This is not a specification, it's an incomplete list of features with some brand names and unit prices. It would not be adequate for a contract.

It would help to know the climate.

We are in New Jersey. This was my concern. What would you suggest? Do you have an example?

An actual spec would read: Timberline HD shingles in customer choice of color will be used over 30 lb roofing felt. WR Grace ice and water shield used for last 7 feet before drip rail into gutters and under all valleys. Timberline HD cap shingles will be used over Cobra II ridge vents. All materials attached per manufacturers specs for fastening.

Specs list the specific brand and category of material as well as the supporting materials needed for the installation. They also incorporate all manufacturer's requirements for installation into the contract.

What you have is a partial list of possibly included vaguely delineated features, not specs. And it is a BIG RED FLAG.

I was thinking the exact same thing about lighting-that stood out to me the most. We just did chose ours for same size home-"average" fixtures and it cost us $4500. AND I bought the DR, a BR and kitchen pendants on my own! You also may want tp specify cabinets more- inlay, overlay, paneled sides, pull-outs etc. Windows in garage doors? Trim, wainscotting? Kitchen backsplash? Walnut stain on floor was extra. Word of advice: be as specific as possible- we are $25k 'over' at the end because our spec sheet was way more vague than yours and we had absolutely no clue what we would go over on. Ultimately we would do it all over again bc our builder does amazing work and the process has been incredibly smooth but I just wish I had known beforehand.

Anyone have any complete examples from their build they could share?

If you proceed with this builder, add at least 150K to your 20% contingency fee that you need in reserve. At least. Running away would be a much better approach than dealing with this doofus.

Either this builder is looking to shaft you or he has no idea what hell he is doing. I would be concerned about my attorney as well if he has not suggested running in the opposite direction already!

Our spec sheet was actually way more vague than yours but I'm glad we didn't run in the other direction. That being said, we already knew the quality and reputation of our builder in our town very well. But, I think we could've saved some $ on some extras if we knew more specifically what we wanted and what exactly he was including. As far as that goes tho, you often become an 'expert' at something after the first time you do it- that goes for planning your wedding, raising your 1st child vs your others, building your first home. We looked at our spec sheet and said, 'ok looks good'. But now that we're more familiar with a full build, we would know what to include/negotiate if we did it all over again. It certainly never hurts to be as specific as possible, let's be honest. IMO, if you're already $16k over before you even started, I think you should expect to be $20-25k over when all is said and done.

Joe, I wish I could share the spec details in the build contract we're under, but it is highly personalized and I can't risk exposing my identity. We're working with a small local builder of luxury custom homes, fwiw.

I'm not saying this will happen--but if you get any or all of the following, in the absence of anything to the contrary elsewhere in the contract, the builder will have satisfied the contract and you will have received what you paid for:

builder's choice (or your selection from builder's choices) of brick, mortar, joint tooling brick front facade
builder's definition of "ample room" for large SUV to navigate, and "navigate" can mean "travel on"
Andersen SilverLine windows throughout, without low-e coating, minimum allowable U-value and possibly appropriate solar heat gain coefficient
200 sq ft rear deck built with builder's selected thickness and species of wood and maybe it has a finish
Whatever soil is present after construction may be graded and will be seeded with builder's choice of seed age/mix and not necessarily watered
Solid masonite interior doors throughout with factory applied primer only
3 1/4" #2 grade or better Hardwood Floors with stain choice throughout living space to include bedrooms and one coat of polyurethane
15 Hi Hats that are not air tight and must not be in contact with insulation
Choice of paint colors in 4 bedrooms, office and 4 baths in one coat of builder's choice of paint brand over builder's choice of drywall finish level
5" deep 23 Gauge Stainless steel sink without sound insulation

If you're ok with that, go ahead, and you might not be "over" at all.

With good complete specifications in the contract, you'll end up closest to your expectations. You should only be "over" by tens of thousands of dollars if there's something unexpected found during excavation, some huge design deficiency/conflict, or if YOU change your mind on something fundamental or extensive or you're the reason for a big delay in the schedule. Unit prices can be helpful, if you're specific about what it is and how it's to be done, and the only variable is quantity. But anything that is already quantified in the drawings should be completely specified and part of the firm fixed price.

The part you're providing in the contract is specified: the amount of money. Any ambiguity in what the builder is to provide will be to the builder's favor and will amount to profit for him and frustration & disappointment for you. Even among friends it's essential to have a well-defined contract in a drawer, so that you'll hopefully never need to pull it out.

I've built custom homes with fewer details in the contract.

However, all the structure, mechanical and finishes and fittings were to be of at least equal quality (cost) to the specified model home.

If that's not the case, what you have is a bad joke--on you.

**
To add another example to those of other posters:

5" baseboard. So is that MDF or wood? What kind of wood? Paint or stain grade? Finger jointed or solid?

This post was edited by worthy on Thu, Jun 20, 13 at 20:18

There is no model home. I appreciate all the comments. Please keep sharing. We are learning a lot.

Joe, as others have said, you have been furnished a "list of features", not a construction specification. Such lists may often be as misleading and confusing for what they omit as for what they claim to proscribe.

The language of your construction contract will determine the extent to which your "features" list governs and is binding, including recourse (if any) for errors, omissions and disagreements.

For examples of construction specifications, visit the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI).

Here's the Wiki definition for "Specification--Technical Standard". A key element of a legitimate specification is its three parts for each and every area of Work--General, Products and Execution:

Construction specifications in North America

Specifications in North America form part of the contract documents that accompany and govern the construction of a building. The guiding master document is the latest edition of MasterFormat. It is a consensus document that is jointly sponsored by two professional organisations: Construction Specifications Canada and Construction Specifications Institute.

While there is a tendency to believe that "Specs overrule Drawings" in the event of discrepancies between the text document and the drawings, the actual intent��"made explicit in the contract between the Owner and the Contractor��"is for the drawings and specifications to be complementary, together providing the information required for a complete facility.

The Specifications fall into 50 Divisions, or broad categories of work results involved in construction. The Divisions are subdivided into Sections, each one addressing a narrow scope of the construction work. For instance, firestopping is addressed in Section 078400 - Firestopping. It forms part of Division 07, which is Thermal and Moisture Protection. Division 07 also addresses building envelope and fireproofing work.

Each Section is subdivided into three distinct Parts: "General", "Products" and "Execution". The MasterFormat system can be successfully applied to residential, commercial, civil, and industrial construction.

Specifications can be either "performance-based", whereby the specifier restricts the text to stating the performance that must be achieved by the completed work, or "prescriptive", whereby the specifier indicates specific products, vendors and even contractors that are acceptable for each workscope. Most construction specifications are a combination of performance-based and prescriptive types, naming acceptable manufacturers and products while also specifying certain standards and design criteria that must be met.

While North American specifications are usually restricted to broad descriptions of the work, European ones can include actual work quantities, including such things as area of drywall to be built in square metres, like a bill of materials. This type of specification is a collaborative effort between a specwriter and a quantity surveyor. This approach is unusual in North America, where each bidder performs a quantity survey on the basis of both drawings and specifications.

Although specifications are usually issued by the architect's office, specwriting itself is undertaken by the architect and the various engineers or by specialist specwriters. Specwriting is often a distinct professional trade, with professional certifications such as "Certified Construction Specifier" (CCS) through the professional organizations noted above. Specwriters are either employees of or sub-contractors to architects, engineers, or construction management companies. Specwriters frequently meet with manufacturers of building materials who seek to have their products specified on upcoming construction projects so that contractors can include their products in the estimates leading to their proposals.

Good luck on your project.

I could never show you my spec sheet because it is about 24 pages of legal sized pages outlining each detail...

This is my favorite.
"Basement with poured concrete foundation -$12,000"
That whole list seems like your ordering from one those concession stands at the carnival.

The specification format Virgil describes is one that an owner and his agents would write and include in a bid package and would not usually be offered to a homeowner by a design-build contractor. It is common for such a contractor/developer to offer only a list of features; this just happens to be an unusually poorly written one. It doesn't mean the work will be bad but it does mean the OP will have little recourse if it is.

As for sample project specifications, I was once on a very professional construction forum where the moderator asked for specification examples and no one would offer theirs. The general consensus was that it represented too much hard earned knowledge and effort to give away.

This post was edited by Renovator8 on Thu, Jun 27, 13 at 6:39

Does anyone have an example of a complete detailed specification sheet that they would be willing to share? Thanks much!

What is puzzling about this thread is that the OP hired an architect to design a house but did not ask that design professional to specify the materials and systems. The best advice I can give the OP is to ask the architect to finish the design documentation. That action would probably save enough to pay the entire design fee.

This is an old thread (June 2013) brought back to life for some reason. It appears that a new poster is looking for examples of specifications. Good specifications, however, are highly proprietary and are based on years of experience by professionals. As a result, few professionals are willing to simply post their life's work and knowledge on the Internet for all to copy and use. For access to that knowledge one has to pay for it.

For consumers, this old thread offers some very good insight when faced with the design and construction of a new home, whether custom or semi-custom. All too many consumers take their own prepared custom home plan sketches to a draftsperson who simply draws what she/he is given, adds dimensions and returns it to the owner. Period. No specs, not even a features list.

Consumers who are looking for a semi-custom home (a home that consumers contract directly with a builder and for which they may wish to customize some rooms and/or features), get the sort of features list described by the OP, but hopefully it is much more detailed and complete.

In either case the best situation for a consumer may be to pay a professional for and use a set of "outline specifications for small projects", which identifies, at minimum, the brand and category for all materials and equipment, and which minimizes allowances and opportunities for misunderstandings and budget breakers. The cost of having such a specification prepared is small in order to: 1) Ensure one gets what one is paying for; 2) Have "insurance" for the many opportunities for misunderstandings and short-cuts during construction.

Even if someone gave you a spec from an old project, many sections would need to be deleted or added or the specific quality or installation requirements might have to be changed. Unless it was a professional "Master Spec" containing every section you are likely to need so you could quickly edit it, any old spec would only be partially useful. There are many options for sheathing, insulation, windows, doors and roofing not to mention finishes. The number of permutations is virtually unlimited. You could cut and paste from a half dozen specs if you could find them.

The first step is to write an Outline Spec that identifies the major materials so the spec sections can be gathered for editing. It would look a lot like what the OP posted above. Without the Outline Spec you wouldn't know where to start.