CONTACT

Construction Conflicts and Order of Precedence

yellow safety helmet on workplace desk with construction worker team hands shaking greeting start up plan new project contract in office center at construction site, partnership and contractor concept

Understanding the order of precedence among code, specifications, drawings, and contracts is important and should be discussed before commencing any construction project. An order of precedence serves as a “tie-breaker” that addresses which document’s information prevails when project construction conflicts arise.

Typical orders of precedence for project work when conflicts occur are:

  • Statewide building codes take precedence over the International Building Code (IBC) and other model codes adopted by the IBC code
  • Code takes precedence over construction documents (until code minimum requirements are met)
  • Specifications take precedence over structural details on project drawings
  • When acceptance criteria are conflicting between codes and standards, the more stringent requirement is usually enforced
  • While design drawings generally take precedence over shop drawings, approved shop drawings often take precedence regarding precise fabrication, assembly details, and specific component dimensions
  • If there is no project “Order of Precedence” clause, the project’s General Conditions take precedence
  • The building code, in tandem with the statewide code, is the minimum requirement for projects; the construction documents can require more than the code, but cannot require less than the code requirements

Another question that arises in construction projects is the authority of the Engineer-of-Record (EOR) versus that of the building official. The EOR has the authority to approve or reject any project discrepancies or modifications related to the construction documents. The building official has the authority to accept or reject any discrepancies and/or modifications that do not meet the building code acceptance criteria.

___________

International Building Code (IBC)

Section 102.4 Referenced codes and standards The codes and standards in this code shall be considered to be part of this code to the prescribed extent of each such reference …

Section 102.4.1 Where conflicts occur between provisions of this code and referenced codes and standards, the provisions of this code shall apply.

___________

For more information or further enthusiastic discourse on topics of CODE, please contact Alan Tuck at: [email protected] or 540.344.7939.

More Posts