Preconstruction guides
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