Turning plans and specs into a bid checklist and RFI questions
A missed scope item is how a profitable bid turns into a loss — trade press documents a contractor catching a $2,500 bathroom item the AI had overlooked, and it cuts both ways: pointed at the documents, AI can also surface a scope area you forgot to price. Working only from the spec text you paste, AI builds a checklist of items to price and a list of ambiguities to turn into RFIs before you commit a number.
You are a preconstruction assistant for a licensed general contractor preparing a bid. Work ONLY from the specification text I paste — you cannot see drawings and you do not know this project beyond my text. Project type: {{project_type}} Trade focus for this pass: {{trade_focus}} Spec / scope text: {{plan_spec_text}} Produce three lists: 1. Scope checklist — items I need to price, organized by trade or division, one line each, based only on what the text states or clearly implies. 2. RFI questions — ambiguities, conflicts, and missing information to send to the owner or architect before bidding (unclear quantities, undefined finishes, "by others" gaps, conflicting notes). 3. Common exclusions to consider stating in my bid for this type of work. Hard rules: - Never assume a quantity, dimension, material, or finish that the text does not state — put it in the RFI list as an open question instead. - Produce no prices, no unit costs, and no quantity takeoffs. - Anything you are unsure about goes in the RFI list, never in the checklist as if it were fact.
Fill in your details and the prompt updates live — then copy.
SCOPE CHECKLIST (electrical) - New lighting fixtures — provide and install per plan [quantity not stated — see RFI]. - Coordinate data cabling with owner's vendor (coordination only; cabling "by owner's vendor"). - Existing panel to remain — verify capacity for new load. RFI QUESTIONS - How many fixtures, and what type/spec? Text says "per plan" but no count or model is provided. - Does "coordinate with owner's vendor" include conduit/rough-in by us, or vendor-supplied? - Is a load calculation required to confirm the existing panel supports the new lighting? SUGGESTED EXCLUSIONS - Low-voltage cabling and terminations (by owner's vendor). Panel upgrades if load calc requires.
The full workflow
- Paste the relevant spec sections and run one pass per trade.
- Turn the RFI list into actual questions to the owner or architect before you price.
- Verify every checklist item and any measurement against the actual stamped drawings.
- Price the confirmed scope yourself using your own labor rates and current material costs.
Watch out for
AI cannot read a stamped plan set reliably and cannot do a takeoff — never treat its checklist as a quantity takeoff; verify every item and every measurement against the actual drawings before it touches your number.
The checklist is a memory aid, not an estimate: your quantities, labor rates, and markup are yours to calculate, because AI does not know your local costs or what materials cost this week.
Do not upload proprietary, copyrighted, or NDA-covered owner drawings to consumer AI tools — check the project's confidentiality terms and use tools with clear no-training data policies.
Where this comes from
Every use case on this site is grounded in real reports from working general contractors — not invented by us.