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Step 4 Producing a Project Specification
THE PATH TO SUCCESSFUL CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATIONS

At this point, you know should be about ready to start a project specification.

  • SpecLink should be installed, with the proper access key.
  • You should have your pdf copy of the relevant Catalog Listing on your local drive — to search in.
  • You should have your free pdf copy of MasterFormat 2004 edition on your local drive — also to search in.
  • Have you taken your free New User Webinar? If not, we highly recommend that you do so, or at least go back to Step 1 and review the materials there about operating the software.

Now just get started! You can't hurt it — you never change the actual master text and you can always start over!

For keeping track of which sections are to be included and their status, we recommend keeping a Project Checklist. We've made an editable copy of the Catalog Listing to use for this purpose.

The easiest way to get results quickly is to use one of our Model Projects. These are SpecLink project files with many typical sections already selected and pre-edited for a hypothetical project of the type indicated. The four Model Projects are:

  • Professional Office Building Model Project
  • Multifamily Residential Model Project
  • Branch Bank Model Project
  • Basics Catalog Model Project

We suggest that you review the descriptions of the hypothetical Model Projects and choose the one that most closely resembles your project. Then, download the project files, unzip them, and put them in your Projects folder. Then you can open and edit them as if they were project files you created yourself. (The SpecLink installation process includes an option to install these project files, so they may already be there.)

Note: All of these projects include sections selected from all disciplines – "ASCLME" – some of which will not be available to subscribers of other than the "Comprehensive" catalog. The sections in the "Basics Catalog Model Project" are limited to sections in that catalog.

When you are using an existing project file, whether it is a Model Project file or one you created earlier, follow at least these steps when editing:

  • Review the list of sections to de-select sections that are not to be used in the current project.
  • Review the contents of sections that have already been edited to de-select provisions that are not needed in the current project.
  • Review the list of sections to add sections that were not used in the previous project.
  • Edit the newly selected sections to select provisions needed in the current project.

The steps listed above are only the most basic steps. In all cases, you should review the Master Notes for any advice they give and the Project Notes for instructions or information left by previous specifiers. We also suggest you review the Specifiers' Library discussions for any issues that are relevant to your project.