PHINMA-UNIVERSITY OF PANGASINAN

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

ARC 041 BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 04

PERSONAL
LOGO

RSW No.: 01
TITLE:

• WHAT IS SPECIFICATION
WRITING
• TYPES OF SPECIFICATIONS
DATE DUE: 02 MARCH 2021-T

STUDENT.: DAGARAG, DEAN MARK S.

YEAR & SECTION.: A1-4BSAR-01
CO
INSTRUCTOR.: AR. MARK JEFFERSON M. CALLANTA
CO
Specifications

Specifications - A document that takes up where drawn plans leave off. This
includes quantity and quality of material and a general description of how
the work should be done and what will be included.

What are Construction Specifications

Construction specifications, also called specs, are the details for the work
that needs to be completed in a construction project. These details include
information such as materials, the scope of work, installation process, and
quality of work. Subcontractors and teams use these specs as a guide to
choose the right materials for the specific project. The specs discussed
between the project owner and the contractor become a part of the legal
documents for the project.

Architects or designers create construction specifications before work

actually starts. But many involve project engineers for technical help. In
every construction project, there are three types of construction
specifications. The three types of construction specifications are prescriptive,
performance, and proprietary.

Prescriptive Specifications

Of the three types of construction specifications, prescriptive specs focus on

the details for the types of materials used and the installation of said
materials. Architects or engineers tend to take over the job of project design
in prescriptive specs. Prescriptive specs give a better image of what the final
product will look like compared to other specs.

Prescriptive specs can be broken up into three separate parts: general,

products, and execution. General consists of information such as national
quality standards, product handling, design requirements, and keeping
quality control. The products phase will go over the different products
necessary for each task as well as the individual performance levels of each
product. The execution phase will go over how to prepare materials and go
through with installing them. This process also involves testing the quality of
the materials and checking if they were installed correctly.

Performance Specifications

After prescriptive specs come performance specs. Performance specs discuss

the operational requirements of a project. It details what the final installed
product has to be capable of doing. In this phase, the owner or general
contractor doesn’t give a subcontractor specs detailing how to finish the job.
Instead, designers and architects give contractors details on how the final
product has to work in this phase. For example, a contract asks the team to
make a pump that pumps 300 gallons per minute. There are no directions on
how to make the pumping system go that fast, so it is up to the contractor
to figure it out.

Of the three types of construction specifications, this phase involves most of

the testing to make sure a project meets all of its operational requirements.
The architect or engineer describes the project outcome, and trusts the
trade contractor’s experience to get there. Since the contractor has to figure
out what to do, decisions about materials and strategy move away from the
architect and engineers and shift towards the contractor.

Proprietary Specifications

Proprietary specs are used when you need to use a single type of product for
any kind of installation. These are the least common of the three types of
construction specifications, but they are for jobs involving existing
equipment and already completed installations. When the owner or client
wants to be consistent with their materials or just prefers a specific type of
material, use proprietary specs. Contractors use proprietary specs when
their section of the project is dependent upon the performance of a specific
product.

Architects and engineers tend to try and avoid proprietary specs because it
can lead to promoting a specific manufacturer. Favoring a manufacturer can
discourage competition during the bid phase of the project, which may
increase the total cost of the project. Architects and engineers will give the
contractor a list of reliable suppliers to choose from to stop this.

Be as Specific as Possible

Planning out a construction project is very time consuming and requires a lot
of detail. It may seem overwhelming and tedious, but it is an essential step
in starting a construction project. Without it, you waste times and money
trying to figure it out. The more time you spend detailing each step of the
project, the more likely your vision for the project will be executed
accurately. By using these tools for stellar construction specifications you
benefit the project.

Types of Construction Specifications

There are two types of specifications.

• General Specifications
• Detailed Specifications
• General Specifications

General specifications provide a very brief explanation about construction

materials and construction work. Generally, Architect mentioned these
specifications on a drawing, which helps for estimating the construction
work. These specifications are not a part of contract. These specifications
help about knowing the name of different materials, their ratios, and
quantities.

Detailed Specifications

Detailed specifications convey the requirements of project to contractor

through a detailed explanation of materials and work. It provides a complete
knowledge about the construction material, workmanship of construction
work, ratio of different materials, mixing method, quantity of individual
material, how to prepare the materials and conduct the installation, different
testing requirements to be followed and how work will be measured.

Detailed specifications are a part of contract, that’s why it helps in

understanding the contract. Detailed specifications should be written in a
pattern which is to be followed during execution of work.
Types of Detailed Specifications

Detailed Specifications are of two types

• Standard Specifications
• Special Specifications
• Standard Specifications

Standard specifications are those which remain same for various types of
projects. These specifications can be used for every project that fall into this
category. Different public sector organizations collect data from various
types of construction work and published data in the form of a book. No
need to write detailed specifications again and again for every project. It
saves from mistakes while writing specifications over and over again.

Detailed specifications help during the preparation of Tender

Documents. One has just to mention the reference number of standard
specifications.

Special Specifications

Sometime construction projects are of special type. Specifications for these

types of projects are not mentioned in detailed specifications book.
Consultant has to write specifications for this type of work. In tender
documents these specifications are written separately under Special
Specifications heading.

Prescriptive Specifications contain detailed descriptions of what specific

materials must be used as well as the installation instructions. This type of
spec usually involves three key components:
General provisions: requirements surrounding codes and standards

Required products: the type of products required based on performance

and structural stipulations

Execution procedures: how to do the install and measure its effectiveness

Prescriptive specs put a greater burden on the architect (as opposed to the
general contractor) to ensure proper installation.

Proprietary Specifications demand that only one specific product be used for
a given installation. It is commonly utilized if the portion of a project
requires a certain performance that only one product can achieve. This could
ultimately drive up project costs.

Along with these three types of construction specifications, specs can also be
classified as “open” or “closed,” a division often determined by the project’s
stage in design development.

An open specification is when an architect does not name a specific supplier

or product and allows for substitutions to be made by the contractor. It does
not limit competition, but rather is dictated by a set of standards that more
than one manufacturer can meet, allowing for many alternatives to be
submitted for approval. Performance specifications are often considered to
be open.

A closed specification lists specific products, systems and manufacturers,

with no alternatives or mechanisms to apply a substitution. Closed
specifications are most often seen when matching a specification to an
existing building, or when an exact duplication is important. By default,
closed specifications are proprietary. However, they can be made “open” by
not referring to a singular brand or providing requirements applicable only to
a specific product. This is commonly done by adding “or equal” after the
listed brand.

It is critical for building/design product manufacturers to understand the

various classifications and types of specification in construction, as well as in
which spec scenarios their products will most frequently be considered.