How do subcontractors avoid scope gaps and exclusions before bid day?

Most scope gaps come from four places: trade interfaces, Division 01, addenda, and drawings that disagree with the specs. A checklist for finding them before you price, and how to write exclusions that hold up.

Paul Maloney
Founder of Skoper. Licensed general contractor.
5 min read

Read more than your own plan sheets: Division 00 and 01, your spec sections, every addendum, and the sheets of the trades next to you. Then write inclusions, exclusions and clarifications that name the sheet and the spec section, so nobody can read your silence as "included".

If you skip that, the gap shows up later as a change order the GC won't sign, or as work you do for free.

Where scope gaps come from

  • Trade interfaces. Work that sits between two trades, where each assumes the other has it.
  • Division 00 and 01. General requirements, supplementary conditions, temporary facilities, testing, closeout, mock-ups. Subs who price from drawings alone miss these.
  • Addenda. Issued during the bid period, sometimes the day before bids are due. Price the original set and you are bidding a job that no longer exists. Some public owners reject a bid that doesn't acknowledge every addendum.
  • Drawing vs spec conflicts. The drawing shows one thing and the spec calls for another. If you price the cheaper one without saying so, you will be held to the other.

The interface items that get missed

These are the usual suspects. Check them on every job and decide, in writing, whether each one is yours.

  • Penetrations, sleeves and firestopping. A classic: the plumber excludes core drilling, a coring sub drills the holes, the spec calls for sleeved and fire-rated penetrations, and nobody priced the sleeving or the sealing.
  • Blocking in walls for grab bars, millwork, TVs and wall-hung equipment. Framer, carpenter or millwork?
  • Equipment connections. Kitchen or process equipment arrives with a junction box or a stub. Who makes the final plumbing and electrical connection?
  • Motor starters and disconnects. Mechanical or electrical?
  • Embeds and anchor bolts. Who supplies, who sets?
  • Hoisting and rigging. Often assumed "by others" until bid day.
  • Cutting and patching in existing buildings.
  • Temporary protection, heat and power.
  • Concrete housekeeping pads and roof curbs.
  • Testing and inspections beyond your normal trade testing.

A pre-bid checklist for subs

  1. Check the sheet index against the sheets you actually received. Missing sheets are a question for the GC now, not a surprise later.
  2. Read Division 00 and 01 first. Note anything that costs money: insurance, bonds, schedule, temporary facilities, closeout documents, warranty length.
  3. Read your spec sections completely, including "related sections" and "work by others".
  4. Go through the sheets of the trades next to you, not only yours. Mark every place your work touches theirs.
  5. List every interface item from the list above and decide: included, excluded, or clarification.
  6. Compare drawings and specs for your trade. Write down every conflict and either send an RFI before the cutoff or state your assumption in the bid.
  7. Log every addendum as it arrives. Note which sheets and sections it changes, and re-check your takeoff on those sheets.
  8. Before you submit, confirm you have acknowledged every addendum by number on the bid form.

How to write an exclusion that holds up

A vague exclusion starts an argument. A specific one ends it. A good exclusion does four things:

  1. Names the item precisely.
  2. Cites the drawing sheet or spec section.
  3. Says who you assume is doing it.
  4. Gives a price path if it turns out to be yours.

Weak: "Excludes firestopping."

Strong: "Excludes firestopping of pipe penetrations shown on P-201 to P-204 per Section 07 84 00; assumed by the firestopping contractor. Can be added for a stated price on request."

Weak: "Excludes equipment connections."

Strong: "Includes rough-in to within 3 ft of kitchen equipment per Q-101. Excludes final connections to owner-furnished equipment; assumed by the equipment installer."

Use clarifications for work you are including with conditions ("based on continuous access, single mobilization"). Use allowances when the work is certain but the quantity or selection isn't known yet.

A simple scope sheet to attach to every bid

  • Documents priced: list drawings by sheet number and date, spec sections, and addenda by number.
  • Inclusions: the systems and work you are providing, in full sentences.
  • Exclusions: each one named, referenced, and assigned to someone.
  • Clarifications: the conditions your price assumes.
  • Alternates and add options: priced separately.

That list of documents priced is the most important line. If an addendum came out after your bid, it shows exactly what you priced.

The last 24 hours before bid

  1. Check for addenda one more time.
  2. Re-read your exclusions against the latest addendum.
  3. Confirm your number reflects the current revision of every sheet you priced.
  4. Send open questions to the GC in writing, even if the answer arrives after bid. It is your record.

Where Skoper fits

The slow part of all this is reading: sorting the set, finding the sheets for your trade and writing up scope and assumptions. Skoper reads your plan set and returns a first-pass estimate package: takeoff quantities, a scope of work and a list of assumptions. It does the first pass; you review every line before it goes out. Use the assumptions list as a starting point for your clarifications, not as the final word.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a scope gap and an exclusion?

An exclusion is work you told the GC you are not doing. A scope gap is work nobody priced and nobody mentioned. Exclusions are fine. Gaps are what cost money.

Do I need to list standard exclusions on every bid?

Yes, but tailor them. A boilerplate list copied from the last job either misses something or excludes work any competent bidder in your trade would include, which can get your bid tossed when the GC levels it.

What if the drawings and specs disagree?

Send an RFI before the question deadline. If there is no time, state which one you priced in your clarifications.

How do I handle an addendum issued the day before bid?

Log it, find the sheets and sections it changes, re-check those quantities, and acknowledge it by number on the bid form.

Should exclusions have prices?

Where you can, yes. "Available as an add for $X" turns an exclusion into an option instead of an argument.

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