AEC definitions
A finish schedule is a room-by-room table of interior finishes: floor, base, walls, and ceiling. Room numbers on the floor plan match the rows. A finish legend defines the codes the table uses, and the specifications define the products.
Definition
The schedule is how an interior scope is priced without painting the finishes onto every plan. A code such as PT-1 or CT-2 means nothing until the legend and the spec say what it is. Ceiling types on the schedule should match the reflected ceiling plan. Floor materials should match any finish plan. Where the documents disagree, the bidder does not get to choose the cheaper finish.
In depth
PT-1, VWC-2, and CT-3 are pointers. The legend gives the description. The specification gives the product, the standard, and the installer requirements. A schedule that invents a code the legend does not define is unfinished.
Keep codes stable across addenda. Changing PT-1 from eggshell to semi-gloss is a real change even though every room row still says PT-1.
Corridors, stairs, janitor closets, and elevator cabs are rooms for this purpose. A missing row means the finish is undefined, and the bidder will assume the cheapest adjacent finish or exclude it.
Room names should match the plan exactly. 'Office' in the schedule and 'Work room' on the plan, with the same number, is a mild mess. Two rooms numbered 201 is a serious one.
If the RCP says acoustical ceiling in a room and the schedule says gypsum, one of them is wrong. If a finish plan hatches sheet vinyl where the schedule says carpet, same problem. Pick a controlling sheet in your QA review and make the others match before issue.
Heights belong in remarks or in the interior elevations. A paint code does not say whether it stops at a chair rail. The elevation does.
Interior finish classifications for flame spread show up in the specification, and sometimes in the schedule remarks, for exits and certain occupancies. A wood ceiling in an exit access corridor is not only a design choice.
The plans examiner reads this with the occupancy and the exit plan. If the schedule is silent and the spec is generic, expect a comment.
Swapping a floor finish changes the schedule, the spec if the product section changes, the transition details, and sometimes the slab depression. A remark in the schedule without a detail at the material change is how the edge fails.
Owner selections after award are a substitution or a change, not a quiet edit to the legend. The submittal has to match the schedule that is current.
Examples
Room 105, conference, is CPT-1 floor, RB-1 base, PT-1 walls, and ACT-1 ceiling. The RCP shows acoustical tile in 105. The codes match.
The legend defines CT-2 as porcelain tile. Specification section 09 30 00 names the test standard. The schedule does not repeat the manufacturer.
Addendum 2 changes PT-1's sheen. Every room that already said PT-1 picks up the change without a new code.
FAQ
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