Develop the Project Scope of Work

About the Scope of Work

The first part of the Project Plan to put start putting together is the Scope of Work. The Scope of Work is a written document that describes the project in detail.

Starting with the Scope is easiest because if you’re like most people, you already have some idea of what you need, want, and wish for, in your project.

NOTE:
Most people create a mental scope of work then talk to a contractor like in this example, to get pricing. This approach feels easy and starts great, unfortunately every contractor walks away with different understandings.

The result is estimates that can range 50% to 100% from highest to lowest, and 30% to 50% over budget. That’s why some pro’s tell you to add 50% to your budget.

Some people hire the ‘cheapest’ contractor, thinking that the inexpensive company will deliver, the same as the high-priced company.

Because they can’t and won’t, owners are often left disappointed and disgusted.

The Scope of Work ensures every bidder is proving numbers based on the same information.

If you already have an idea of what you want you can go to Planning – Project Profile to continue learning, or you can Post a Project for Bid, otherwise follow the Scope of Work Primer to help you think about everything you need.

TIP: If the project is properly organized and executed, your needs will be met, and you will be happy with the result. If the project is not properly organized, you will feel you spent too much time and money and will be unhappy with the result.

Use the Scope of Work Primer

If you have no idea where to start, the best way to begin organizing the written project scope of work is to use the Scope of Work Primer form to help you identify all of the project requirements and potential options. The primer helps you think through the entire project from the ground up and outside in. The primer prompts you to think about each part of your project and identifies items that require consideration.

If you have not done so already, it is time to start gathering your ideas and thinking about what you want in your project. Here are just a few places you can look to get design ideas:

Home stores
Trade shows
Magazines

Internet
Television shows
House tours

Go through the whole Scope of Work Primer and check boxes, and fill blanks, for all the activities you need, want and wish to have done. Leave any section or part that doesn’t apply to your project blank. You won’t have to worry about any of those items. Make note of items that you have not yet decided on. You’ll come back to those items later.

As you fill in sections of the primer document, identify if each aspect of the project is essential, or optional.

Optional items need to be priced and negotiated separately, so you have a firm trigger you can pull during construction, if you want.

You can continue without completing this step. If you have difficulty, come back and use the primer to help you think through any part of the project.

Use the Scope of Work Primer to help you think through all the aspects of your project.

Project Profile

The Project Profile contains the basic information about the project such as the owner’s name, location, contact information, start and finish dates, budget, pre-bid meeting dates and the bid submitter deadline, required trades and insurance requirements.

Some of this information you’ll know right away. Fill in the rest as you make decisions about those items.

Use the Project Profile Form to contextualize your project.

Review Bidding – Pre-Bid Meeting for further details on how to handle pre-bid meetings.

Scope of Work Form

Once you have decided upon the project details and completed the Scope of Work Primer, use the Scope of Work Form to compile the project requirements in a way that clearly communicates the complete project details to the contractors.

If you used the Primer, begin transferring information and choices you’ve made to the Scope of Work Form. Alternatively, make descriptive notes of the space(s) you would like to remodel and a detailed description of the changes you have envisioned, in an outline format. Make a list of all the modifications that you want to have happen. Categorize the information according to the Scope of Work Form.

Describe all changes to surfaces and any required repairs. If you know what materials you want, include them. Have you already selected some flooring, light fixtures or cabinets? Include them too. Have you decided on a wall covering? Is it wallpaper, tile, wood, paint or something else, and have you decided on a color? Have you looked at every surface, every fixture and considered all of the changes and options you want to consider?

As you decide what materials, finishes, fixtures, furniture, and equipment you would want or like, gather information on cost, manner sold, any lead times, and decide whether the item is an essential part of the project or part of an option you want to consider. Options can be made of multiple separate activities, materials and/or products. Identify each separate option with some number or words that helps everyone easily and unambiguously identify and refer to each specific option. You can have as many options as you’d like. Options are especially useful when you have a tight budget. We’ll talk more about options in Planning – Project Budget. The purpose of identifying options up front is to get separate and controlled pricing; something we’ll talk more about in the bidding phase.

As you go through home remodeling stores, you may find yourself tempted to buy something.

You don’t want to be in a hurry to buy anything right now because:

You want to make sure everything you choose will fit into your budget.
Purchasing materials is part of how contractors make money. (see Overview – To Use a General Contractor or not)
You want to make sure your contractors maintain responsibility, ensuring warranty for the items they use to complete their work.
You want to make sure everything you get will physically ‘fit’ together.

If you are absolutely compelled to buy that special item, make sure to call it out in your project scope of work as “Supplied by Owner” so that contractors don’t include it during the bidding phase.

Use the Scope of Work form to outline the project details.

Who Selects What

As owner, you are always responsible for selecting and approving the materials, finishes, furniture, fixtures, and equipment. Some elements are easier for owners to select, such as furniture, fixtures, and material finishes. The following sections tell you who is generally responsible, or best suited, for selecting materials, finishes, furnishings, fixtures, and equipment, helping you to better understand what you need to focus on and how to communicate the project scope to get the most from your contractor(s).

Materials

Often, building codes identify the specific material or the required material characteristics for a specific construction purpose. For example, you cannot use PVC pipe if the code requires copper. We talk about how to find this information in Construction Overview – Building Codes section of this system. You do not choose these materials because the building code mandates that choice for you.

Occasionally, community association bylaws or design committees dictate specific types of materials or design styles to use when remodeling and creating additions. These requirements should already be in accordance with building code. To be sure: you can ask the association representative, check with your local building department, and/or have a licensed architect.

Make sure to review any applicable association bylaws and accommodate them in your plans. If there is a “taste” committee charged with approving projects in your community, you should start talking with them about your project, and any limitations and allowances.

Finishes

Generally, project owners either select the finishes or approve the finish selections of the designers or contractors. This aspect is all about what you like. Plan to lead or be intimately involved in making all choices.

Occasionally, community associations may dictate specific types of finishes, styles, or designs to use or maintain when remodeling. Association ‘Taste Committees’ design these requirements to ensure the continuity of look and feel throughout the community.

Furnishings and Fixtures

Most often, the owner either selects or guides the selection of the fixtures, furniture, materials and finishes. During the design process, if the owner does not define or otherwise provide direction for their selection, and if there is a designer on the project, the designer can make the selection.

In some cases as discussed in Overview – Design-Build Delivery Method, the contractor by default makes the selection during construction. To maintain control, plan to lead or be intimately involved in making and approving selections.

Equipment

The owner typically provides a general description for project performance or identifies specific equipment they want included. The designer/contractor uses the information to develop equipment performance criteria and often provides the owner multiple recommendations for selection. We’ll talk about how to get your contractor to help you make equipment selections in the bidding phase. However, you should still plan to be intimately involved in defining, evaluating, and approving these selections.

We’ll talk about how to ensure you are getting what you are paying for regarding materials, finishes, furniture, fixtures, and equipment later in Construction – Project Inspections.

Use the Materials List to help you track and organize all the Materials, Finishes, Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment you select.

Value Engineering – How to Evaluate Material, Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment for Selection

Like most people, at some point in the planning process you may find your plan is over your budget. When this happens, you will need to go through a process called Value Engineering. The basic premise of the value engineering process is to reduce the project cost without reducing the project’s function or qualitative value, by substituting lower cost items that do the same job as well as the previously selected higher priced items.

The level of quality does not need to match throughout the entire project. Often, in order to meet the set budget, you must evaluate all of the items that you have selected and evaluate whether you can make any substitutions in order to stay within budget.

While not impossible, it is typically very difficult to value engineer structural changes and code requirements. It is slightly easier to value engineer mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems when those changes are not code related, but doing so often reduces system functionality.

Furnishings, finishes, and fixtures are typically the easiest things to value engineer. Whether cabinet or counter, door or window, flooring or wall covering, lighting or socket; you can easily save money by substituting a higher quality product or material for one with fewer features.

If you have not done so already, go through your project and prioritize the items in terms of importance. Now starting with the lowest priority items, go through each item asking the following questions to help you evaluate the item.

Is the material, furniture, fixture, or equipment something that must be included, you would like to include, or have no opinion about? This is an especially important question when incorporating the selected items in the budget – as shown later in Planning – Assembling the Project Budget.
Does the item fit within the existing budget?
What item can you reduce the cost on to increase the available budget for this item, if needed?
Is the item readily available, or does it have a long delivery time?
Is there an alternative product with adequate performance for less cost?

TIP: Prioritizing the important aspects of the project helps better identify areas where you can find savings.

Following Building Codes

If you are a residential owner, chances are your property already meets applicable building codes for its location type. If you are not sure, or are changing the property’s use, creating an addition, know of some previous violation(s), adding and/or moving plumbing, electrical, stairs, openings, or doors and windows; consider having a licensed architect or interior designer help ensure you are planning according to code.

If you already have a designer, he/she should be contractually responsible for designing to code. You don’t want to rely solely on the contractor to build to code, and it is more difficult to control the outcome if you don’t design to code but are required to build to code.

If you are sure your property meets building code (or at least it did when you bought or built it); if you have no designer, and you won’t be doing the kind of work that tends to violate building codes, you may skip ahead to the Project Scope of Work Checklist.

Contractors are generally responsible for following all applicable laws and building codes during construction. Construction contracts must include language that makes contractors responsible as discussed in Construction – Ensuring Building Code Enforcement.

However, not all municipalities require contractors to be licensed, certified, or even registered. However, even in places where general contractor certification and licensing is not required, it is common to see licensed, certified and/or registered electrical, mechanical (HVAC), and plumbing contractors. That is because these trades generally deal with things that can kill or poison people if incorrectly installed.

At best, the electrical system can shock people, at worst; it can kill. Less obvious might be the dangers with the air conditioning and plumbing systems. The air conditioning system is electrified, can have dangerous refrigerant running through it, and if installed or serviced improperly can encourage, harbor, and spread mold. The plumbing system provides vital drinking water and removes bacteria infested organic waste. Improperly installed and connected plumbing systems have the potential to encourage, harbor, and spread water borne diseases associated with contaminated potable (drinking) water.

Recognized bodies of building codes include, but are not limited to:

Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG)
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Illinois Plumbing Code (IPC)
International Building Code (IBC)
International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)
International Fire Code (IFC)
International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC)
International Residential Code (IRC)
International Mechanical Code (IMC)
National Electrical Code (NEC)
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
Universal Building Code (UBC)

Some organizations incorporate aspects of other organizations’ codes, like the UBC and the NEC, and some overlap a bit like the IBC, IRC and UBC. As a result, some codes adopted by one organization may be the same or similar to codes adopted by another organization. It is important to remember that they do not replace each other, as there can be significant differences, like those between the ADAAG and the IECC.

A great resource for understanding the details about many residential building codes is the Taunton Press’ book called, Code Check, found at www.codecheck.com. The series of books contains Code Check Building, Code Check Electrical, Code Check HVAC, and Code Check Plumbing which can all be purchased together. They index and illustrate the building codes to make finding, visualizing, and understanding building codes easy and interesting.

Some cities and states have stringent requirements resulting in special codes, and not all codes are applicable to all building types. For free information about which building codes are applicable in your state, go to www.constructconnect.com/building-codes to get an idea. The best source for the most accurate information is going to be your local building department.

Use this Project Scope of Work Checklist to keep track of what you have completed and help ensure your Scope of Work is complete.

TIP: If this is the first time through this step for your project, you may not have all the information you need to define every item in your scope of work. Continue developing the remaining parts of you project plan and come back to fill in the gaps as you acquire additional information.

Planning: Develop the Project Scope of Work