Construction RFI Checklist: What to Log Before Bid + During Construction

Construction projects average 1 RFI per 1,000 square feet on commercial work — a 50,000 SF office building generates 40–70 RFIs over the course of construction. The difference between a well-run project and a contentious one is often whether those RFIs were caught early (at plan review) or late (in the field). An RFI caught at bid is a clarification. The same RFI surfaced at rough-in is a schedule delay and potential change order.

This checklist covers both phases: what to identify and log during pre-bid plan review, and how to manage RFIs during construction.

Part 1: Pre-Bid RFI Checklist

These are the items to identify during plan review and submit to the architect before bid day. Pre-bid RFIs are answered via addendum — formal document issuances that become part of the contract for all bidders.

Scope and Contract Questions

• ☐Any "by others" notation without identifying who "others" is — confirm scope attribution before pricing
• ☐"NIC" (not in contract) items that are adjacent to GC scope — confirm the boundary is clear
• ☐"By owner" items — is the GC installing owner-furnished items? Who is responsible for receiving and protecting them?
• ☐Design-build scope (performance specs with no design detail) — what are the performance requirements? Who approves the design?
• ☐Alternates that appear in both Division 1 and on drawings but with conflicting descriptions — which governs?
• ☐Allowances — confirm the basis of design and what is included/excluded from the allowance
• ☐Fire suppression — GC scope or owner-direct contractor? Complete system or rough-in and heads only?
• ☐Low-voltage / technology — in base bid or excluded? If excluded, confirm delineation point for conduit/backing
• ☐Temporary utilities — who pays for construction power, water, heat?

Drawing Conflicts and Coordination

• ☐MEP routing conflicts with structural framing — specific sheet and detail callouts for each conflict
• ☐Ceiling plenum height conflicts — identify the tightest zone and confirm all systems can fit
• ☐Grease interceptor or utility routing inconsistencies between plumbing and civil drawings
• ☐Rooftop equipment — structural support adequate for equipment weight and maintenance access
• ☐Owner-furnished equipment electrical requirements vs. panel schedule — do the circuit sizes match?
• ☐Column grid discrepancies between architectural and structural plans
• ☐Door rough opening sizes in structural vs. architectural door schedule — any mismatches?
• ☐Utility service connection points — civil and MEP agreements on tie-in locations

Missing or Conflicting Specifications

• ☐Spec sections referenced in drawings but not present in project manual — document each missing reference
• ☐Drawing notation specifying a material that conflicts with the specification section for that work
• ☐Finish schedule items without spec references — confirm material standard
• ☐Equipment spec sections where model number on drawings differs from spec

Part 2: Construction-Phase RFI Checklist

Once the contract is awarded, RFIs shift from bid clarifications to formal document requests with schedule and cost implications. A well-managed RFI log is one of the GC's primary project controls tools.

What to Include in Every RFI

• ☐RFI number — sequential, unique identifier for the project log
• ☐Date submitted — establishes the start of the response period
• ☐Response required by date — your needed-by date to avoid schedule impact; be specific and reasonable
• ☐Drawing/spec reference — exact sheet number, detail callout, or spec section that contains the conflict or ambiguity
• ☐Description of the issue — clear, specific, one issue per RFI when possible
• ☐Contractor's proposed resolution — offer a solution; this speeds response time significantly
• ☐Cost/schedule impact flag — note if the response could result in a change order or schedule adjustment claim
• ☐Attachments — annotated plan excerpt showing the conflict location

RFI Log Management Checklist

• ☐Log every RFI with submitted date and required-by date — no informal verbal questions for anything with cost or scope implications
• ☐Track response turnaround — flag any RFI open more than 7 business days without response
• ☐Follow up in writing on overdue responses — create a paper trail if delays are causing schedule impact
• ☐Review all responses for scope/cost implications before closing — don't close an RFI without determining if a PCO is needed
• ☐Distribute responses to affected subcontractors promptly — their work may be on hold pending the answer
• ☐Link RFIs to potential change orders in your log — any RFI that reveals missing or changed scope needs a PCO
• ☐Include RFI log in weekly owner/OAC meeting reports — visibility prevents backlog
• ☐At project closeout: compile all RFIs and responses as part of record documents

How to Write an RFI That Gets Answered Quickly

The response time on an RFI is partly a function of how easy you've made it for the architect to answer. RFIs that are vague, too broad, or combine multiple questions get triaged to the bottom of the response queue. RFIs that are specific, single-issue, and include a proposed resolution get answered in days.

What makes a good RFI

The RFI format that gets fast responses

• →One issue per RFI. Multi-issue RFIs get routed to multiple engineers and sit in limbo waiting for everyone to weigh in.
• →Cite specific sheets and details. "Drawing M-201, gridline D/5, elevation 9'-0" AFF" is actionable. "The mechanical drawings" is not.
• →Attach an annotated plan excerpt. A single image showing the conflict location reduces the architect's research time from 30 minutes to 30 seconds.
• →Include a proposed resolution. Architects prefer confirming your solution to generating one from scratch. Even a simple sketch accelerates response.
• →State your needed-by date and why. "Response needed by April 15 to avoid schedule impact on mechanical rough-in" is more likely to be prioritized than an open-ended request.

RFI vs. ASI vs. PCO: Knowing the Difference

RFIs often lead to other project control documents. Understanding the chain is important for protecting your interests:

Important: When an RFI response reveals scope that isn't in the contract, issue a PCO immediately — do not wait for the work to be completed. Retroactive change order claims are harder to win than prospective ones.

How AI Reduces Pre-Bid RFIs

The fastest way to reduce your RFI count is to find conflicts before bid day. An RFI submitted as a bid clarification takes 10 minutes to write and gets answered in the addendum — resolved before the first dollar is committed. The same issue discovered at rough-in generates a PCO, potential schedule impact, subcontractor delay claims, and weeks of back-and-forth.

AI plan review tools like SheetIntel systematically check the categories most likely to generate RFIs:

• →MEP routing conflicts with structural framing — cross-referenced automatically across all disciplines
• →Spec section references on drawings — verified against the project manual for existence and consistency
• →"By others" / "NIC" scope language — flagged and catalogued across all drawing disciplines
• →Owner-furnished equipment schedules vs. panel schedules — cross-checked for electrical compatibility
• →Drawing-to-drawing dimension conflicts — structural vs. architectural vs. MEP cross-referenced

On a typical commercial plan set, SheetIntel identifies 15–30 items worth reviewing before bid. Not all become RFIs — some are resolved by careful reading, and some are accepted as scope inclusions. But the ones that do need formal clarification are identified in 15 minutes rather than 8 hours.