and has the effect of casting doubt on those requirements which are not thus doubly set forth. A careful consideration, then, of the province of the specification will show that its functions are to define the relations between the different parties, the conditions under which the work is to be done, and the materials used in execution. These are the points which. have everything to do with the cost of the work. In building, as in most other items, the form and shape have less to do with the cost than have the conditions under which the work is done and the materials required therefor. |