Construction specification, made practical

Write better specifications.In less time, with greater confidence.

Specifications are often assembled under pressure from old documents, manufacturers’ literature and scattered project information. SpecWorks helps UK construction professionals turn that material into clearer, more dependable tender information without starting again each time.

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Clear. Practical. Buildable.

01 / The problem

Writing a good specification should not feel like guesswork.

The technical information usually exists. The hard part is finding it, checking it and turning it into clauses that define what is to be priced and built.

When time is short, old wording is carried forward, manufacturers’ literature fills the gaps and important decisions are left for the tenderer. The document may look complete while the scope remains uncertain.

Different assumptionsIncomparable tendersDisputes later

02 / A practical answer

Start with stronger information.Apply it to the project.

SpecWorks provides a dependable technical starting point. The professional preparing the specification selects, adapts and checks what is appropriate. Time is spent on project decisions rather than rebuilding standard requirements from scratch.

03 / Where the problem shows up

The tender deadline is fixed. The information is not.

Specification problems rarely arrive as one obvious omission. They sit between drawings, schedules, surveys and old wording until a tenderer has to make an assumption.

Incomplete tender information

Drawings have moved on, but the schedule has not. Scope is scattered and nobody is pricing from quite the same set of assumptions.

Existing buildings

Repairs, alterations and retained fabric create interfaces that a brief instruction such as “make good” does not begin to define.

Recurring work

The operation is familiar, but rebuilding its standard requirements wastes time and copying an old clause carries old assumptions forward.

04 / The clause library

The same work comes round again. It still needs defining properly.

SpecWorks brings the recurring requirements together in focused, editable clause books. Select what you need, adapt it to the project and retain control of the finished specification.

Repairs & Refurbishment

Existing fabric, alteration, repair, renewal and making good.

In productionExplore the R collection

Groundworks & Substructure

24 clauses covering clearance, excavation, foundations, substructure and ground floors.

24 clauses in preparationView the collection

External Walls Above DPC

20 clauses covering masonry, render, openings, interfaces and associated details.

20 clauses in preparationView the collection

05 / A proportionate alternative

Good clauses should not require a system costing thousands each year.

For sole practitioners and smaller practices, another large software platform can be difficult to justify against increasingly competitive fees.

SpecWorks is being developed as a focused, sensibly priced alternative: practical clause books that work with the documents and methods you already use, at a sensible cost and without an expensive software commitment.

06 / What changes

One vague instruction. Several different prices.

When the scope is vague, each tenderer fills the gaps differently. Clearer clauses produce more comparable tenders and fewer disputes later.

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Typical wording

“Repoint brickwork where necessary.”

Necessary where?

SPECWORKS CLAUSE EXTRACTR214

Extent: Repoint areas identified on the drawings and any additional defective joints agreed following the joint survey.
Preparation: Rake out to a consistent depth of at least twice the joint width, or until sound mortar is reached.
Acceptance: Complete a trial area and obtain approval before continuing.

07 / Specification services

When the information exists, but the specification does not.

Specification rescue

Turn incomplete schedules and scattered project information into coordinated, tender ready documents.

Project specifications

Bespoke workbooks structured around the project, the drawings and the information contractors need to price.

Document review

A practical review for unclear scope, missing interfaces, contradictions and requirements that cannot be properly priced.

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08 / Built from experience

Construction knowledge belongs in the clause, not hidden in the writer’s head.

Practical judgement, not generic content.

SpecWorks is led by a Chartered Builder with more than 40 years of experience across the tools, contracting, consultancy and project delivery. That experience shapes what the clauses ask, what they control and what they leave to the project team to decide.

About SpecWorks

Start with the evidence

See how a SpecWorks clause reads.

Judge the structure, detail and practical usefulness for yourself.

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