Construction how-to guides
How to do each step of a construction job, from bidding to closeout: written for GCs, subs, owners and architects, with worked examples and sources.
Bidding
Finding work, pricing it and winning it: bid packages, invitations, leveling and award.
Bidding
How Do You Answer Bidder Questions During a Bid?
How a GC handles pre-bid questions from subs: one written channel, a question log, answers to every bidder, and when an answer must become an addendum.
· 7 min read
Bidding
How Do You Calculate Concrete for a Slab?
How to calculate cubic yards of concrete for a slab, footings and piers: the formulas, a worked example, and how much extra to order and why.
· 6 min read
Bidding
How Do You Calculate Labor Burden for a Crew?
Calculate labor burden for a crew: payroll taxes, workers' comp, insurance and benefits over wages, then the cost per productive hour to bid with.
· 6 min read
Bidding
How Do You Decide Whether to Bid a Job?
A go/no-go method for general contractors: the factors to score before estimating, how to weight them, and a worked score for a fictional clinic.
· 8 min read
Bidding
How Do You Do a Quantity Takeoff?
How a subcontractor does a quantity takeoff: scope from the specs, written dimensions, units, waste, a sheet reference on every line and a check.
· 7 min read
Bidding
How Do You Estimate a Bathroom Remodel?
How a remodeler estimates a bathroom: measure wet areas, take off tile and waterproofing, price each line, carry allowances, add contingency and markup.
· 7 min read
Bidding
How Do You Estimate a Home Addition?
How a builder estimates a home addition line by line: design, permits, foundation, shell, systems, finishes and the tie-in, with a worked example.
· 6 min read
Bidding
How Do You Prequalify a Subcontractor?
How a GC prequalifies a subcontractor before inviting it to bid: the questionnaire, the checks, a dollar limit per job, and a worked example.
· 7 min read
Bidding
How Do You Price a Bid Alternate?
Price add and deduct bid alternates: each trade's alternate price, your own work, the base bid's markups, and what each one includes.
· 6 min read
Bidding
How Do You Price General Conditions?
Price general conditions from the schedule: staff by the weeks on site, facilities by the month, fixed items as lump sums, and a weekly delay rate.
· 7 min read
Bidding
How Do You Read Construction Drawings Before You Bid?
How a subcontractor reads a drawing set before bidding: the index and notes, your sheets and everyone else's, details, schedules, specs and gaps.
· 7 min read
Bidding
How Do You Spot a Sub Bid That Is Too Low?
How a GC tells a sub bid that is too low from a good price: the checks after leveling, a worked plumbing example, and how to ask the bidder to verify.
· 8 min read
Bidding
How Do You Write a Bid Addendum?
How a GC writes a bid addendum to trade bidders: what goes in it, how to word each change, when to send it, and how to collect acknowledgments.
· 8 min read
Bidding
How Does a Subcontractor Get on a GC's Bid List?
How a subcontractor gets onto a general contractor's bid list: who to contact, the capability sheet and prequal packet to send, and how to stay invited.
· 6 min read
Bidding
How Door and Hardware Subs Bid Commercial Work
How door, frame and hardware subs bid commercial work: counting openings, the hardware schedule submittal, keying, frames by whom, and fire-rated labels.
· 10 min read
Bidding
How Earthwork Subs Bid and Bill Commercial Work
How an earthwork and site utility sub bids and bills commercial work: scope splits, unit prices for rock and bad soil, haul math, trench costs, a pay app.
· 8 min read
Bidding
How Elevator Contractors Bid and Bill Commercial Work
How elevator contractors bid commercial work and bill it: work by others, the order-by date from approved drawings, a milestone SOV and acceptance.
· 9 min read
Bidding
How Fire Sprinkler Subs Bid and Bill Commercial Work
How fire sprinkler subs bid design-build work and bill it: the basis of design, hydraulic calcs, the fire marshal's review, tests and a pay period.
· 10 min read
Bidding
How Flooring Subs Bid and Bill Commercial Work
How commercial flooring subs take off and order carpet, LVT and base, settle slab moisture testing and prep with the GC, and bill material and labor.
· 11 min read
Bidding
How Glazing Subs Bid and Bill Commercial Work
How glazing subs bid curtain wall and storefront: takeoff units, the clarifications that protect you, the engineering and mockup submittals, and billing.
· 10 min read
Bidding
How Insulation Subs Bid and Bill Commercial Work
How insulation subs bid commercial work: the thermal, firestopping and mechanical insulation splits, takeoff units, submittals and an SOV by floor.
· 10 min read
Bidding
How Low-Voltage Subs Bid and Bill Commercial Work
How low-voltage subs bid data, security and AV work: the split with the electrical sub, a takeoff by drops, testing and labeling, and an SOV to bill.
· 9 min read
Bidding
How Masonry Subs Bid and Bill Commercial Work
How masonry subs bid commercial work in units and bill it: block and brick counts, grout and rebar, the mock-up panel, weather, and the lintel line.
· 10 min read
Bidding
How Much Overhead and Profit Should a GC Carry?
Work out a GC's overhead and profit from its own books: home-office overhead over annual volume, plus target profit, turned into the markup a bid needs.
· 6 min read
Bidding
How Painting Subs Bid and Bill Commercial Work
How commercial painting subs take off by surface and coating system, price from production rates, clarify damage by others and bill prime and finish coats.
· 12 min read
Bidding
How Should an Owner Build a Conceptual Estimate?
Build a conceptual estimate as GSA does: cost per square foot by system, then design contingency, markups, escalation and construction contingency.
· 7 min read
Bidding
How Should an Owner Write an RFP for a GC?
What an owner's RFP to general contractors contains: the sections, a fee form that compares, stated evaluation weights, the schedule, and a worked example.
· 7 min read
Bidding
How Steel Subs Bid and Bill Commercial Work
How structural steel subs bid commercial work by the ton and bill it: shop drawings as the release to fabricate, mill material and a spend-based SOV.
· 11 min read
Bidding
How Should an Owner Choose a General Contractor?
How a commercial owner chooses a general contractor: pick the delivery method, shortlist on qualifications, check bonding and references, then price.
· 7 min read
Bidding
How to Write a Scope of Work for a Subcontractor
Write a subcontractor scope of work from the drawings and specs: a summary, numbered inclusions, named exclusions, alternates and the documents behind it.
· 7 min read
Bidding
How Do You Estimate a Kitchen Remodel?
How a remodeler estimates a kitchen: line items by trade, allowances for the client's picks, contingency and markup, with a worked $63,000 example.
· 6 min read
Bidding
How HVAC Subs Bid and Bill Commercial Work
How HVAC subs bid commercial mechanical work and bill it: equipment lead times, clarifications, a schedule of values and stored-equipment billing.
· 7 min read
Bidding
How Roofing Subs Bid and Bill Commercial Work
How a commercial roofing sub bids and bills: the manufacturer warranty the spec requires, approved-applicator status, stored materials and closeout.
· 6 min read
Bidding
Markup vs Margin: How Should a Contractor Price Work?
Markup is a percentage of cost; margin is a percentage of price. A 20% markup is a 16.7% margin. Conversion table and a worked remodel example.
· 5 min read
Bidding
How Drywall and Framing Subs Bid Commercial Work
How drywall and metal framing subs bid commercial work: the scope gaps at blocking, firestopping and finish levels, priced in a worked example.
· 6 min read
Bidding
How Plumbing Subs Bid and Bill Commercial Work
How plumbing subs bid commercial work and bill it in phases (underground, rough-in, finish), with clarifications, a schedule of values and an example.
· 6 min read
Bidding
How to Write a Sub Proposal a GC Can Level
Write a subcontractor bid proposal the GC can level: match its scope items, break out prices, price exclusions, and see what the GC does with each line.
· 7 min read
Bidding
How Concrete Subs Bid and Bill Commercial Work
How a concrete subcontractor bids and bills commercial work: lump sum vs unit prices, the testing before and after each pour, and a worked pay app.
· 7 min read
Bidding
How Do You Bid a GC's Job as a Subcontractor?
How a subcontractor bids commercial work for a GC: choosing jobs, reading the invitation, pricing, writing a bid the GC can level, and what comes after.
· 7 min read
Bidding
How Electrical Subs Bid and Bill Commercial Work
How electrical subs bid commercial work and bill it: clarifications, a schedule of values with rough-in, gear and trim, and stored switchgear.
· 7 min read
Bidding
How Do You Build an Estimate From Sub Bids?
Build a GC estimate from sub bids: plug each division, carry the leveled bid in place of the plug, add your own work and general conditions, then markups.
· 7 min read
Bidding
How Do You Level Subcontractor Bids?
Level subcontractor bids by pricing every scope gap, exclusion and missing addendum so each bid covers the same work, then compare the leveled totals.
· 9 min read
Bidding
How Do You Send an Invitation to Bid to Subs?
What an invitation to bid to subs includes, how to send it, and how to run questions and addenda so every bid prices the same scope, with an example.
· 7 min read
Bidding
How Do You Break a Job Into Bid Packages?
Split a job into bid packages by trade: start from the CSI divisions, group what one kind of sub performs, and give every boundary item one home.
· 7 min read
Bidding
How Should an Owner Compare Contractor Proposals?
How an owner compares general contractor proposals: put them on one sheet, price every exclusion and allowance, check schedule and terms, then decide.
· 6 min read
Preconstruction
From award to mobilization: buyout, subcontracts, submittals planned and the schedule set.
Preconstruction
How Do Architects Write Construction Specifications?
How architects write construction specifications: MasterFormat numbers, the three-part section, specs versus drawings, and an example section.
· 6 min read
Preconstruction
How Do You Build a Construction Schedule?
Build a commercial construction schedule step by step: activities from the estimate, durations from crew rates, logic, procurement and the critical path.
· 8 min read
Preconstruction
How Do You Get Added as Additional Insured?
How a GC gets added as additional insured on a sub's policy: the subcontract wording, the endorsement to ask for, and why a certificate alone isn't enough.
· 6 min read
Preconstruction
How Do You Get Bonded as a Contractor?
How a subcontractor gets bid, performance and payment bonds: the surety agent, the underwriting packet, bonding capacity and the SBA's bond guarantee.
· 7 min read
Preconstruction
How Do You Read a Certificate of Insurance (ACORD 25)?
How to read an ACORD 25 certificate of liability insurance box by box, and what a GC checks in each one against the subcontract's insurance exhibit.
· 7 min read
Preconstruction
How Do You Run a Preconstruction Kickoff Meeting?
How a GC runs the preconstruction meeting: who attends, a worked agenda of procedures to agree before work starts, and what to record.
· 7 min read
Preconstruction
How Do You Set Up Cost Codes for a Construction Job?
Set up construction cost codes from CSI MasterFormat: pick the detail, match codes to bid packages, and use them from estimate to pay app.
· 7 min read
Preconstruction
How Do You Track Long-Lead Items on a Job?
How a GC tracks long-lead items: work back from the need-on-site date through lead time and submittal review to an order-by date, and review it weekly.
· 6 min read
Preconstruction
How Do You Track Subcontractor COIs and Expirations?
A GC's method for tracking subcontractor certificates of insurance: one log per job, what to record, a 30-day renewal window, and when to hold payment.
· 6 min read
Preconstruction
How Do You Write a Purchase Order for Materials?
What a construction purchase order for materials includes: items, delivery and freight terms, submittal release, stored materials and a worked example.
· 7 min read
Preconstruction
How Do You Write a Site Logistics Plan?
How a GC writes a site logistics plan: gates, deliveries, laydown, the crane, fire and exits, the OSHA minimums, and one plan per phase.
· 8 min read
Preconstruction
How Do You Write a Site-Specific Safety Plan?
Write a site-specific safety plan from OSHA's own construction rules: the emergency page, hazards by phase, who controls each one, and a filled-in example.
· 7 min read
Preconstruction
How Does a Contractor Pull a Building Permit?
How a remodeler pulls a building permit: confirm it's needed, prepare drawings, apply, pass plan review, schedule inspections and close it out.
· 6 min read
Preconstruction
How Does a No-Damages-for-Delay Clause Work?
What a no-damages-for-delay clause in a subcontract does, how it trades money for time, one state's limit on it, and what to ask before you sign.
· 7 min read
Preconstruction
How Does a Waiver of Consequential Damages Work?
What an owner gives up and gets under a mutual waiver of consequential damages, how liquidated damages fit, and what to ask before you sign it.
· 6 min read
Preconstruction
How Does an Indemnity Clause in a Subcontract Work?
How a subcontract's indemnity clause works: broad, intermediate and limited forms, a worked claim under each, one state's limits, and what to ask.
· 7 min read
Preconstruction
How Much Insurance Does a Subcontractor Need?
The coverages a subcontract asks for, how a GC sets the limits, and how to check your policies against the insurance exhibit before you sign.
· 7 min read
Preconstruction
How Should a Remodeler Hire and Manage Subs?
How a remodeler hires and manages subs: check license and insurance, get a W-9, sign a written scope, schedule, inspect, and pay against lien waivers.
· 7 min read
Preconstruction
OCIP vs CCIP: How Does Wrap-Up Insurance Work?
OCIP vs CCIP for owners: who buys a wrap-up, what it covers, how bids change, where the gaps are, and how to tell whether it saves money on your project.
· 7 min read
Preconstruction
What Should a Remodeling Contract Include?
What a remodeling contract should include: scope, price, payments, changes, permits, insurance, cancellation and lien notices, with California's rules.
· 7 min read
Preconstruction
What Should a Subcontract Agreement Include?
The clauses a construction subcontract agreement needs, what to check in each, how terms flow down from the prime contract, and a worked example.
· 8 min read
Preconstruction
When Should an Owner Hire an Owner's Rep?
When an owner should hire an owner's representative, what the rep does that the architect and GC don't, how reps are paid, and how to choose one.
· 6 min read
Preconstruction
Who Buys Builder's Risk Insurance on a Project?
Who buys builder's risk on a project, owner or contractor: how the contract decides it, what the policy should insure, and what to ask before you sign.
· 6 min read
Preconstruction
How Do Remodelers Manage Client Selections?
How remodelers manage client selections: one selections sheet, deadlines from lead times, allowances with rules, and a change order for every overage.
· 5 min read
Preconstruction
How Do You Build a Schedule of Values?
Split the contract sum into billable lines that follow the work, price each with its share of overhead and profit, and keep closeout real. With an example.
· 7 min read
Preconstruction
How Do You Set Up a Submittal Log From the Specs?
Build a submittal log from the specs: one row per required item, section by section, with approve-by and submit-by dates worked back from the schedule.
· 10 min read
Preconstruction
What Paperwork Does a GC Require From a Sub?
The documents a GC asks a subcontractor for before work and payment: W-9, insurance certificate and endorsements, license, safety program, waivers.
· 6 min read
Preconstruction
How Do You Buy Out a Construction Job?
Construction buyout step by step: scope review, leveling, award, the subcontract and its exhibits, compliance documents, and savings against budget.
· 7 min read
Preconstruction
AIA Contract Documents Explained, by Family
A plain map of AIA contract documents: the A, B, C, D, E, F and G series, the families by delivery method, and which forms you meet on a job.
· 8 min read
Construction
Running the job: RFIs, submittals, daily logs, inspections and the schedule.
Construction
How Do You Do a Job Hazard Analysis?
Do a job hazard analysis as OSHA 3071 lays it out: break the task into steps, name each hazard, set controls in order, with a worked saw-cutting JHA.
· 6 min read
Construction
How Do You Document a Weather Delay?
How a GC documents a weather delay that wins a time extension: the daily log entry, the critical path, comparing to normal weather, and the notice.
· 8 min read
Construction
How Do You Fill Out the OSHA 300 Log?
Fill out the OSHA 300 log from 29 CFR 1904: who keeps one, which construction injuries are recordable, columns A to M, and a worked year with 300A totals.
· 8 min read
Construction
How Do You Keep an RFI Log?
How a GC keeps an RFI log: the columns that matter, ball in court and days open, a filled-in log, and how to run it at the weekly meeting.
· 7 min read
Construction
How Do You Run a Toolbox Talk?
Run a toolbox talk in ten minutes: one hazard from today's work, shown at the work, the controls, the crew's questions, and a record of who attended.
· 6 min read
Construction
How Do You Run an OAC Meeting?
How a GC runs an owner-architect-contractor meeting: who attends, what each party brings, a worked agenda, and how open items carry to the next one.
· 8 min read
Construction
How Do You Update a Construction Schedule?
How to update a construction schedule each month: the data date, actual dates, remaining durations, the baseline comparison and a slip narrative.
· 7 min read
Construction
How Do You Write a Construction Incident Report?
Write a construction incident report: the first hour, the facts to record, the root cause, and how a filled-in report decides the OSHA 300 log.
· 7 min read
Construction
How Do You Write a Recovery Schedule?
How a GC writes a recovery schedule: measure the slip, price crews, overtime and resequencing, show the days each recovers, and keep the logic honest.
· 8 min read
Construction
How Do You Write a Weekly Owner Update?
How a GC writes a one-page weekly owner update: the numbers owners read, schedule status in one line, decisions needed, and an example.
· 7 min read
Construction
How Does a Subcontractor Request a Substitution?
How a sub requests a product substitution: when the spec allows it, what the request must show, a side-by-side example, and how it is routed and decided.
· 7 min read
Construction
How Does a Subcontractor Write a Notice of Delay?
How a subcontractor writes a notice of delay to the GC: what to include, when to send it, a sample letter, and why the subcontract's deadline comes first.
· 7 min read
Construction
How Does an Architect Issue a Drawing Revision?
How an architect issues a revised drawing sheet: clouds around what changed, a delta with the revision number, the revision block and the issue.
· 7 min read
Construction
How Does an Architect Write a Field Report?
How an architect writes a site visit field report: what to record, the words to use and avoid, a filled-in example, and carrying open items.
· 7 min read
Construction
How Should a Contractor Prepare for an OSHA Inspection?
Prepare for an OSHA inspection on a construction site: the records to have ready, who meets the inspector, and each step of the visit from OSHA's manual.
· 6 min read
Construction
How Should an Owner Respond to a GC's Delay Claim?
An owner's first 30 days after a contractor's delay claim: check the notice, sort the days by cause, test the schedule and money, answer in writing.
· 6 min read
Construction
How to Write Construction Meeting Minutes (With Example)
How to write construction meeting minutes: header, attendance, numbered old and new business, action items with owners and dates, and an example.
· 7 min read
Construction
Revise and Resubmit: What Should a Sub Do Next?
A submittal came back revise and resubmit. What a sub should do next: read every comment, answer each one, and get the next revision approved fast.
· 6 min read
Construction
What Do You Do After a Failed Building Inspection?
What a GC does after a failed building inspection: split the correction notice by trade, fix and check, book the reinspection, protect the schedule.
· 7 min read
Construction
What Does OSHA Require for Fall Protection?
OSHA fall protection in construction from 29 CFR 1926.501: the 6-foot rule, where other heights apply, the fall protection plan exception, a roof example.
· 8 min read
Construction
What Does OSHA Require for Trench Safety?
OSHA trench rules from Subpart P: the 5-foot rule and its exceptions, soil types, sloping, shoring and trench boxes, daily inspections, a worked trench.
· 8 min read
Construction
What Does OSHA's Silica Rule Require on a Job?
OSHA's construction silica rule, 29 CFR 1926.1153, task by task: Table 1 controls and respirators, the four-hour rule, the written plan, a worked day.
· 8 min read
Construction
What Should a GC Do When a Sub Falls Behind?
What a GC does when a sub falls behind: measure it, talk, send written notice with a cure period, ask for a recovery plan, supplement, terminate.
· 7 min read
Construction
How Do Architects and Engineers Review a Submittal?
How the design team reviews a submittal: what the review covers and what it doesn't, choosing the review code, writing comments, and returning it on time.
· 8 min read
Construction
How to Write a Construction Daily Log (With Example)
How to write a construction daily log: what to record each day, a filled-in example, and the habits that make a log hold up in a delay claim.
· 6 min read
Construction
How Should an Architect Respond to an RFI?
How the design team answers an RFI: check it against the documents, answer the question asked, cite the sheet and spec, and say if it changes the work.
· 8 min read
Construction
How Do You Build a Three-Week Look-Ahead Schedule?
How to build a three-week look-ahead from the master schedule: crew-sized pieces of work, what must be ready, and how to run it at the weekly meeting.
· 7 min read
Construction
How Does a Subcontractor Prepare a Submittal?
How a subcontractor prepares a submittal the GC and architect can approve the first time: what to include, how to mark it up, deviations, and resubmittals.
· 9 min read
Construction
How Does an Architect Write an ASI?
How an architect writes an ASI: what it may change, the parts of a good one, a filled-in example, and when it must become a change order.
· 8 min read
Construction
How Do Builders Schedule Trades on a Home Build?
How builders schedule trades on a new home: the trade order by phase, the inspections that gate each step, and how to keep subs lined up weeks ahead.
· 5 min read
Construction
How Does an Owner Read a Construction Schedule?
How an owner reads a contractor's schedule: the Gantt chart, milestones, the critical path, float, the baseline, and what to ask at each update.
· 6 min read
Construction
How to Write an RFI in Construction (With an Example)
How to write an RFI in construction: the parts of a good request for information, a filled-in example, common mistakes, and how the RFI log works.
· 9 min read
Money
Budgets, change orders, pay applications, retainage and lien waivers.
Money
How Do Home Builders Track Job Costs?
How a home builder tracks job costs by phase: a budget from the estimate, every cost coded, committed vs spent, a projected final cost and a weekly check.
· 6 min read
Money
How Do You Back-Charge a Subcontractor?
How a GC back-charges a subcontractor: the contract basis, notice and a chance to cure, a cost record by day, the markup, and the deduction the sub signs.
· 6 min read
Money
How Do You Bill a Change Order on a Pay App?
Add an executed change order to your pay app: its own line, the new contract sum, partial billing, deducts and retainage, with a worked example.
· 7 min read
Money
How Do You Bill for Stored Materials on a Pay App?
Bill delivered but uninstalled materials: the backup owners ask for, on site vs off site, and how stored amounts move to installed work. Worked example.
· 7 min read
Money
How Do You Bill Time-and-Materials Work?
Bill T&M work a GC will pay: written direction first, a ticket signed every day, labor, equipment and materials at agreed rates, markup once. Example.
· 7 min read
Money
How Do You Fill Out Certified Payroll (WH-347)?
Fill out weekly certified payroll on Form WH-347: the header, each worker's hours, rates, fringes and deductions, and the Statement of Compliance.
· 9 min read
Money
How Do You Forecast Cost to Complete on a Job?
Forecast cost to complete line by line: remaining commitments, self-performed work at its real production rate, and time-based costs against the schedule.
· 6 min read
Money
How Do You Issue a Subcontract Change Order?
Issue a subcontract change order the sub can sign and bill: what goes on it, the revised subcontract sum, time, and the reservation of claims. Example.
· 8 min read
Money
How Do You Make a Miller Act Payment Bond Claim?
A Miller Act payment bond claim, step by step: who can claim, the 90-day notice, the one-year suit deadline from 40 U.S.C. § 3133, with dated timeline.
· 8 min read
Money
How Do You Track a Budget Against Commitments?
Track a construction budget against committed cost by cost code: revised budget, signed commitments, buyout variance and exposure, with a worked table.
· 7 min read
Money
How Do You Use Earned Value on a Construction Job?
Earned value on a construction job, worked on one trade: planned value, earned value, actual cost, CPI, SPI and estimate at completion.
· 6 min read
Money
How Does a Florida Notice to Owner Work?
Florida's notice to owner from Fla. Stat. § 713.06: who serves it, the 45-day deadline, the 40-day mailing rule, the required warning and a dated example.
· 8 min read
Money
How Does a GC Review a Sub's Change Order Request?
Review a sub's change order request like the owner will: is it a change, was notice on time, do hours, prices and markup hold up. Worked example.
· 8 min read
Money
How Does California's 20-Day Preliminary Notice Work?
California's preliminary notice from the Civil Code: who sends it, to whom, the 20-day rule, what it must say and how to serve it, with a dated example.
· 8 min read
Money
How Should an Architect Review a Schedule of Values?
Review a contractor's schedule of values before the first pay app: the format checks, then front-loading spotted line by line against the bid.
· 7 min read
Money
How Should an Owner Read a GC's Cost Report?
Read a GC's monthly cost report on a GMP or cost-plus job: current budget, projected final, contingency drawdown and the questions to ask.
· 7 min read
Money
Pay-if-Paid vs Pay-When-Paid: What Do They Mean?
Pay-if-paid shifts the risk of owner nonpayment to the sub; pay-when-paid only sets timing. How to tell them apart, and three state statutes on them.
· 8 min read
Money
What Can a Contractor Do When a Client Won't Pay?
What a contractor can do when a homeowner won't pay, in order: check your paperwork, talk, send a demand, protect lien rights, then small claims or court.
· 7 min read
Money
How Should a Remodeler Handle a Change Order?
Remodel change orders: in writing and signed before the work, with the scope, price added or credited, and effect on payments and finish date. Example.
· 6 min read
Money
How Does a Subcontractor Fill Out a Pay Application?
A subcontractor's pay app bills percent complete and stored materials per schedule-of-values line, less retainage and prior payments, with a lien waiver.
· 9 min read
Money
How Does a Subcontractor Get Retainage Released?
Finish your scope, close your punch items, send closeout documents and a written release request with the waiver asked for, and know your state's deadline.
· 6 min read
Money
Mechanic's Lien Deadlines: How They Work
How mechanic's lien deadlines are counted: the notices before, the filing deadline, the deadline to sue, and five states' filing deadlines from statute.
· 8 min read
Money
How Much Contingency Should an Owner Carry?
Owner contingency in construction: design vs construction contingency, GSA's guidelines (7% new, 10% renovation), and how to size and track yours.
· 7 min read
Money
What Are Prompt Payment Acts in Construction?
Prompt payment acts set how fast owners and contractors must pay and what late payment costs. The federal act and five states' rules, with a timeline.
· 8 min read
Money
How Do You Price a Change Order?
Price a change order from direct cost (burdened labor, materials, equipment, sub quotes), then the markups and time your contract allows. Worked example.
· 9 min read
Money
How Should an Owner Review a Change Order?
How an owner reviews a contractor's change order: is it a change, is the price right, are the markups the contract's, are the days real. Worked example.
· 8 min read
Money
How Should an Owner Review a GC's Pay Application?
An owner's checklist for a contractor's pay application: work in place, stored materials, change orders, retainage, waivers and the math. With an example.
· 6 min read
Money
Texas Retainage Law: What Property Code Ch. 53 Says
Texas retainage from the statutes: the owner's 10% reserve, notice and lien deadlines for unpaid retainage, and the public-works caps of 10% and 5%.
· 9 min read
Money
California Retainage Law: Private and Public Jobs
California retention rules from the statutes: the new 5% private cap from 2026, the 5% public cap, release deadlines and the 2% monthly penalty.
· 8 min read
Money
How Can a Subcontractor Get Paid Faster?
Subcontractors get paid faster by billing on the GC's cutoff, sending clean pay apps and waivers, and using the prompt-pay dates that start the clock.
· 6 min read
Money
How Do You Calculate Retainage on a Pay App?
Retainage is a percentage of work completed and stored to date, held back each pay period. How to calculate it, reduce it, release it, with an example.
· 9 min read
Money
How Does a Subcontractor Write a Change Order Request?
A sub's change order request: notice first, then scope, priced direct cost, your markup, days and backup the GC can pass to the owner. Worked example.
· 9 min read
Money
How Do You Fill Out a Conditional Lien Waiver?
Fill out a conditional lien waiver field by field: the claimant, customer, through date, check details and exceptions, tied to the pay app's figures.
· 8 min read
Money
How Does a GC Review a Subcontractor's Pay App?
Check each line against the field, stored materials against backup, change orders against approvals, then the math and the lien waivers. With an example.
· 7 min read
Money
How Does an Architect Certify a Pay Application?
Review the draft, compare it with what you observed on site, then certify the full amount or a lower one with the changed figures initialed and explained.
· 5 min read
Money
Retainage Laws in the Five Largest Construction States
Retainage caps and release deadlines in California, Texas, Florida, New York and North Carolina, from each state's statutes, private and public.
· 10 min read
Money
How Do You Set Up a Draw Schedule for a Home Build?
How a builder sets up a draw schedule for a home build: milestones an inspector can see, shares checked against cost, and what each draw needs.
· 6 min read
Closeout
Punch lists, warranties, O&M manuals and the final payment.
Closeout
How Do You Close Out a Subcontract?
A GC's checklist to close out a subcontract: settle the last change orders, take the final pay app, release retainage against waivers, record the warranty.
· 6 min read
Closeout
How Do You Collect O&M Manuals From Subcontractors?
How a GC collects O&M manuals from every trade: request them early by spec section, check them against what was installed, and send back the thin ones.
· 6 min read
Closeout
How Do You Get a Certificate of Occupancy?
The GC's sequence for a certificate of occupancy: plan the final inspections early, clear life safety first, and know when a temporary certificate helps.
· 6 min read
Closeout
How Does a Sub Close Out Punch List Items?
A subcontractor's method for punch lists: sort your items by area, fix them in one trip, prove each fix with a photo, and get them closed the first time.
· 6 min read
Closeout
How Does a Subcontractor Keep As-Built Drawings?
How a subcontractor keeps as-built drawings: one marked-up set, red, green and blue, updated weekly, buried work dimensioned, turned in on time.
· 6 min read
Closeout
How Does a Subcontractor Submit a Final Pay App?
A sub's final pay app: bill every line to 100%, reconcile change orders, list open claims, and send the closeout papers and final waivers. Worked example.
· 8 min read
Closeout
How Does Termination for Convenience Work?
What a termination for convenience clause lets an owner or GC do, what a sub must do on notice, and what it can recover, with a worked settlement.
· 6 min read
Closeout
How Should an Owner Track Building Warranties?
An owner's method for tracking building warranties: one list with start dates and terms, expirations worked out, and walks before the clock runs out.
· 6 min read
Closeout
How Do You Assemble a Construction Closeout Package?
A closeout checklist by spec section and company: O&M manuals, as-builts, warranties, attic stock, training, lien waivers. Build it at buyout. Example.
· 9 min read
Closeout
How Does an Architect Decide Substantial Completion?
How the architect inspects for substantial completion: the contractor's list, who walks, what blocks use and what is a punch item, and the certificate.
· 8 min read
Closeout
How Do You Build a Punch List?
Build a punch list by walking the job room by room before substantial completion, logging each item with location, trade, photo and due date. With example.
· 9 min read
Closeout
How Should a Builder Handle Warranty Requests?
How a home builder handles warranty requests: written intake, triage by urgency, inspection against a written standard, a dated fix and a sign-off.
· 6 min read
Closeout
How Do You Run a New-Home Walkthrough?
How a builder runs a new-home walkthrough: a pre-walk, one list both sides sign, each item with a trade and a date, and a clean handover to warranty.
· 5 min read
Closeout
What Should an Owner Get at Project Closeout?
The owner's closeout checklist: what you should get at substantial completion and before final payment, and how to check each document.
· 7 min read