You are sending a trade bid and need the builder to see what the price buys. An inclusion states what work, materials, or other obligations your offer covers. An exclusion states what it leaves out. Be specific so the builder can compare bids and assign the remaining work.
The NC board recommends comparing the quantity and quality of materials behind estimates, as well as the price. Clear inclusions and exclusions let the builder make that comparison. They do not replace the final agreement. Board estimate and contract guidance.
List the work, materials, and visits included
Name the work you will perform and where you will perform it. Identify the drawing set and revision used for the bid. Match the material, installation, and finish in your bid to the specified product or approved selection.
Distinguish labor from supply. If you supply a product, list its accessories and who receives it. If the builder supplies it, state what your installation price assumes about delivery, completeness, and condition.
Describe the visits included in the offer. Identify rough work, final installation, adjustments, and agreed closeout information where those are separate parts of the package. Ask the builder to clarify any requested visit your price does not cover.
Avoid calling an offer “turnkey” without explaining its contents. Ask what inspection, testing, connection, cleaning, and follow-up responsibilities the builder expects. Include the items you offer and state the remainder plainly.
Read writing a trade scope when the request itself is unclear. Ask for missing instructions before pricing a different package from the other bidders.
Name excluded work so the builder can assign it
Name the excluded task or product. State where it meets your work and whether it must be finished before you start. Identify any related information you need from the builder before proceeding.
Use these examples to discuss the scope before drafting contract clauses:
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| Vague wording | Clearer boundary to discuss |
|---|---|
| Materials by others | Name the builder-supplied products and who receives and checks them |
| Prep excluded | Identify the substrate condition your installation requires and who establishes it |
| Electrical excluded | State which equipment connection is outside your offer and who coordinates it |
| No extras | Identify the change-request process and person who approves additional work |
| Cleanup by others | Distinguish removal of your installation debris from the final house clean |
| Warranty excluded | Identify the precise warranty obligation being proposed and obtain legal review |
If an excluded item prevents you from doing the specified work, tell the builder. Ask who will handle it. Keep the unanswered item visible in the bid.
Make clear that excluded work may still be required. Ask the builder who handles work required by the approved assembly. Confirm that assignment before signing.
Separate exclusions from assumptions and allowances
Use an assumption for a condition on which the offered work or price depends. Use an allowance for a stated pricing basis awaiting a final selection. Use an alternate for a separately priced option. Keep those categories apart in your bid.
For an installation-only bid, list the products the builder supplies. Describe a ready and accessible work area as an assumption. If a finish selection remains open, state the allowance basis without presenting it as the selected product.
Ask the builder to accept or correct each assumption. When the site or selection differs, request the decision under the change process. Raise pricing assumptions before the crew arrives.
If you cannot price a missing detail, say what information is needed. Avoid presenting a guessed specification as included work. Keep the bid qualified until the responsible person answers.
Check the interfaces that invite confusion
Check where your work meets another trade’s work. Use the following examples to identify questions your bid must answer.
For cabinets and countertops, ask who establishes the support condition, supplies additional supports, and accepts readiness for templating. Cambria’s guideline requires support without deflection for its countertops. State whether your bid includes the required support work for the specified system. Cambria support guidance.
For cabinets and flooring, identify the product and installation method. Flooret says fixed cabinets can restrain its floating floors, while its glue-down and nail-down instructions allow different sequencing. Do not extend that instruction to an unidentified floor. Flooret sequencing guidance.
Read cabinets or flooring first when preparing that interface. Ask who handles perimeter details, protection, and appliance clearance under the design and product instructions.
For fixtures and equipment, identify supply, installation, final connection, testing, and return visits separately. Ask the builder which trade handles each task. List the tasks your price covers. Do not assume the person delivering a product also connects it.
Show what you priced and what remains open
Return the builder’s document index with your bid. Identify addenda you priced and unanswered questions. Put exceptions beside the applicable scope item so the builder can find them during comparison.
Offer a short responsibility sheet with your price. Ask the builder to flag any excluded work it expects you to do. Resolve that difference before the price becomes the basis of the agreement.
Use the trade scope of work template to organize that conversation. Keep alternate prices and allowances visible. Avoid merging a proposed option into the base scope without written acceptance.
NARI’s designer-collaboration guidance calls for clear expectations and documented deliverables and milestones. When your bid depends on design information, identify the missing deliverable and the person issuing it. NARI documentation guidance.
Confirm the agreement contains the resolved scope
Before signing, compare the agreement with your accepted bid and clarifications. Ask your construction attorney about conflicting terms, which document controls, and broad responsibility clauses. Do not assume that a bid exclusion controls every later contract provision. AIA’s A401 summary illustrates how a subcontract can incorporate general conditions and prime-contract responsibilities; ask counsel what your agreement incorporates.
Record the final inclusions, accepted exclusions, and assigned interfaces in the project documents. Send the field lead the current scope and relevant drawings. Have that person raise instructions that fall outside the agreed work before performing them.
When a condition changes, describe the difference and request a decision. Identify the cost or schedule information needed for review. Keep the original scope so both parties can see what changed. AIA’s G701S summary describes a contractor-subcontractor change order covering agreed work, price, and time changes under that form.
Address return visits and repairs before award. Ask who coordinates investigation, what records are needed, and how disputed costs are reviewed. Use callbacks and warranty work to prepare those questions without inventing a standard warranty period.
Where Cercha fits
Cercha’s profiles and portfolios let you show the kinds of work your company performs. Messages lets you discuss a builder’s package and ask about missing scope information. Put accepted inclusions, exclusions, and change decisions in the project agreement.