This Tip looks at how to easily and efficiently document conditions that the builder needs to be responsible for during the contract that are listed in the development approval (DA).
This applies to any authority conditions that have multiple, multi-party requirements that affect construction.
These approvals list a lot of conditions that affect the owner, the designer, and the builder…and they are never set out in a neat order of responsibilities…it’s usually all mixed up, sometimes with one condition affecting the responsibilities of all three parties.
You can’t just put the DA into the contract documents and expect the builder to price then build their responsibilities…there is just too much open to interpretation.
You could painstakingly set out the builder’s responsibilities on a separate document…but that is just too hard and time consuming.
The easiest way is to make a copy of the conditions and on it, identify clearly (by circling with a pen or highlighting in a specific colour) the items for the builder to be responsible for. This can even be done for builder items that are mixed up with other parties’ responsibilities in one paragraph.
Put a note on the first page stating that items marked are for the builder to build and have priced into the contract price.
Finally, scan the document as a PDF and hey presto…you have a contract document which you add to your list of contract documents.
This is simple, fast and accurate.
PROMOTIONAL NOTE: The ArchiAssist Master Specification covers, in a positive and supportive way, all the issues of concern mentioned in this advisory.
To know more about ArchiAssist, you can download a FREE SAMPLE Specification from the website.
