{
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "kind": "job",
  "role": "estimator",
  "slug": "scope-gap",
  "title": "Scope-gap review against specs",
  "status": "ready-today",
  "updated": "2026-08-31",
  "canonical": "https://aiagents.construction/roles/estimator/scope-gap/",
  "audience": "US general contractor, $5–10M revenue",
  "sections": {
    "job": "The estimator at a US general contractor doing about $5–10M a year — often the owner wearing an estimator hat, or one person who also writes proposals, calls trades, and walks jobs. There is no precon department and no dedicated scope desk. Bid days stack. Specs arrive as a 400-page PDF. Subs email PDFs at 2 p.m. If the cross-check against the spec is skipped, the bid goes out with a hole you eat after award, or a trade is awarded on a quote that never saw Division 01.\n\nThis job is **use an agent**, not build a model. The estimator already has a desk: email, the issued drawings and specs (plus addenda), a takeoff (Excel, or whatever they already keep), a stack of sub quotes, and a bid form. The agent sits in the **cross-check** step only. It does not price the hole. It does not send the bid. It does not become a contract modification.\n\nWithout an agent the work is still the same: open the spec, open the sheets, open the takeoff, open the quotes, look for what the documents require that nobody carried.\n\n**What this job is, and what it is not.** The estimator hub already teases it as “publishing next”: “Cross-checking leveled quotes against spec sections before award.” That is this page.\n\n- The earlier step is [quantity takeoff](https://aiagents.construction/roles/estimator/quantity-takeoff/) — measuring SF, LF, and EA from drawings. This page assumes that pass already exists (or you did it by hand).\n- The sister step is [bid-leveling](https://aiagents.construction/roles/estimator/bid-leveling/) — lining up unlike sub quotes against *each other* (quote vs quote). Silences between quotes are that job. **This page is quote and takeoff vs the spec and the drawings** (and the bid form). One quote that matches another quote can still miss a spec paragraph both skipped.\n- A construction-phase Request for Information is [first-pass RFI drafting](https://aiagents.construction/roles/project-manager/rfi/) — AIA [G716–2004](https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500009444782-summary-g716-2004-request-for-information-rfi), used **during construction**. A pre-bid question during bidding is a different instrument (A701 / Instructions to Bidders, answered by addendum if at all). Do not rewrite the RFI page. Point at it if a gap becomes a construction RFI after award.\n- Shop drawings after award are [first-pass submittal review](https://aiagents.construction/roles/project-manager/submittal/). Wrong seat.\n\n**Drawings and specs are complementary.** Official [A201–2017](https://contractdocs.aia.org/PreviewFiles/Preview_A201-2017.pdf) (AIA preview of the keystone general conditions) § 1.2.1: the intent of the Contract Documents is to include all items necessary for the proper execution and completion of the Work by the Contractor. “The Contract Documents are complementary, and what is required by one shall be as binding as if required by all; performance by the Contractor shall be required only to the extent consistent with the Contract Documents and reasonably inferable from them as being necessary to produce the indicated results.” Kevin O’Beirne, PE, FCSI, writing on CSI’s blog (Part 3, 2025): AIA and EJCDC do **not** publish a comprehensive order-of-precedence clause; A201 § 1.2.1 is the rule. Do not invent a ranking the contract does not have. A “gap” the agent flags is **not automatically extra work**. It may already be in the documents — on the sheet, in the spec, or reasonably inferable. The agent flags. The estimator decides whether it is a hole in the **bid** or already in the **contract**.\n\nOfficial A201 § 1.1.3: the Work is the construction and services required by the Contract Documents, including labor, materials, equipment, and services the Contractor must provide to fulfill those obligations. § 1.1.5: Drawings are the graphic and pictorial portions showing design, location, and dimensions. § 1.1.6: Specifications are the written requirements for materials, equipment, systems, standards, and workmanship. § 1.2.2: organization of the Specifications into divisions, sections, and articles, and arrangement of the Drawings, shall **not** control the Contractor in dividing the Work among Subcontractors. A hole in one sub’s quote is not “not in the contract” because it lived in a different CSI section than the trade expected.\n\n**Contract Documents vs bidding documents.** Official A201 § 1.1.1: the Contract Documents are the Agreement, Conditions of the Contract (General, Supplementary, and other), Drawings, Specifications, Addenda issued prior to execution of the Contract, other documents listed in the Agreement, and Modifications issued after execution. Unless specifically enumerated in the Agreement, they do **not** include the advertisement or invitation to bid, Instructions to Bidders, sample forms, other information furnished by the Owner in anticipation of receiving bids or proposals, the Contractor’s bid or proposal, or portions of Addenda relating to bidding or proposal requirements. Official A201–2017 summary of the 2017 change: the last sentence of § 1.1.1 was modified so that portions of Addenda relating to **both** bidding and proposal requirements are excluded unless agreed otherwise. On bid day you still have to read the bidding documents. After award, the number you signed is the Work in the Contract Documents — not a side list of exclusions the model drafted.\n\n**§ 3.2 is construction, not a bid-day statute.** Official A201 § 3.2 is “Review of Contract Documents and Field Conditions by Contractor.” § 3.2.1: execution of the Contract is a representation that the Contractor has visited the site, become generally familiar with local conditions, and correlated personal observations with the Contract Documents. § 3.2.2: *because the Contract Documents are complementary*, the Contractor shall, **before starting each portion of the Work**, carefully study and compare the various Contract Documents relative to that portion, take field measurements of existing conditions, and observe site conditions affecting it. Those obligations are for coordination and construction, **not** for discovering errors; however, the Contractor shall promptly report errors, inconsistencies, or omissions discovered or made known as a **request for information** in such form as the Architect may require. The review is as a contractor, not as a licensed design professional. § 3.2.4: extra cost or time from clarifications issued in response to those RFIs goes to Article 15 Claims; if the Contractor fails to perform the § 3.2.2 / § 3.2.3 look, the Contractor pays costs and damages that would have been avoided. Do **not** pretend § 3.2 is a bid-day clock. It is a construction-phase study-and-report duty. The estimator still has a parallel job on bid day: study the **bidding documents**, the addenda, and Division 01 so the number you submit actually covers the Work that will become the Contract. Official A701–2018 summary: Article 2 is Bidder’s Representations, revised so each representation is identified in its own subsection. Official A701 purpose: instructions on procedures for Bidders to follow when preparing and submitting their bids. That is the bid-day cousin of § 3.2 — study the bidding documents, addenda, and Division 01 so the number covers the Work. It is not § 3.2 itself.\n\n**Allowances, unit prices, and alternates are specified instruments.** Missing an allowance in the bid is a different failure from missing a trade. Do not let the model “fill in a number.”\n\n- **Allowances.** Official A201 § 3.8.1: the Contractor shall include in the Contract Sum **all allowances stated in the Contract Documents**. Items covered by allowances shall be supplied for such amounts and by such persons as the Owner may direct, but the Contractor shall not be required to employ persons to whom the Contractor has reasonable objection. § 3.8.2 (unless otherwise provided): allowances cover the cost to the Contractor of materials and equipment delivered at the site and all required taxes, less applicable trade discounts; Contractor’s costs for unloading and handling at the site, labor, installation, overhead, profit, and other expenses contemplated for stated allowance amounts shall be included in the Contract Sum **but not in the allowances**; whenever costs are more or less than allowances, the Contract Sum is adjusted by Change Order. § 3.8.3: materials and equipment under an allowance shall be selected by the Owner with reasonable promptness. Official AIA (allowance contracting basics): an allowance is a named placeholder for a **known item** whose final cost is not yet determined; a contingency is a reserve for something that may or may not occur. Do not let the agent treat a missed allowance as “the sub will catch it” or invent a dollar figure the spec did not state. Official AIA change-order write-up (Verrastro & Baum): reconciliation of allowances and unit prices is a common later reason for a [G701](https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500009384382-summary-g701-2017-change-order). Carry the allowance on bid day. Close it later with a signed change, not with a model guess.\n- **Unit prices.** Official A201 § 9.1.2 (Sara M. Bour, Esq., AIA Contract Documents, quoting the clause): if unit prices are stated in the Contract Documents or subsequently agreed upon, and if quantities originally contemplated are materially changed so that application of those unit prices to the actual quantities causes substantial inequity to the Owner or Contractor, the applicable unit prices shall be equitably adjusted. Official AIA: unit prices are used where the exact quantity cannot be determined with precision at bid; the contractor is compensated on **actual** quantities. A unit-price line the bid form asked for and nobody filled in is a hole. The agent flags the empty line. It does not invent a unit rate.\n- **Alternates.** Official A701–2018 summary: § 1.6 was modified to account for Alternates that do **not** change the Base Bid. Official [A101–2017](https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500010257962-summary-a101-2017-standard-form-of-agreement-between-owner-and-contractor-where-the-basis-of-payment-is-a-stipulated-sum) summary of § 4.2: the 2017 revision identifies alternates accepted at the time of contract execution and those that may be accepted after a condition precedent has been met. If the bid form has Alternate 1 and nobody priced it, that is a hole. If the owner has not accepted it, it is not yet Work. The estimator owns the distinction.\n\n**Where Division 01 lives.** [CSI MasterFormat 2026](https://www.csiresources.org/standards/masterformat2026) is the current North American numbering for project manuals. Official CSI: it organizes how project requirements are described so drawings, specifications, estimates, and product data point at the same intent. Division 01 remains General Requirements (procedures) — MasterFormat 2026 lists Division 01 among the divisions that received maintenance updates (title clarifications or small reorganizations). CSI’s public MasterFormat number lookup is **offline** as of this writing; this page will **not** treat 01 21 00 / 01 22 00 / 01 23 00 as verified 2026 assignments. Project manuals commonly park allowances, unit prices, and alternates under Division 01 Price and Payment Procedures, and procurement/bidding rules under Division 00. Your Division 01 / bid form / Instructions to Bidders win. O’Beirne (2020): all the construction documents — drawings, Division 00, specifications, addenda — comprise a **single contract**; Division 01 is supposed to coordinate with the general conditions. A $5–10M estimator who never opens Division 01 is bidding the finish schedule and hoping the rest is in the sub quotes.\n\n**Addenda during bidding.** Official A701–2018 summary: Addenda (§ 1.3) are written or graphic instruments that are part of the Proposed Contract Documents, issued **prior to the date for receipt of Bids** — not prior to execution of the Contract. Official A701 instructions: specify the form in which Addenda will be transmitted (§ 3.4.1). Official A201 § 1.1.1: Addenda issued prior to execution are Contract Documents (except portions relating to bidding or proposal requirements, unless enumerated). A takeoff that ignored Addendum 3 is a hole. The agent should be fed the addenda. Memory of the original set is not a search.\n\n**A pre-bid question is not a G716.** Official AIA: [G716–2004](https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500009444782-summary-g716-2004-request-for-information-rfi) is a standard form for an owner, architect, and contractor to request further information from each other **during construction**. Official A701–2018 purpose: the Instructions to Bidders inform Bidders how to obtain documents; **how to submit requests for clarification, interpretation, and substitutions**; how addenda will be transmitted; and how to submit Bids. Official A701 instructions § 3.2.2: specify the **form** in which Bidders are to submit requests for clarification and interpretation — that fill-in is the project’s bidding-question path. Do not write “there is no AIA bidding question form.” A701 is the instructions; the project names the form. There is a dedicated construction RFI form (G716). They are not the same instrument. Kevin O’Beirne, CSI Part 1: RFIs may be submitted during bidding (in the instructions to bidders) or during construction (in the contract documents); A701–2018 addresses procurement-stage requests at Section 3.2 (“Modification or Interpretation of Bidding Documents”). CSI Part 2: procurement-stage RFIs are **usually not submitted on an RFI form**; the common type is email or other writing to the entity administering bidding; if a response is deemed necessary, it should go **via Addendum**. CSI (quoting EJCDC commentary, not AIA): assembling a “Q&A” document that is not an addendum can undermine the addenda; only responses set forth in an Addendum are treated as binding in that family. Your Instructions to Bidders / addenda win. **Do not invent a day-count** for bidder questions. Official A701 instructions list project fill-ins (form of clarification requests, form of addenda) and do not state a universal calendar-day question deadline on the AIA help pages fetched for this job. The project’s instructions and addenda do.\n\n**An agent-drafted exclusion list is not a contract modification.** Official A201 § 1.1.1: a Modification is (1) a written amendment signed by both parties, (2) a Change Order, (3) a Construction Change Directive, or (4) a written order for a minor change in the Work issued by the Architect. A bid-form qualification, a cover-letter exclusion, or a model-generated “we exclude whatever is not in the quote” paragraph is none of those. Official AIA on [Spearin](https://learn.aiacontracts.com/articles/what-contractors-need-to-know-about-delegated-design/): the Spearin Doctrine holds owners responsible for the adequacy of design documents provided to contractors — an implied warranty of adequacy of the plans and specifications. This page does **not** invent a Spearin holding about bid-day exclusions. The practical point, which does not require a fake case: exclusions that contradict the issued drawings and specifications do not rewrite § 1.2.1. After award, the complementary documents still bind. If a gap is real and still unclear on bid day, the instrument is an A701 clarification request, hoping for an addendum — not a silent exclusion. If the same gap survives into construction, it may become a G716; that is the [RFI job](https://aiagents.construction/roles/project-manager/rfi/).\n\n**Why a $5–10M GC still does this.** There is one estimator. Bid days stack. Subs email PDFs at 2 p.m. The spec is a 400-page PDF. Nobody’s job title is “scope.” Bid-leveling already flags silences **between quotes**. This job flags silences **between the spec/drawings and the takeoff/quotes** (and the bid form). Expected shape of the gain: fewer missed spec paragraphs and allowances. There is **no** published, independent hours-saved or accuracy number for a $5–10M GC scope-gap agent that this page will invent. Time one of *your* bids (walk Division 01–48 against the stack, with and without the agent) before you change anything you pay for.",
    "use": "This is a use workflow. You do not train a model. You do not ask it to invent a missing quantity, a spec paragraph, an allowance dollar, or a unit price. You give it the issued documents and the stack you already have, you get a hole list, you own every hole before the bid goes out or a trade is awarded.\n\n1. **Start from a takeoff you already have.** [First-pass quantity takeoff](https://aiagents.construction/roles/estimator/quantity-takeoff/) is the earlier step — SF, LF, EA from the drawings, then you reviewed and priced. Export it (Excel is fine). If you took off by hand, that sheet is the input. Do not ask the scope-gap agent to re-measure the set.\n2. **Level quotes as quote vs quote first, or in parallel.** [Bid-leveling](https://aiagents.construction/roles/estimator/bid-leveling/) lines up unlike sub quotes against each other and flags silences *between* them. Keep that sheet. This job then walks the leveled lines (and the takeoff, and the bid form) against the **spec and drawings**. A trade where every sub omitted the same spec paragraph will look “level” and still be a hole.\n3. **Assemble the issued bidding set.** Drawings, project manual (Division 00–01 and the trade sections you are bidding), **addenda**, bid form (allowances, unit prices, alternates, inclusions/exclusions the form already asks for). Official A201 § 1.1.1 / A701 § 1.3: addenda issued before bids are received are part of what you are bidding. If Addendum 2 added a spec section, it is in the upload or it did not happen.\n4. **Feed the agent only those files.** Issued specs + drawings (the sheets that matter for this bid) + addenda + takeoff export + quote PDFs or the leveled sheet + the bid form. If they already have a bid-leveling or takeoff app, the agent reads an **export** of that. Prompt shape: list holes only; every hole names a spec section/paragraph or sheet/detail **quoted from the upload**, the takeoff row or quote (or “not in takeoff / not in any quote / not on bid form”), and a flag (**specified but not quoted; shown on drawing but not in spec and not in takeoff; allowance stated but not carried; alternate on bid form not priced; unit-price line blank; Division 01 procedure not carried; already in the documents — not a bid hole; needs a pre-bid clarification under A701, not a G716**). Do not invent a paragraph, a detail number, an allowance amount, or a unit rate. Do not fill the hole. Do not draft an exclusion that contradicts the upload. If the requirement is in the upload, say so and cite it. If it is not in the upload, say “not in the uploaded files.”\n5. **Human owns every hole.** Open every cited sheet and paragraph. Strike invented section numbers. Decide, for each flag: (a) already required — carry it in the bid / push it to the sub / price it yourself; (b) really missing from the documents — that is a **pre-bid** clarification under the Instructions to Bidders, hoping for an addendum, not a construction RFI; (c) allowance / alternate / unit price the bid form already asked for — fill the form, do not let the model invent the number; (d) noise. Official A201 § 1.2.1: complementary and reasonably inferable is already the Work. Official A701: requests for clarification and interpretation during bidding; addenda transmit the answer.\n6. **Do not send the bid, and do not award the trade, on the raw list.** Name, date. The estimator signs the bid. A sub award that never saw the spec paragraph is how you buy the hole twice.\n7. **Log the way you already do.** Excel (or the sheet you already keep): hole ID, spec/sheet citation, takeoff/quote status, decision (carried / question submitted / not a hole / live with it), who owns the dollars. Email or upload only the **edited** question if you are sending a bidder clarification. Do not stand up a new vendor for this job.\n\nExpected shape of the gain: fewer missed spec paragraphs and allowances; fewer “both subs skipped it” awards. That is not “the model estimated the job.” There is no published, independent hours-saved or accuracy number for a $5–10M GC scope-gap agent. Time one of *your* bids before you change anything you pay for.",
    "build": "A general-purpose model that can read PDFs and spreadsheets can draft a hole list from an issued spec plus a takeoff export and a stack of quotes. Whether a flagged line is already in the documents under § 1.2.1, whether an allowance was stated, and whether this is a bid-day carry or a pre-bid question, need a person. Do not treat the list as a bid, and do not let it write the exclusion letter.\n\n> A workable v1: a prompt template that returns a hole table — ID, citation (spec section/paragraph or sheet/detail quoted from the upload), what the takeoff/quote/bid form did or did not carry, flag (specified-not-quoted / shown-not-specified / allowance-missed / alternate-unpriced / unit-price-blank / Division 01-not-carried / already-in-documents / needs-A701-clarification), and a “do not send / do not bid this list / do not invent a number” footer. Keep the transcript with the bid file. Require “not in the uploaded files” instead of filling a gap.\n\nDo not build a custom classifier this quarter. Do not fine-tune. The issued set, this takeoff, and these quotes are the only corpus that matters.",
    "deploy": "1. Pick a recently bid or recently awarded job you still stand behind — one where a spec paragraph, an allowance, or a Division 01 procedure was missed (or almost missed), plus one clean trade that was complete, plus one “both subs omitted the same paragraph” package if you have it.\n2. Run the agent on the same issued specs + drawings + addenda + takeoff export + quotes + bid form (no later addenda or award emails in the upload). Time upload, draft, and your edit.\n3. Diff the hole list against what you actually found (or failed to find) before bid. Record invented spec or sheet citations, holes that were already on the drawing or in the spec (complementary — not extra work), missed allowances/alternates/unit-price lines that were on the bid form, and drafts that “filled in” a number or wrote an exclusion that contradicted the documents.\n4. Decide using a rule set in advance: no hole list leaves the laptop unedited; every citation must exist in the upload; if the model invents a spec paragraph, prices an allowance, or treats a complementary drawing note as extra work, it is not ready.\n\nUse your project manual, not a vendor demo spec. Keep the workflow only if the bid you would still sign is still something you would put your name on.",
    "manage": "**What “good” looks like**\n\n- A named human **owns every hole** before the bid goes out or a trade is awarded. Raw model text is never the bid, never the award email, and never an exclusion letter to the owner.\n- The upload includes the issued specs, drawings, and **addenda** actually being bid, plus the takeoff and quotes (or exports of tools you already pay for). Memory of MasterSpec is not a search.\n- Bid-leveling remains quote vs quote. This job remains quote/takeoff vs spec and drawings. Both can be true on the same bid day.\n- An allowance, unit price, or alternate the documents stated is carried or explicitly decided — not invented. Official A201 § 3.8: include all stated allowances in the Contract Sum. Official A201 § 9.1.2: unit prices live in the documents; the model does not write the rate.\n- A pre-bid question follows A701 / the Instructions to Bidders and waits on an addendum. It is not G716. After award, a remaining gap may become a construction RFI — that is the [RFI job](https://aiagents.construction/roles/project-manager/rfi/).\n- An exclusion list is not a Modification (A201 § 1.1.1). Complementary documents still bind (A201 § 1.2.1).\n- If you already have a bid-leveling or takeoff app, the agent reads an **export**. This page does not sell a new one.\n\n**Who owns the seat**\n\nThe estimator / owner-estimator owns the bid. On a $5–10M GC that is one person and the laptop they already use. The sub owns their quote, not the spec. The architect owns the interpretation of the Contract Documents under A201 §§ 4.2.11–4.2.14 **after** there is a contract; on bid day the path is A701 clarification and addenda. An agent does not become the Bidder’s representation that it read the Bidding Documents, and it does not become the Contractor’s § 3.2 review.\n\n**When to skip the agent (what not to automate)**\n\n- You have not opened the spec or the sheets. Search first. Complementary documents already bind; a model cannot find what you never uploaded.\n- You expected the model to **price the hole**, send the bid, or replace the estimator’s call on what the drawing implies. Wrong job.\n- You expected it to re-do takeoff. That is [quantity takeoff](https://aiagents.construction/roles/estimator/quantity-takeoff/).\n- You expected it only to compare quotes to each other. That is [bid-leveling](https://aiagents.construction/roles/estimator/bid-leveling/).\n- An allowance, unit price, or alternate the bid form left blank. Flag it; do not let the model fill the number.\n- A substitution or or-equal during bidding. Official A701: substitution requests have their own path (§ 3.3.2.1–3.3.2.3 on the A701 summary). Wrong instrument for a scope-gap list.\n- A construction RFI, a submittal, or a change order. Different seats. Official G716 is during construction. Official G701 is the executed change.\n- Life-safety, structural, or code calls you cannot verify without the listed standard in front of you. Open the standard. Then decide.\n- Delegated design or sealed calculations. Official A201 § 3.12.10. Wrong seat for a bid-day hole list.\n- The walk of Division 01 against the stack is already a habit and reading is not the bottleneck. Leave it.\n\n**How to stand it up this quarter**\n\nUse the model you already have access to. Drop in last bid’s spec PDF, the drawing sheets you actually used, the addenda, the takeoff export, the quote stack, and the bid form. Edit, click every citation, own every hole. Repeat on a live bid. Keep the workflow only if the signed bid is still something you would put your name on. Do not buy a bid-leveling, takeoff, or “scope AI” product to complete this job.\n\n## Citations\n\nTools are citations, not new brand pages. Do not invent vendor homepages. This page does not create a Procore, Autodesk, STACK, BuildingConnected, Bid Board, or other bid-leveling / takeoff vendor listing.\n\n- **[AIA A201–2017](https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500010259162-summary-a201-2017-general-conditions-of-the-contract-for-construction)** — keystone general conditions. Official preview: [§ 1.1.1](https://contractdocs.aia.org/PreviewFiles/Preview_A201-2017.pdf) Contract Documents vs bidding documents / addenda; § 1.1.3 Work; § 1.1.5 Drawings; § 1.1.6 Specifications; **§ 1.2.1 complementary documents**; § 1.2.2 divisions do not control trade split; **§ 3.2** contractor review **before starting each portion of the Work** (construction, not bid-day); **§ 3.8 allowances**; **§ 9.1.2 unit prices**; Modifications vs bid exclusions. Allowance close-out later is a Change Order (G701).\n- **[AIA A701–2018](https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500010280261-summary-a701-2018-instructions-to-bidders)** — official Instructions to Bidders. How to obtain documents; how to submit requests for **clarification, interpretation, and substitutions**; how **addenda** are transmitted; how to submit Bids. [Instructions](https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500009804862-instructions-a701-2018-instructions-to-bidders): § 3.2.2 form for bidder requests for clarification and interpretation; § 3.4.1 form of addenda. [FAQs](https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500009813121-faqs-a701-2018-instructions-to-bidders): used when competitive bids are solicited; public or private. Catalog: [A701](https://aiacontracts.com/documents/a701-bidders-instructions). This is the bidding-question path. It is not G716.\n- **[AIA A101–2017](https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500010257962-summary-a101-2017-standard-form-of-agreement-between-owner-and-contractor-where-the-basis-of-payment-is-a-stipulated-sum)** — stipulated-sum agreement. § 4.2: alternates accepted at execution vs after a condition precedent.\n- **[AIA construction allowances](https://learn.aiacontracts.com/articles/construction-allowance-contracting-basics/)** — A201 § 3.8 rules; allowance vs contingency; G701 closes the allowance. **[AIA unit prices](https://learn.aiacontracts.com/articles/6538689-construction-contracting-basics-unit-prices/)** (Bour, 2022) — A201 § 9.1.2. **[G701–2017](https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500009384382-summary-g701-2017-change-order)** / [change-order fundamentals](https://learn.aiacontracts.com/articles/6378493-the-fundamentals-of-change-orders-in-construction/): executed agreement on Work, sum, and time; reconciliation of allowances and unit prices is a common later change-order reason. A bid-day hole list is not a G701.\n- **[AIA G716–2004](https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500009444782-summary-g716-2004-request-for-information-rfi)** — construction-phase RFI. Sister job: [first-pass RFI drafting](https://aiagents.construction/roles/project-manager/rfi/).\n- **[AIA delegated design / Spearin](https://learn.aiacontracts.com/articles/what-contractors-need-to-know-about-delegated-design/)** — Spearin: owners responsible for the adequacy of design documents provided to contractors. Not a holding about bid exclusions; cited so the name is not free-floating.\n- **[CSI interpretations Part 1](https://www.csiresources.org/blogs/kevin-obeirne-pe-fcsi-ccs-ccca-cdt1/2025/07/28/interpretations-and-clarifications-part-1-introduc)**, **[Part 2](https://www.csiresources.org/blogs/kevin-obeirne-pe-fcsi-ccs-ccca-cdt1/2025/08/18/interpretations-and-clarifications-part-2-procurem)**, **[Part 3](https://www.csiresources.org/blogs/kevin-obeirne-pe-fcsi-ccs-ccca-cdt1/2025/09/16/interpretations-and-clarifications-part-3-order-of)** (O’Beirne, 2025). A701 § 3.2 for procurement-stage questions; G716 for construction; pre-bid answers by addendum; A201 § 1.2.1 complementary documents; AIA does not publish a comprehensive order of precedence. [Coordinated is the fifth C](https://www.csiresources.org/blogs/kevin-obeirne-pe-fcsi-ccs-ccca-cdt1/2020/10/08/specifying-practices-coordinated-is-the-fifth-c) (2020): drawings, Division 00, specs, addenda are one contract. [MasterFormat 2026](https://www.csiresources.org/standards/masterformat2026) / [overview](https://www.csiresources.org/standards/overview): current numbering; Division 01 remains General Requirements. CSI’s [number lookup](https://www.csiresources.org/standards/masterformat/masterformat-number) is offline; this page does not treat 01 21 00 / 01 22 00 / 01 23 00 as verified 2026 assignments. Your Division 01 wins.\n- **[ConsensusDocs 270](https://www.consensusdocs.org/contract/270-bidder-instructions/)** (private) and **[271](https://www.consensusdocs.org/contract/271-instruction-to-bidders-on-public-works/)** (public, optional unit pricing) — parallel-family bidder instructions; clarifications and addenda. Citation only; not a reason to switch families or stand up a new tool.\n- **Excel, email, PDF** — takeoff export, quote stack, hole log, receive, read. If they already have a takeoff or bid-leveling app, the agent reads an export of that. No new vendor page on this site. Sister jobs: [quantity takeoff](https://aiagents.construction/roles/estimator/quantity-takeoff/), [bid-leveling](https://aiagents.construction/roles/estimator/bid-leveling/).\n\n## Watch-outs\n\n- **Invented spec and drawing citations.** Models write fluent “Section 08 71 00 2.3.B and Detail 7/A-501 require…” lines that are not in the PDF you uploaded. Same failure mode as legal citation hallucination: Dahl, Magesh, Suzgun & Ho, *Large Legal Fictions*, 16 *J. Legal Analysis* 64 (2024) ([arXiv:2401.01301](https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.01301), [doi:10.1093/jla/laae003](https://doi.org/10.1093/jla/laae003)) — public LLMs, asked verifiable questions about federal cases, hallucinated often and often could not tell. Those percentages are **legal-case questions, not scope-gap accuracy**; do not import them as a construction performance rate. Do import the habit: every sheet, detail, and paragraph number in the hole list is unverified until you open the set. Blank is honest; a confident fake spec paragraph is not.\n- **Treating a complementary requirement as extra work.** Official A201 § 1.2.1: what is required by one document is as binding as if required by all, to the extent consistent and reasonably inferable. A flag is not a change order. The estimator decides whether it is a hole in the **bid** or already in the **contract**.\n- **Quote-vs-quote theater.** Bid-leveling can show three matching numbers. All three can have skipped the same spec paragraph. This job is the walk against the documents, not against the other subs.\n- **Filling the allowance.** Official A201 § 3.8: carry the stated allowance; do not invent the material cost. Official AIA: allowance ≠ contingency. A model that “helps” by dropping in a fixture price is guessing. Same for blank unit-price and alternate lines on the bid form.\n- **§ 3.2 as a bid-day statute.** Official A201 § 3.2 is study-and-compare **before starting each portion of the Work**, then report errors as an RFI. Bidding uses A701. Do not let the draft cite § 3.2 as the reason you skipped a pre-bid question, or as a day-count.\n- **G716 on bid day.** Official G716 is during construction. Official A701 is how bidders submit requests for clarification and interpretation; answers that bind go by addendum. CSI Part 2: procurement-stage questions are usually email, not an RFI form. Do not invent a bidder-question clock.\n- **Exclusion letter as a rewrite.** Official A201 § 1.1.1: Modifications are listed. A model-drafted exclusion list is not one of them. Official AIA Spearin note: owners warrant the adequacy of the design documents they provide. Contradicting those documents in a cover letter does not make the contradiction the contract.\n- **Unsigned AI as the bid.** Fluent, late, and wrong is worse than a short human hole list. The estimator signs. The agent does not send.\n- **Do not replace the estimator.** The agent flags holes against the upload. The estimator still owns the carry, the pre-bid question, the allowance, and the bid.\n\n## Verdict\n\n**Yes** — a $5–10M US GC should run this job this quarter if they already take off and collect quotes as PDFs (or exports), the bottleneck is walking Division 01–48 against that stack before bid or award, and a person will still own every hole. Use an agent to **cross-check takeoff and sub quotes against spec sections and drawings**; the estimator owns every hole. Skip this quarter if you expected the model to price the hole, send the bid, or replace the estimator’s call on what the drawing implies; if you were about to email raw hole lists to the architect or the owner as if they were addenda; if you thought this was bid-leveling or a construction RFI; or if you were about to buy a takeoff / bid-board product you do not already have. Do not publish this page as a vendor listing."
  },
  "citations": [
    {
      "name": "AIA A201–2017 summary",
      "fact": "Keystone A201 family — Contract Documents vs bidding documents; addenda; § 3.8 allowances; unit prices moved to § 9.1.2",
      "url": "https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500010259162-summary-a201-2017-general-conditions-of-the-contract-for-construction",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "AIA A201–2017 (official preview)",
      "fact": "Work § 1.1.3; complementary documents § 1.2.1; contractor review § 3.2; allowances § 3.8; unit prices § 9.1.2",
      "url": "https://contractdocs.aia.org/PreviewFiles/Preview_A201-2017.pdf",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "AIA A701–2018 summary",
      "fact": "Official Instructions to Bidders — clarification/interpretation requests, substitutions, addenda, Bids; Alternates § 1.6",
      "url": "https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500010280261-summary-a701-2018-instructions-to-bidders",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "AIA A701–2018 instructions",
      "fact": "Fill-ins — form for bidder requests for clarification and interpretation (§ 3.2.2); how Addenda are transmitted (§ 3.4.1)",
      "url": "https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500009804862-instructions-a701-2018-instructions-to-bidders",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "AIA A701–2018 FAQs",
      "fact": "What A701 includes; used when competitive bids are solicited; public or private",
      "url": "https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500009813121-faqs-a701-2018-instructions-to-bidders",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "AIA A701 catalog",
      "fact": "Catalog page — coordinated with G612 Part B (bidding procedures) and G804 (register of bid documents)",
      "url": "https://aiacontracts.com/documents/a701-bidders-instructions",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "AIA A101–2017 summary",
      "fact": "Stipulated-sum agreement — § 4.2 alternates accepted at execution vs after a condition precedent",
      "url": "https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500010257962-summary-a101-2017-standard-form-of-agreement-between-owner-and-contractor-where-the-basis-of-payment-is-a-stipulated-sum",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "AIA construction allowances",
      "fact": "Allowance vs contingency; A201 § 3.8 rules; G701 closes the allowance; do not confuse with a missed trade",
      "url": "https://learn.aiacontracts.com/articles/construction-allowance-contracting-basics/",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "AIA unit prices",
      "fact": "Unit prices for quantities unknown at bid; A201 § 9.1.2 equitable adjustment if quantities change materially",
      "url": "https://learn.aiacontracts.com/articles/6538689-construction-contracting-basics-unit-prices/",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "AIA G716–2004 summary",
      "fact": "Construction-phase RFI form — not the bidding instrument; neither request nor response authorizes extra cost or time",
      "url": "https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500009444782-summary-g716-2004-request-for-information-rfi",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "AIA G701–2017",
      "fact": "Executed change order — agreed Work, Contract Sum/GMP, Contract Time; not a bid-day exclusion list",
      "url": "https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500009384382-summary-g701-2017-change-order",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "AIA change-order fundamentals",
      "fact": "Reconciliation of allowances and unit prices is a common later change-order reason; a bid exclusion is not a G701",
      "url": "https://learn.aiacontracts.com/articles/6378493-the-fundamentals-of-change-orders-in-construction/",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "AIA delegated design / Spearin",
      "fact": "Spearin — owners responsible for adequacy of design documents provided to contractors (implied warranty of adequacy)",
      "url": "https://learn.aiacontracts.com/articles/what-contractors-need-to-know-about-delegated-design/",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "CSI interpretations and clarifications, Part 1",
      "fact": "A701 § 3.2 is the procurement-stage path; G716 is construction; complementary documents are one contract",
      "url": "https://www.csiresources.org/blogs/kevin-obeirne-pe-fcsi-ccs-ccca-cdt1/2025/07/28/interpretations-and-clarifications-part-1-introduc",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "CSI interpretations and clarifications, Part 2",
      "fact": "Pre-bid questions are usually email, not G716; if answered, answer by Addendum; do not invent a day-count",
      "url": "https://www.csiresources.org/blogs/kevin-obeirne-pe-fcsi-ccs-ccca-cdt1/2025/08/18/interpretations-and-clarifications-part-2-procurem",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "CSI interpretations and clarifications, Part 3",
      "fact": "A201 § 1.2.1 complementary documents; AIA/EJCDC do not publish a comprehensive order-of-precedence clause",
      "url": "https://www.csiresources.org/blogs/kevin-obeirne-pe-fcsi-ccs-ccca-cdt1/2025/09/16/interpretations-and-clarifications-part-3-order-of",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "CSI specifying practices — coordinated",
      "fact": "Drawings, Division 00, specs, addenda are one contract; Division 01 coordinates with the general conditions",
      "url": "https://www.csiresources.org/blogs/kevin-obeirne-pe-fcsi-ccs-ccca-cdt1/2020/10/08/specifying-practices-coordinated-is-the-fifth-c",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "CSI MasterFormat 2026",
      "fact": "Current numbering standard — Division 01 remains General Requirements; aligns drawings, specs, and estimates",
      "url": "https://www.csiresources.org/standards/masterformat2026",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "CSI standards overview",
      "fact": "MasterFormat organizes work results contractors can price; current edition is 2026 via CSI Dynamic Standards",
      "url": "https://www.csiresources.org/standards/overview",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "ConsensusDocs 270",
      "fact": "Parallel-family private-work bidder instructions — how questions and clarifications are issued (citation only)",
      "url": "https://www.consensusdocs.org/contract/270-bidder-instructions/",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "ConsensusDocs 271",
      "fact": "Parallel-family public-work bidder instructions — clarifications and addenda; optional unit pricing (citation only)",
      "url": "https://www.consensusdocs.org/contract/271-instruction-to-bidders-on-public-works/",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    },
    {
      "name": "Excel",
      "fact": "Scope-gap sheet (desk tool they already have)",
      "url": "https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/excel",
      "lastVerified": "2026-08-31"
    }
  ],
  "changelog": [
    {
      "date": "2026-08-31",
      "note": "Published from Scout’s job playbook."
    }
  ]
}