ARCHITECTURAL SPECIFICATION SERVICES

The following conditions apply specifically to our commercial contract specifications. Documents and consulting for residential contract specifications may vary. Contact one of the residential contract consultants listed for consultant fees and services.

We do charge for some of our specification services; however, we bill only  for actual hours used and we will not exceed the budget quotation. We do still have many of our services available at no charge. It is probably going to be difficult for you to determine if we are charging for services or not when you are negotiating your contract with an Owner. For this reason we recommend that you include "Finish Hardware Consultation" as a possible expense when you are determining your architectural expenses and fees with your clients. If you require an actual budget dollar amount please contact us.

As your project moves forward it will be easy to determine if there will be a charge for the Finish Hardware consulting. All you need to do is ask the Owner or Owners Representative the following question:

QUESTION:
Are the locks, closers and exit devices ALL limited to one manufacturer?
An example of all being limited to one manufacturer would be: Locks are Corbin-Russwin no substitution, exit devices are Von Duprin and closers are Norton, both no substitution. * * "BEST" brand locks are not included in this generalization.

If the answer is "YES", there will probably be no charge for the specification. Even if Builders' Hardware & Supply Co. does not write the specification it would probably be available by a distributor or manufacturers representative in our area at no charge. If the answer is "NO", there will probably be a charge for the specification.

Builders' Hardware & Supply specification division normally writes hardware specifications only for projects for which we plan to submit a hardware quotation.
A project that we do not plan to bid would be done on an "if time is available" basis only. There will always be a charge for hardware specifications we prepare on projects we do not plan to bid.

Whether we charge for the specification or not there are similar specification services that are included in our basic package. The optional services, if selected, will always have a consulting fee.

A. BASIC SPECIFICATION SERVICES:

1. Preliminary meeting with the Owner, Architect and Security Consultant to discuss the overall security desired by the Owner.
2. Review of plans and the project with the Architect when the project floor plans and door schedule have been completed.
3. Consultation with the Owner, if it is needed, to discuss product selection and specification format.
4. Creation of the finish hardware groups.
5. Hardware groups will have indicators where electronic products have been specified. General or specific electrical system descriptions will be included for each opening depending upon the detail of information that is available at the time the specification is prepared.
6. Coordination of special conditions such as automatic operators and other access control security requirements, both electronic and mechanical.
7. Review of the hardware groups and details with the architect prior to completion of the specification.
8. Finalizing the Finish Hardware Specification preamble. The completed specification with the hardware groups will be E-mailed to the Architects office. The Architect will add the header and footer.
9. Catalog cuts of the materials specified are provided for the Owner and Architect to review.
10. Final revisions to the specification prior to the project going out for bid.
11. Addenda review information is provided.
12. Finish Hardware Schedule submittal review and additional consultation is provided at no charge if we are selected to provide the finish hardware materials. (See item 1. in the optional services for possible affect on this item.)

B. OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL SERVICES AVAILABLE:

1. Finish Hardware Schedule submittal review and additional project consultation is a very important part of the consulting service package. If we are not the supplier these services are still available, but there will always be a fee
2. Riser diagrams of electrical systems may be provided for the electrical consultants to use as guides when they prepare their riser drawings.
3. Finish hardware budget pricing. This service is available as preliminary pricing prior to the completed hardware groups and as a not to exceed budget available after the hardware groups have been completed. Each pricing is considered as a separate process and is available only if we have the time.
4. Related trade specification reviews. We will review the hollow metal, wood and aluminum door specification sections. (This is done as a cross check only and not as a specification section document preparation.) 
5. Job site inspection: We will verify that Finish Hardware was furnished as specified and that the installation is acceptable.
6. Warranty product review: We will review Finish hardware operation and maintenance data for conformance to the specification.

OTHER GENERAL CONDITIONS:

We do not have separate errors and omissions insurance. If we are asked to provide consulting services the Architectural firm must include BH&S under its office policy.

We request the right to review all hardware substitution requests and recommend whether they should be accepted. Final acceptance is always the decision of the Architect.

If we are providing our consulting services at no charge, and the conditions of the original specification are changed or the project is "value engineered" we would be paid for our services on the specification. Payment for the specification would be 3 1/2 % of the final finish hardware quote and an additional 1 % if we are asked to review a competitors' submittal. Review of this submittal would be at our option. Payment for any future services, after the hardware schedule review, would be charged on an hourly basis.

Where materials have been included in the finish hardware specification section and then at a later time removed, for any reason, there will be a charge for the hardware specification services completed to that point. Charges for this work will be computed using the same percentages listed above and based on the estimated cost of the materials being removed from the specification. Examples of these kinds of materials are hardware for aluminum doors, automatic operators, sound doors etc.

Written acceptance of the terms in this transmittal will be required before we can begin the consulting and specification services.

If you have any questions concerning any of the above information or statements, please contact me or any other consultant listed at the beginning of this document.