Plans & Specs for the Low Bidder

Do your contract documents clearly state how many copies of the plans and specifications you will provide, free of charge, to the successful bidder versus what the contractor must pay for themselves? Without clear specification language you may find yourself either in a fight with the contractor (not a good way to start a project) or paying for additional plans and specifications for the contractor that you didn't budget for.

Here's some suggested language that you may want to consider including in your bidding documents:

"After award of the Contract, the Owner shall make available to the Contractor, without cost to the Contractor, any sets of Contract Documents that have been returned from plan holders. All other sets of Contract Documents required by the Contractor for the Project shall be obtained by the Contractor at the Contractor's sole cost."