MasterFormat Questions

[polarbear22]

I’m reviewing the MasterFormat Section Outline (Architect’s Handbook of Professional Practice), and there are some topics that are confusing me. How will I know where certain items should be located? Hope some of you could give me some advise. Below are some questions:

1. Where would regular cleaning or maintenance of a product after installation be located under? Under Part 1: General, there is a section for “maintenance” and another section for “owner’s instructions”, which I assume is for O&M manuals. And Under Part 3: Exec, there is a section for “cleaning”, but does this mean cleaning prior to or after installation?

2. I understand that general existing conditions should go under Division 02, However: Under part 1: General: there is a line item for Project/Site existing conditions. What items would be described here? Wouldn’t you put any Existing conditions under Division 02? Thoughts?

3. Where would product test reports be located? Under P1General: there is a section for “quality assurance” which indicates test reports, field reports, certifications, etc. Under P2Products: there is a section labeled ”source quality control” under which tests and inspections are labeled. And under P3Execution: there is a section for ‘field quality control” which indicates site tests and inspection. Could you please provide examples of where and/or which types of testing would go under which part?

4. Scheduling is repeated under P1General and under P3Execution. What are the differences?

thank you!

[thd7t]

First of all, don't over think this. Cleaning is under "Cleaning" in Part 3. Maintenance is in part 1. Owner's instructions is separate. This isn't a set of trick questions.

In your second question, you refer to Part 1 of Division 2. Why wouldn't Existing Conditions go there? Are you wondering what conditions you would describe?

I would recommend downloading spec sections from a few products that you're somewhat familiar with. Go over these, because they'll provide context for the AHPP's abstraction.

[polarbear22]

Thank you! I’ll try to keep it simple and not overthink it.

For #2, I meant in another product, say you are specifying masonry. What instance would you describe existing conditions under part 1 of masonry.

But you are right, and I may be overthinking it. I will try looking into spec sections and seeing how it all falls under.

Thanks!

[thd7t]

You might specify existing conditions if your masonry were intersecting a unique condition that wasn't broad enough to put into division 2. Often this is covered in drawings, but specs could describe quality, etc.

[hnQ_9999]

....Cleaning is under "Cleaning" in Part 3. Maintenance is in part 1...

Hummm..you are right...repair and restoration is in p3.

[corbismyhomeboy]

2. I understand that general existing conditions should go under Division 02, However: Under part 1: General: there is a line item for Project/Site existing conditions. What items would be described here? Wouldn’t you put any Existing conditions under Division 02? Thoughts?
Under Div02, you are setting the standards for your overall project. For example, I work in preservation and most of our projects include a Div02 section called Historic Removal and Dismantling. This basically says don't savagely ruin historic fabric by ripping things off substrates, and what to do with historic (and non-historic) things once they are removed from buildings, and if we want removals mockups, etc., But this section, similar to the Div01 sections, refers to the WHOLE project, not just one type of material or area.
Personally, I don't think I've ever seen a spec with existing conditions listed out in the Part 1 of a spec section. (About 10-20 hours of my week is spec review/coordination.) I'm guessing if it's used, it's to draw attention to a coordination item that the contractor needs to be aware of and coordinate with or around.

4. Scheduling is repeated under P1General and under P3Execution. What are the differences? The schedule in Part 3 is listing what product to use where - for instance in the Painting section, it's typical to have a Painting Schedule at the end of Part 3 that says 'for wood substrates, use an alkyd system' and then list the prime coat, intermediate coat, and topcoat. Then lists 'for sheet metal substrates, use a latex system' with the prime coat, intermediate coat, and topcoat. Similar for joint sealants, for door hardware, etc., The schedule referred to in Part 1 I've typically seen under the Submittals, which would be requiring the contractor to submit a schedule of door hardware, etc., for us to verify what they intend matches with our CDs.

thank you!

If you're working on a project, either in design, but preferably in CA, that has a set of specs, try reading some of the sections and noticing the different types of information and how it's organized. Don't get too bogged down in the specifics, because MasterSpec is literally changing their sections constantly! And there are a ton of different ways to organize the information based on the scope of your project. (For instance, is something an accessory or does it need it's own section? If there is only one of something, can I specify it under a section that is similar and change the title? [often times yes].) If you have an in-house spec writer, ask him/her some questions about why things are organized how they are.

[polarbear22]

Thank you for your thorough response! I ended up taking your advise on looking up other specifications and seeing how they were organized. I took the exam back in January and I passed it. Ironically, I don't recall any Spec questions!