Do not price “as per drawings” until you control the document set

List the information you actually used

Your quotation should identify:

• document title and number;
• revision and issue date;
• issuer;
• purpose or status;
• any part not relied upon;
• missing information that affects the price;
• related assumptions or allowances.

Example:

Price prepared from architectural drawings A100 P3, A101 P2 and structural drawing S01 C, as listed in schedule DS01 revision 2. Planning elevations are used for external form. Kitchen layout K01 is preliminary and cabinetry supply is excluded pending final selection.

This is stronger than “quote based on plans” because it gives both parties a recoverable starting point.

Separate document purposes

Do not assume a drawing is ready for construction because it was sent by an architect.

It may be:

• a feasibility sketch;
• a planning drawing;
• a building-control submission;
• a pricing issue;
• a construction issue;
• a specialist fabrication drawing;
• a record drawing.

One file can support more than one purpose, but that use should be deliberate.

If you are asked to price from incomplete information, say what remains provisional. You can request further information, state an assumption, include a classified allowance or price a defined option. Do not turn missing design into a hidden future argument.

Check coordination before commitment

Compare the material information before you issue the price:

• Does the scope match the drawing set?
• Does the specification match the products and details shown?
• Do schedules agree with plans and elevations?
• Do structural openings agree with architectural dimensions?
• Are customer selections current?
• Are planning conditions reflected?
• Are specialist design responsibilities allocated?
• Do proposed milestones and evidence requirements refer to the same work?

You are not taking responsibility for another professional's entire design merely by checking for obvious commercial conflicts. You are identifying the information that your offer depends on.

Do not solve a discrepancy by silent interpretation

If the roof plan shows two rooflights and the quotation schedule shows one, raise it.

Silence creates two expensive stories:

• the customer believes the price includes what the drawing shows;
• you believe the priced schedule narrows the drawing.

A written clarification before acceptance can solve it in minutes. A site argument after the roof is framed can affect materials, labour, planning and trust.

Use precedence carefully

A contract may rank documents if they conflict. Do not invent your own order or assume the quotation always wins.

Even where precedence is stated, a known discrepancy should be resolved if it affects safety, compliance, fit, price or later work. Ranking 826 mm above 900 mm does not redesign the opening or confirm accessibility.

Precedence is a residual rule. Coordination is the primary control.

Control revisions on site

For every new issue:

1. 1record the document number, revision, date, issuer and purpose;
2. 2identify what changed;
3. 3compare it with the accepted set;
4. 4identify affected work, orders and interfaces;
5. 5record any price or programme consequence;
6. 6obtain the required decision;
7. 7mark the earlier revision as superseded for that purpose;
8. 8remove or clearly mark outdated site copies.

Never edit an accepted file in place. A change should create a new revision with its own history.

A later drawing is not automatically a variation

A revision may simply clarify existing work. It may correct the designer's error. It may record a product selected within an allowance. Or it may change the purchased work.

Compare the revision with the accepted scope, specification, responsibilities and price. Then use the correct route:

• clarification;
• corrected project record;
• selection;
• allowance adjustment;
• non-financial amendment;
• variation;
• regulatory submission.

Calling every revision a variation makes the process look opportunistic. Treating every revision as included exposes your margin and programme.

Protect your programme with information dates

Drawings and specifications are deliverables. Put decision dates beside:

• structural details;
• window and door sizes;
• kitchen and bathroom layouts;
• electrical positions;
• finishes;
• specialist fabrication information;
• regulatory responses.

State what ordering or work depends on each item. If information arrives late, record the actual effect and mitigation rather than asserting a general delay.

A practical pricing formula

Before “as per drawings”, write:

If you cannot fill in those brackets, you do not yet control the information your price relies on.