CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS

Find answers in a construction project manual without paging through it

A construction project is governed by a stack of documents: the agreement, general and supplementary conditions, specification sections, addenda and the drawings. The answer to a question about scope, submittals or a deadline can sit in any of them, and later addenda can change it. Upload the project manual and addenda, ask in plain language, and open the cited section to read the requirement before you price, build or respond to an RFI.

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Last updated October 2026

How to search construction documents with Search+

Upload the manual, conditions and addenda
Add the specification volumes, general and supplementary conditions and every addendum, up to 10 files per upload. Specifications often circulate as Word files and addenda as PDFs, and both can go into the same workspace.
Describe your trade and role
In Workspace Context, write something like "We are the mechanical subcontractor; flag requirements that affect our scope, submittals or schedule, and note when an addendum changes a section." That instruction applies to every question.
Ask, then check the cited section
Ask one requirement at a time. Each answer cites the section it used, with the section number when the document has one, so you can read the full requirement and its references.

Questions people ask of construction documents

Submittals

What submittals are required for the roofing section, and what must each one include?

Addenda

Did any addendum change the specified product for the exterior doors?

Testing

Which tests and inspections are required for concrete, and who pays for them?

Warranties

What warranty period is required for the membrane roof, and when does it start?

Closeout

What closeout documents must be delivered before final payment?

Coordination

Which specification sections mention coordination with the electrical contractor?

What working with construction documents involves

Order of precedence

Contracts often say which document controls when two conflict, such as the agreement over the specifications. Read that clause before resolving a conflict.

Divisions and sections

Many projects organize specifications by division and section number. Each section typically has general, products and execution parts.

Addenda change the bid set

Addenda issued before bidding or signing modify the documents. Always check whether one changes the section you are reading.

Supplementary conditions modify standard forms

Projects often use a standard set of general conditions and change it through supplementary conditions, so both must be read together.

Mixed formats in one workspace

A bid set often mixes Word specification sections, PDF conditions and scanned addenda. Search+ takes PDF and Word files and reads scanned pages with OCR, so the whole written set can be asked about together. Keep the drawings open alongside the answers.

Answers across the whole set

Ask across every document in the workspace and the answer can draw on the manual and the addenda together, citing each source.

Common construction documents and what to ask

Document	What it usually covers	A question to ask Search+
Agreement	Parties, contract sum, contract time	What is the contract time and how is it measured?
General conditions	Rights and duties of owner, contractor, architect	What notice is required to claim extra time?
Supplementary conditions	Project-specific changes to the general conditions	Which general conditions are modified for this project?
Division 01 general requirements	Submittals, meetings, quality, closeout	What is the submittal review period?
Technical specification sections	Products, materials, execution	Which manufacturers are listed for this product?
Addenda	Changes issued before signing	What did Addendum 2 change?

What are construction documents?

Construction documents are the written and graphic documents that define a building project: the agreement, the conditions of the contract, the specifications and the drawings, together with any addenda and later modifications.

A construction contract is one part of this set: the agreement between the owner and the contractor. Construction documents also include the specifications and drawings that define the work.

Construction document questions

Can Search+ find a requirement buried in a long project manual?

Yes. Ask what is required and Search+ answers from the manual with a citation to the section, so you can read it in full.

Will it tell me if an addendum changed a section?

Upload the addenda with the manual and ask whether any addendum modified a section. The answer cites the addendum and the original text it changes.

Our specifications are Word files and the addenda are scans. Can I use both?

Yes. Upload the Word sections and the scanned addenda to one workspace; Search+ reads scans with OCR. Check the cited text on any faint or marked-up addendum page against the issued copy.

Can I list every submittal requirement for my trade?

Ask for the submittal requirements in the sections that cover your work. The answer cites each section; check the list against the manual, since an AI answer can miss items.

Is an answer from Search+ a contract interpretation?

No. Search+ helps you find and read the documents. It is not legal or design advice, so take interpretations to the architect, engineer or your contract adviser through the project's formal process.

Construction document sections

Change order procedures

How scope, price and time changes are approved

Schedule milestones

Key dates, completion and delay terms

Specifications

Materials, products and workmanship requirements

Construction contracts

The owner and contractor agreement

Building codes

The code requirements behind the design

All real estate documents

Find the requirement before you price it

Start a workspace, upload the project manual and addenda, and ask about your scope.

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