The surveyor's role in preparing a specification

A Surveyor when preparing a specification for a major works project should with reasonable skill, care and diligence assess the fabric of the building to the extent of the Clients instructions to specify works he/she deems necessary to maintain or enhance the building.

A specification of works differs from a "Schedule of Dilapidations" or "Schedule of Wants of Repair" which would normally benchmark the condition of a building against the clauses of the lease which dictate the standard or frequency by which the building must be maintained.

Other key differences include that a "Schedule of Dilapidations" or "Schedule of Wants of Repair" would not normally include quantities or methods of procuring the works. Ie. a "Schedule of Dilapidations" or "Schedule of Wants of Repair" might say

Item Action Lease Clause

• Item: Cracked tiling to hallway 12sq
• Action: Replace
• Clause: Clause 3.1, Schedule 2

In contrast a specification of works might say

• Item: Remove skirting boards, take up 12m² of tiling to hallway & dispose of. Prepare floor substrate by scraping off tile adhesive to a level floor finish to ensure that in laying adhesive for new tiles the overall floor height is not raised. Buy "name of tile", from "supplier" or other equivalent as approved by the Contract Administrator prior to laying. Lay using "name & manufacturer of adhesive". Grout using "colour of grout, name & manufacturer"...

The copyright of the Specification of Works belongs to the Surveyor, together with maintenance manuals or other documents, drawings, maps, photographic and other records, models and presentation materials prepared by him/her.

It is industry practice that a specification of works is divided into 3 sections:

• Preliminaries
• Materials & Workmanship
• Schedule of Works

Some specifications may also include a "drawing issue register" where there are design drawings included.

Preliminaries

The preliminaries section of a specification in brief concerns itself with

1. Access to procure the works, for example safe access that would comply with the update to the Health & Safety Regulations Effective 1996. These Regulations require scaffolding or a safe alternative means of access (not ladders) to any area above 2nd floor level. Since these Regulations painting from ladders above 2nd floor level could lead to prosecution by the Health & Safety Executive.
2. Services, ie, what services are on site and what the contractor can make use of, for example is there a communal water supply, or is water to be provided by Flat 1 or brought on site by the contractor.
3. Programme of works - that the Contractor is to provide to the Surveyor either as part of his tender return or if short listed a Programme Works. This will help in establishing competency in sequencing of works and allowing sufficient time for sign off of various work stages on site.
4. Insurances & Company Health & Safety Policy - the Contractor is to submit a Health and Safety Plan for the works, the Health & Safety Policy of the company and relevant insurances and at what stage of the process.
5. Type of Contract & Method of Dispute Resolution - typically maintenance and renewal works as opposed to new build construction is carried out under various versions of the Joints Contract Tribunal (JCT) minor and intermediate works contracts. These type of contracts allow for any dispute between the Client and the Surveyor to be referred to and determined by a sole arbitrator either as agreed or appointed by the President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Depending on the complexity of the project the preliminaries can extend to 30+ pages as establishing how the works shall be procured will be an integral part of the resulting price tendered by a Contractor.

Materials & Workmanship

This is the part of a Specification of Works that details the method of working, what the benchmark or the quality standard required is and highlights matters that will affect the workmanship, ie, at certain temperatures some work cannot be undertaken, for example many manufacturers state that their paint products should not be used in temperatures of less than 11 degrees centigrade.

This part of the specification may include manufacturers product guidance notes and methods of application and/or may refer to guidelines for working established by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) or a relevant British Standard (BS) reference code.

Schedule of Works

This is the part of the specification where the works are specified. The Surveyor's skill in specifying the works should make pricing of the Specification of Works straight forward for the Contractors asked to tender. This is achieved by the Surveyor stating not only what he/she wants done but the quantity,

1. replace 3.7 linear meters of flashing but also making it clear what materials he is expecting to see
2. replace 3.7 linear meters of flashing with Code 4 lead flashings, minimum width 150mm and how he/she wants it fitted
3. set at least 5mm into pointing of the brick parapet wall and then sealed with a sand and cement filled before shaping and bending to dress the juncture where the roof covering meets the parapet wall