Your rewritten note
Read your rewrite aloud. Your teacher will try to satisfy it while doing something you did not intend. If they can, it is not tight enough yet.
What gets a spec rejected
The four failure modes
1 · Unenforceable modal. The note describes rather than requires. Everything in Lessons 4 and 6.
2 · Unlocatable citation. “per code” or “per the manufacturer” without naming which. A plan checker cannot verify what they cannot find.
3 · Silent gap. The note covers the normal case and says nothing about the condition that actually occurs on this site — the slope, the water table, the existing wall that is already there.
4 · Internal contradiction. Two notes on the same set requiring different things, usually because one was inherited from an older project and never re-read.
Only the first is a language problem. The other three are professional judgement — which is why a good spec writer is not simply someone with good English.
The pre-flight check
Read every note against these five before it goes out
| # | Check | Fails if… |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Does it use shall (or your house modal) consistently? | Any will, should or may that was not deliberate |
| 2 | Is the subject a thing, unless a duty is being assigned? | It names a person for a performance requirement |
| 3 | Can a reader locate the authority in one step? | “per code”, “as required”, “per manufacturer” |
| 4 | Does it cover the condition actually on this site? | It only describes the textbook case |
| 5 | Does it contradict any other note on the set? | Two notes require different things |
Five checks, thirty seconds a note. This is the habit that separates a set that gets approved from one that comes back with a correction list.
Tighten them
Each note below fails at least one pre-flight check. Rewrite it using the word given.
The wall needs to be built the way the block manufacturer says. ACCORDANCE
Someone should check there is no water problem behind the wall. DRAINAGE
The city can come and look at this and say no. SUBJECT
The contractor has to tell us if what is on site is different from the drawing. VERIFY
Spec the wall, then defend it
Two rounds, back to back. The second is harder than the first.
Task card
A three-foot segmental block retaining wall with geogrid reinforcement — one of your own details
Round 1: write the full spec note set from nothing, in twelve minutes. Round 2: your teacher becomes the plan checker.
- Round 1 — cover: block units, geogrid, drainage, backfill, compaction, and who verifies what. No template.
- Round 2 — they read it back looking for the gap, the vague citation, and the unenforceable modal.
- When they find one, fix it out loud. Do not defend a note you know is weak.
Which check caught you?
Of the five pre-flight checks, which one did the plan checker use against you most? That is the one to run first from now on — the order of the list is not fixed, and yours should start with your weakness.
Before the unit task
Homework. Choose the detail you will spec for Lesson 8 — something from a live project, not a hypothetical. Bring the detail drawing and any manufacturer literature you have for it. Write nothing yet.