This Tip looks at what the Specification should say about your builder proposing alternative products to those documented.
This is a situation that happens often. It can come about for many reasons and if the Specification does not have things covered adequately, it can consume a lot of time for you, the designer.
You nominate specific products, not because they just fell into your lap, but through a lot of research work and through valuable experience. These products suit your purposes perfectly. They are documented for good reason.
It takes a lot of time and effort to build up a list of preferred products. This fact needs to be respected.
If your Specification does not present rigid rules about how the builder proposes alternative products to those documented, you can spend an unacceptable amount of time dealing with them. This adds to your stress, leaves you with less time to work on other important things, and will chew up fees.
The Specification should have in the Preliminaries Section, a clause specifying these rules. The following is not an unacceptable list of requirements:
- Sufficient timings to allow making an informed decision without rushing,
- Sufficient information to make an informed decision on the alternative’s appropriateness including full comparison data to the documented product with costings,
- No contract variations given for work delay due to the review of alternatives,
- Builder to pay for the time you, or any other person required, to review the alternative.
Presenting alternatives should be an onerous process for the builder to discourage them from submitting random, excessive alternative proposals.
Remember, you have worked hard to be satisfied with the products that you have selected. Don’t take this lightly.
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.
