Write a Residential Contract Scope of Work

A. Finished-Project Specification

Quantity: one complete scope-of-work document per project, cross-checked against the Book 24 estimate, Book 25 permit file, and Book 26 project-management plan, and reviewed by a qualified attorney before contract execution.

B. Document Schedule (Component Schedule)

Component	Quantity	Format	Content Required	Preparation / Purpose
Scope of Work	1	Written document, phased by room, system, or trade package	Deliverables, materials, responsibilities, exclusions, boundaries, completion standards	The document incorporated into the executed contract
Cross-Check Record	1	Table linking scope items to estimate, permit, and schedule references	Estimate line item, permit trigger, and schedule reference for each deliverable	Confirms every scope statement is priced, permitted, and scheduled
Discrepancy Log	1	List with resolution status	Unpriced, duplicated, ambiguous, or unauthorized items and their resolution	Resolved before attorney submission
Attorney Review Record	1	Cover memo and revision log	Reviewing attorney, jurisdiction, date, comments, and resolution	Required before contract execution

C. Information Takeoff

• Proposal package: the accepted Chapter 8 proposal, drawings, specifications, selections, photographs, site notes, estimate, permit plan, schedule assumptions, and clarifications, gathered before Step 1.
• Party information: legal business name, customer, property owner, project address, contract authority, and authorized signers, confirmed before Step 2.
• Cross-check references: the Book 24 estimate, Book 25 permit and compliance file, and Book 26 project-management plan for the same project, gathered before Step 30.
• Legal review input: the qualified attorney identified for jurisdiction-specific review before Step 35.

D. Acceptance Standards

Check	Standard
Deliverables	Every deliverable states a measurable quantity, location, material, and completion condition traceable to the estimate
Materials and product responsibility	Every major product identifies the selecting, purchasing, receiving, inspecting, and warranting party and the substitution procedure
Responsibilities	Owner, contractor, subcontractor, supplier, designer, and third-party responsibilities are each stated without overlap or gap
Exclusions and boundaries	Exclusions, concealed-condition boundaries, and hazardous-material boundaries are distinguished from owner work, alternates, and allowances
Completion and acceptance	Milestone, substantial-completion, final-completion, and acceptance criteria use only attorney-approved language
Cross-check resolution	Every unpriced, duplicated, ambiguous, or unauthorized item identified in the cross-check is resolved before submission
Legal review	The complete scope has been reviewed by a qualified attorney in the applicable jurisdiction and comments are addressed before execution

E. Foundation Documents and Project Objective

1. Collect the accepted proposal, drawings, specifications, selections, photographs, site notes, estimate, permit plan, schedule assumptions, and clarifications. Assemble every source document in the project file before drafting begins.
2. Confirm the legal business name, customer, property owner, project address, contract authority, and authorized signers. Record each on the scope-of-work template header exactly as it will appear on the contract.
3. Identify the controlling document date and revision. State which proposal revision, plan set, and clarification date governs the scope.
4. Define the project objective and completed outcome. Write one specific statement of the finished result the contract is intended to produce.
5. Divide the work into logical phases, rooms, systems, or trade packages. Organize the scope structure to match how the work will actually be sequenced and inspected.
6. Write each deliverable using measurable nouns, quantities, locations, materials, and completion conditions. Draft the deliverable list for every phase, room, system, or trade package identified in the previous step.

F. Deliverables, Materials, and Product Responsibility

1. Identify demolition, salvage, protection, disposal, and existing-condition responsibilities. State which party performs and pays for each activity.
2. Identify exact materials, products, models, grades, finishes, colors, or allowance procedures. Record the specific product identification or the governing allowance amount for every major material.
3. Identify who selects, purchases, receives, stores, inspects, and warrants each major product. Assign each responsibility to a named party for every product identified in the previous step.
4. Identify substitution approval and discontinued-product procedures. State who must approve a substitution and what happens when a specified product is discontinued.
5. Define contractor labor, supervision, equipment, temporary protection, cleanup, testing, inspection, and documentation. State the contractor's operational responsibilities for each deliverable.

G. Owner, Contractor, and Third-Party Responsibilities

1. Define owner access, decisions, selections, utilities, property control, pets, children, valuables, parking, and payment responsibilities. State each owner responsibility as a specific, verifiable duty.
2. Define subcontractor, supplier, designer, engineer, utility, municipality, and third-party responsibilities. Name each third party's role and the contractor's coordination responsibility.
3. Define permit-holder, inspection, correction, and approval responsibilities. State who holds each permit and who is responsible for scheduling and passing each inspection.
4. Define work excluded from the contract. List every excluded item in specific, project-specific language.
5. Distinguish exclusions from owner work, future work, alternates, allowances, and unit-price work. Confirm each excluded item is not mistakenly restated as an allowance or alternate elsewhere in the scope.
6. Define concealed-condition, hazardous-material, code-discovery, utility, structural, moisture, and damage boundaries. State how each type of discovered condition is documented, priced, and authorized.
7. Define how field conditions are documented and priced. Reference the Chapter 10 change-order and force-account procedures for any condition discovered after work begins.
8. Define access, work hours, occupancy, dust, noise, sanitation, security, and daily shutdown expectations. State each expectation as a specific, observable condition.
9. Define material delivery, storage, staging, protection, and damage risk. State which party bears responsibility for delivered material at each stage.

H. Completion Standards, Cross-Checks, and Legal Review

1. Define milestone, substantial completion, final completion, and owner-use conditions only through approved contract language. Do not draft this language without attorney-approved terms specific to the jurisdiction.
2. Define acceptance criteria using plans, specifications, manufacturer instructions, code approvals, samples, and reasonable workmanship standards reviewed by counsel. State the specific standard each deliverable will be measured against.
3. Define inspection, testing, startup, demonstration, training, manuals, warranties, spare material, and final photographs. State what is required for each deliverable at completion.
4. Define punch-list process and conditions for legitimate correction. State how a punch item is identified, documented, and closed.
5. Define cleanup, debris removal, restoration, and final site condition. State the specific condition the site must be left in at completion.
6. Define schedule assumptions and events that may affect duration without inserting unsupported guarantees. State schedule assumptions as conditional, not guaranteed.
7. Define allowance selection deadlines and consequences. State the deadline for each allowance selection and what happens if it is missed.
8. Define change-order process and authorization. Reference the Chapter 10 system as the sole authorized method for changing the scope.
9. Define closeout documents and final handoff. List every document required at project closeout under Chapter 19.
10. Cross-check every scope statement against the Book 24 estimate. Confirm every deliverable and material has a traceable price.
11. Cross-check regulated work against Book 25. Confirm every permit-triggering deliverable is reflected in the permit file.
12. Cross-check execution and closeout against Book 26. Confirm the scope's sequencing and closeout requirements match the project-management plan.
13. Identify unpriced, duplicated, ambiguous, or unauthorized work. Record every discrepancy found during the three cross-checks on the discrepancy log.
14. Resolve discrepancies through written revision before contract execution. Correct the scope, estimate, permit file, or project-management plan as needed and record the resolution.
15. Submit the complete scope and contract package for attorney review in the applicable jurisdiction. Route the reconciled scope to the reviewing attorney with the cross-check and discrepancy records.
16. Obtain authorized approval and archive the reviewed template and project-specific version. Record the attorney's approval, address any final comments, and store the executed scope in the project file.