TABLE OF CONTENTS Design documents evolve from and include the designer s calculations, equipment selections, and sketches and are usually presented through formal drawings and specifications. These construction documents are the legal means by which the designer conveys the owner s expectations to the contractor. The importance of good documentation cannot be overemphasized.
An old adage says, A picture is worth a thousand words. In construction, drawings are the picture, and specifications are the thousand words. But for projects of importance or great value where the work is accomplished by contract between owner and builder, it is important that there be good specifications in addition to the drawings to define the relationships between the parties. The purpose of this chapter is to review the nature of contracts and then to define drawing preparation and specification organization and writing well enough that the reader will have an understanding of and be prepared to practice the basic techniques of document preparation.
Since drawings and specifications become a part of a construction contract, they become legal documents. As such, they must define the work to be done clearly, completely, and unambiguously. Although this ideal is seldom achieved, designers must do their best to meet these criteria. Lawsuits involving millions of dollars have been filed based on the interpretation of a few sentences in the specifications or a lack of clear detail on the drawings.
At the same time as contract documents are identified as being of paramount importance to the relationship between owner and con- tractor,...
