Layout

The specification (or ‘speci’) for a house is divided into sections (like short chapters) that each deal with a specific trade that will be involved in the project. The sections are usually arranged in the same order that the job will be done in – starting with excavator, concreter, and bricklayer through to painter, floor coverer and landscaper at the end.

Each section may contain detailed descriptions specific to that job or it may just contain general instructions about workmanship, quality and so on. In that case, it will refer to a schedule at the end of the specification. The schedule will have details for a particular job, for example, sizes of skirtings, paint finishes, types of doors, brand of stove, colour of bath and so on.

A section called ‘preliminaries’ at the start of the specification deals with general things, such as the extent of the work, temporary services, the job sign, site sheds and toilets, temporary fences or hoardings and access for the client during construction.

In project-home building – where the same model is built over and over for different clients – they may use a standard specification and add to that an addendum that includes the selections and specific details for each client.