Submittals explained: what to send, the stamps and the log

Know what gets submitted

Each section of the specs lists what has to be submitted for its work, usually near the start of the section. Read them all at the start of the job and make one list.

The general requirements at the front of the specs, Division 01, usually say how to send them and how long the reviewer has.

Most submittals are one of three kinds:

• Shop drawings: drawings the fabricator makes to show exactly how they’ll build their piece, like the steel, the millwork, the trusses or the ductwork.
• Product data: the maker’s sheets for what you plan to install, like a door closer, a roof membrane or a light fixture, with the model and options marked.
• Samples: a real piece of the finish, like a brick, a tile or a paint colour, for the architect to see and usually keep.

Some jobs also ask for mock-ups, test reports and certificates, and for the closeout items at the end, like manuals and warranties.

Using something other than what’s specified is a substitution, and the specs usually set a separate way to ask for one. Don’t slip it into a submittal and hope.

A question about the design isn’t a submittal either. Ask it in an RFI.

Number each one off its spec section

Unless the specs set a scheme of their own, number every submittal from the spec section it belongs to, then a sequence.

The first door hardware submittal under 08 71 00 is 08 71 00‑01, and the next is 08 71 00‑02.

Anyone can tell from the number which part of the specs it answers to, and the log sorts itself in the order of the spec book.

A resubmittal keeps its number and adds a revision: 08 71 00‑01, Rev 1. Give each round a new number, and nobody can tell a third try from a new package.

Check it before it goes out

Contracts usually have you review a trade’s submittal before it goes to the design team. Check that:

1. 1It’s complete. Everything the spec section asks for, in one package.
2. 2It matches the specs and drawings. The model, sizes, finish and options.
3. 3It fits the work around it. Dimensions, openings, supports and connections line up with the other trades.
4. 4Anything different is pointed out. If it differs from the specs, say so on the cover. On many contracts, a stamp doesn’t approve a change nobody pointed out.
5. 5It says when you need it back. Put the date on the cover, and what it holds up.

An incomplete package can come back unreviewed, and you’ve lost a whole round of review for nothing.

Read the stamp before you order

The reviewer sends each submittal back with a stamp. The wording varies from one design office to the next, but most use some version of these four:

• Approved: order it and build it as submitted. Some offices say no exceptions taken instead.
• Approved as noted: order it and build it with the reviewer’s notes made. Read every note first. Some reviewers want a corrected copy for the record.
• Revise and resubmit: don’t order or fabricate. Fix what the notes say and send it again.
• Rejected: it doesn’t meet the specs. Start again, often with a different product.

Release the order only on the first two, and send the notes to the trade and the shop with it. A note that never reaches the shop gets built wrong.

Know whose court it’s in

Every open submittal is waiting on someone: the trade putting it together, you checking it, or the reviewer. Put that name on every line of the log.

When one comes back revise and resubmit, the ball goes back to the trade. Send them the notes the same day, with the date you need the next revision.

If a reviewer holds one past the time your contract allows, ask in writing, and bring it to the next site meeting. Late submittals rarely speed up on their own.

Work back from the day it’s needed on site

The date that matters is the day the material has to be on site. Count back from it, through every step:

Allow for one round of revise and resubmit on anything complicated. If it comes back approved the first time, you’re early.

Put two dates on every line of the log: the day you need it back, and the day it’s needed on site. Long-lead items, like steel, windows, elevators and switchgear, go first.

Get lead times from the supplier in writing, and check them again when you order. They change with the market.

Keep one log for the whole job

The log is one line for each submittal, in spec section order:

• The number and revision, the title and the spec section.
• The type, and the trade responsible for it.
• Its status, and whose court it’s in.
• The date it’s needed back, and the date it’s needed on site.
• When it went out and came back, and who stamped it.

Go through it every week, and bring the open ones to each site meeting, oldest first. A copy to the owner and the architect shows them what’s waiting on them.

Keep every revision with its stamp and notes. When something on site doesn’t match, the log shows what was approved, and when.