AEC definitions
A scope of work is the description of what a party must do under a contract. On a construction project the drawings and specifications are the project scope. A subcontract scope of work states which parts of those documents a trade owns, and which parts it does not.
Definition
People also say statement of work. In construction the dangerous version is a one-page scope letter that contradicts a project manual nobody attached. The scope of work should incorporate the drawings, the specifications, and the addenda by reference, then list clarifications, inclusions, and exclusions that were priced. An exclusion of work the specifications assign to that trade is only real if the other party accepted it. Otherwise the contract documents still require the work.
In depth
Owners and prime contractors are bound by the agreement, the general conditions, the drawings, and the specifications. A proposal narrative does not shrink that set unless the agreement incorporates the narrative and gives it priority.
Work shown in any of the contract documents is in scope even when it is easier to see on a drawing than in the section the trade prefers to read.
The GC splits the project into packages. Each subcontract should say which spec sections apply, which drawing notes apply, and which interfaces belong to the neighbor. Firestopping, access panels, and core drilling should have exactly one owner.
A scope that says 'per plans and specs' and then lists twenty exclusions has to be read as a whole. The exclusions are amendments only if the subcontract lets them amend the specs.
'Provide and install all Division 26 except utility fees' is a scope. 'Help with electrical as needed' is not. The second one cannot be leveled, scheduled, or enforced.
Quantities in a scope letter should match a takeoff that is identified. A lump sum that also says 'based on 40 fixtures, more is extra' is a unit-price arrangement hiding in a lump sum. Say which contract type you mean.
If the scope letter excludes a spec requirement and the subcontract says the specifications govern, the exclusion loses. Write the precedence clause to match the deal you priced, and attach the letter.
Owners do not have to honor a subcontractor exclusion they never saw. Flow-down clauses pass the prime scope down. The GC who excluded something upward and included it downward, or the reverse, owns the gap.
Work outside the contract documents is a change. Work inside them that the trade hoped to avoid is not. The argument is won by the documents, the leveling sheet, and the precedence clause.
Scope creep is the slow addition of expectations without a change instrument. The defense is a written scope and a habit of pricing deltas when they appear.
Examples
The mechanical subcontract incorporates spec sections 23 and the mechanical drawings, and excludes temporary power, which the electrical scope includes.
A bidder's exclusion of controls is struck during leveling. The signed scope includes controls. The price is adjusted before award.
The architect asks for an extra mockup the specifications did not require. The contractor prices it as a change. It is not absorbed as interpretation.
FAQ
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