Small Project Design

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Small Project Practitioners and Residential Knowledge Community .
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I am investigating what is available in specification software for the small firm that principally does residential additions and renovation projects.  Does anyone use a specification suite that they feel is a pretty good fit for these projects?  Has anyone used the UDA Residential Specifications and have an opinion of them? How does ARCOM Masterspec's Small Projects spec fit the bill? 

As a fledgling practice, money is an issue, so I love that UDA's offerings are very affordable, but my guess is this is a classic case of you get what you pay for.  Does anyone have an alternative way to provide construction guidance to the contractor that they feel is effective (i.e. all proprietary specs, or not specs at all)?

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Garth Russo AIA
Principal
Live Oak Architecture
Dallas TX
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We've produced residential specifications for several clients based upon MasterSpec's Small Project with good success. It is integrated with the AIA contract documents, and retains adequate reference standards to serve as a contract and guide to the work. We have confidence in the adequacy of Small Project from a code point of view. You'll need to add "basis of design" manufacturers/products - because of the great variation in products available around the country, Small Project doesn't include lists of products as found in the full size MasterSpec. Utilizing the companion Masterworks automation software, you can format your project's collection of individual sections into a compact single document that can also be published on your drawing sheets (though we prefer a separate booklet).

I spent a few minutes on the UDA Residential Specification website; this appears to be a viable alternative to Small Project, especially for residential work. It looks like they maintain separate product offerings for residential, green residential, light commercial, and green light commercial. If you only do residential work, it may be effective to obtain their residential library and modify it over time to suit your practice. If you foresee doing light commercial work as well, you may want a single library like Small Project rather than purchase multiple separate products. I would expect that with either source, adding specific sustainable products and practices to the base documents is not difficult.

Spending $99.00 or $500.00 or even $2,000.00 on a specification library is not a cost issue. UDA at $99.00 is about 45 minutes of a typical architect's time, and Small Project at about $600.00 is only 4 or 5 fee hours. What is a cost issue is:

How reliable is the content? Will it reduce jobsite, code, and claims issues?
How much time is required to produce accurate project specifications?
Will good specifications reduce tedious drawing notes?
Will the time spent editing the specifications pay off in more efficient contract administration for you?
Will you use preconstruction and preinstallation meetings to review the specification with the contractor?

A simple specification product well edited will be more valuable than a big, full-blown program that overwhelms both the editor and the project.  Significant claims and disputes, the waste of dozens of hours on construction problems and litigation, and disappointed clients can all result from using inadequate (or no) specification resources. Doing as careful a job on your specifications as you do on your drawings - meeting the standard of care - will pay off in the long run.

It is unlikely that you can assemble an adequate collection of manufacturer-furnished specifications that will come close to serving the same purpose as one the small specification libraries. Even though some manufacturers offer very good specification resources, I don't think that a collection of these documents will serve as a substitute for a simple but complete project specification.

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Philip Kabza AIA
Partner and Dir Technical Services
SpecGuy
Charlotte NC
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We never use a specification book as such for houses.  We know what we want in the house--we want specific things so we specify them on the drawings.  I have never seen a spec book on a residential job site.  No on looks at them---it's hard enough to get people to really look at the drawings!  We do have a page of text on the title page that puts some language behind quality standards etc,  but  all the spec books that  I have used, especially MasterSpec weave a language web around things.  Performance specs may be OK on large commercial bid projects,  but on a house,  just tell them what you want,  call it out in the schedules and the details.  You will get better bids and with less back-and-forthing.

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Robert Knight AIA
Knight Associates Inc.
Blue Hill ME
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-01-2011 06:58
From: Philip Kabza
Subject: Residential Construction Specification Software

We've produced residential specifications for several clients based upon MasterSpec's Small Project with good success. It is integrated with the AIA contract documents, and retains adequate reference standards to serve as a contract and guide to the work. We have confidence in the adequacy of Small Project from a code point of view. You'll need to add "basis of design" manufacturers/products - because of the great variation in products available around the country, Small Project doesn't include lists of products as found in the full size MasterSpec. Utilizing the companion Masterworks automation software, you can format your project's collection of individual sections into a compact single document that can also be published on your drawing sheets (though we prefer a separate booklet).

I spent a few minutes on the UDA Residential Specification website; this appears to be a viable alternative to Small Project, especially for residential work. It looks like they maintain separate product offerings for residential, green residential, light commercial, and green light commercial. If you only do residential work, it may be effective to obtain their residential library and modify it over time to suit your practice. If you foresee doing light commercial work as well, you may want a single library like Small Project rather than purchase multiple separate products. I would expect that with either source, adding specific sustainable products and practices to the base documents is not difficult.

Spending $99.00 or $500.00 or even $2,000.00 on a specification library is not a cost issue. UDA at $99.00 is about 45 minutes of a typical architect's time, and Small Project at about $600.00 is only 4 or 5 fee hours. What is a cost issue is:

How reliable is the content? Will it reduce jobsite, code, and claims issues?
How much time is required to produce accurate project specifications?
Will good specifications reduce tedious drawing notes?
Will the time spent editing the specifications pay off in more efficient contract administration for you?
Will you use preconstruction and preinstallation meetings to review the specification with the contractor?

A simple specification product well edited will be more valuable than a big, full-blown program that overwhelms both the editor and the project.  Significant claims and disputes, the waste of dozens of hours on construction problems and litigation, and disappointed clients can all result from using inadequate (or no) specification resources. Doing as careful a job on your specifications as you do on your drawings - meeting the standard of care - will pay off in the long run.

It is unlikely that you can assemble an adequate collection of manufacturer-furnished specifications that will come close to serving the same purpose as one the small specification libraries. Even though some manufacturers offer very good specification resources, I don't think that a collection of these documents will serve as a substitute for a simple but complete project specification.

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Philip Kabza AIA
Partner and Dir Technical Services
SpecGuy
Charlotte NC
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I have to completely disagree with Robert Knight. Architects should approach housing projects with the same level of care and professionalism that they approach any project. Architects that produce design sketches and then expect the contractor to detail the project and the homeowner to select the finishes contribute to the public's perception of the lack of value of hiring an architect for residential design.

We worked with a local spec writer to produce our own "master spec" for our projects. By putting essential schedules such as the plumbing, tile, and hardware  in the spec book, you know that they are used by the contractor.

Contractors have thanked us for our specs because they also protect them. One example is when substandard
cabinets were delivered to the house. We and the general contractor could easily not accept them because the cabinets did not meet the A.W. I. performance standard. Without performance standards it is difficult to not accept work.
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Jane Frederick AIA
Principal
Frederick & Frederick Architects
Beaufort SC
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-02-2011 09:05
From: Robert Knight
Subject: Residential Construction Specification Software

We never use a specification book as such for houses.  We know what we want in the house--we want specific things so we specify them on the drawings.  I have never seen a spec book on a residential job site.  No on looks at them---it's hard enough to get people to really look at the drawings!  We do have a page of text on the title page that puts some language behind quality standards etc,  but  all the spec books that  I have used, especially MasterSpec weave a language web around things.  Performance specs may be OK on large commercial bid projects,  but on a house,  just tell them what you want,  call it out in the schedules and the details.  You will get better bids and with less back-and-forthing.

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Robert Knight AIA
Knight Associates Inc.
Blue Hill ME
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There are high end residential projects that only 5-10% of the population can afford that may warrant the use of specification manuals and gobs of detail normally found in Commercial work, but this is a very small fraction of the residential sector. Most Architects price themselves into a corner and never experience the residential work that is far more plentiful and completely ignored by professional Architects. Regular people work! 

We find a spec book invaluable for getting good bids. By the time you get to the jobsite, it's too late - the materials have been ordered, we hope. Contractors like the little book because it's easier to handle than large sheets of paper. 

We have developed a method to help insure that the contractor provides the items specified for residential project. It involves doing work that is typically the contractor's job on a commercial project; providing submittal cut sheets. We prepare a binder (in triplicate--one for architect, owner and contractor) that contains a page for everything on the schedules; appliances, plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, mechanical equipment, etc. The internet has made it easy to download a spec sheet for nearly anything. It provides a great way to review items with the owner as we're completing Construction Documents. When an item changes, we transmit copies to the owner and contractor with instructions about exactly which sheet to replace. (Every sheet is identified either with the schedule ID mark or an explanation--"floor tile in Master Bath", for example). It's not a perfect system, but this simple, 3-ring binder helps make sure the owner gets what they paid for. 

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Patricia Willson AIA
Willson + Willson Architects
Albuquerque NM
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-02-2011 09:05
From: Robert Knight
Subject: Residential Construction Specification Software

We never use a specification book as such for houses.  We know what we want in the house--we want specific things so we specify them on the drawings.  I have never seen a spec book on a residential job site.  No on looks at them---it's hard enough to get people to really look at the drawings!  We do have a page of text on the title page that puts some language behind quality standards etc,  but  all the spec books that  I have used, especially MasterSpec weave a language web around things.  Performance specs may be OK on large commercial bid projects,  but on a house,  just tell them what you want,  call it out in the schedules and the details.  You will get better bids and with less back-and-forthing.

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Robert Knight AIA
Knight Associates Inc.
Blue Hill ME
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We're in complete agreement with Ms. Willson on the usefulness of cutsheets as a resource that can go hand in hand with specifications. We assemble an electronic book of manufacturer's tech data sheets with our architect clients with our first draft of their project specs, and update it when issuing bid documents. This resource travels with the specifications to the estimator and then to the contractor's project manager. It takes a little time and fussiness to organize it, but we think it saves 10 times that amount of time in RFIs and phone calls. The tech data book even comes in handy later for the owner when seeking to match materials or obtain maintenance parts for equipment - provided the final material choices are updated.  Composite PDFs make this tool very portable and fast to access.
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Philip Kabza AIA
Partner and Dir Technical Services
SpecGuy
Charlotte NC
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-03-2011 11:27
From: Patricia Willson
Subject: Residential Construction Specification Software

We have developed a method to help insure that the contractor provides the items specified for residential project. It involves doing work that is typically the contractor's job on a commercial project; providing submittal cut sheets. We prepare a binder (in triplicate--one for architect, owner and contractor) that contains a page for everything on the schedules; appliances, plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, mechanical equipment, etc. The internet has made it easy to download a spec sheet for nearly anything. It provides a great way to review items with the owner as we're completing Construction Documents. When an item changes, we transmit copies to the owner and contractor with instructions about exactly which sheet to replace. (Every sheet is identified either with the schedule ID mark or an explanation--"floor tile in Master Bath", for example). It's not a perfect system, but this simple, 3-ring binder helps make sure the owner gets what they paid for. 

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Patricia Willson AIA
Willson + Willson Architects
Albuquerque NM
-------------------------------------------







Original Message:
Sent: 03-02-2011 09:05
From: Robert Knight
Subject: Residential Construction Specification Software

We never use a specification book as such for houses.  We know what we want in the house--we want specific things so we specify them on the drawings.  I have never seen a spec book on a residential job site.  No on looks at them---it's hard enough to get people to really look at the drawings!  We do have a page of text on the title page that puts some language behind quality standards etc,  but  all the spec books that  I have used, especially MasterSpec weave a language web around things.  Performance specs may be OK on large commercial bid projects,  but on a house,  just tell them what you want,  call it out in the schedules and the details.  You will get better bids and with less back-and-forthing.

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Robert Knight AIA
Knight Associates Inc.
Blue Hill ME
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Perhaps it's just my experience in the SE region, but why are you writing a spec book for a house project? I don't know a single residential builder that has even seen a spec book or know they exist. It's hard enough to find your spec manual on a commercial job site, but I have a feeling it will become TP in the port-a-john, especially if it's written in English. Residential work can be maddening because a residential builder's understanding of contracts, owner/builder/architect relationships, proper process can be very inconsistent and in my region, non-existent. Do you expect to receive pay requests, change order requests, shop drawings, submittals, etc.? Residential work is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.