Know the Difference: General Conditions, General Requirements, Supplementary Conditions, Speical Conditions

[source: http://www.areforum.org/forums/member.php?118010-DaveW]

GENERAL CONDITIONS
· General Conditions are an inherent part of the the Contract for Construction.
· With the agreement govern the entire contract.
· Contain contractual principles applicable to most projects with supplements for a particular project.
· Contains broad aspects relating to the roles, rights and duties and responsibilities of the parties to the contract for construction.
· Contains the Constants
· Relatively static
· Format forms the basis for modification.

DIV 1 – GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.
· General Requirements are an inherent part of the specifications
· Administratively governs the specification sections.
· Contains specifics directly applicable to a particular project.
· Contains specific administrative procedural requirements
· Contain variables directly applicable for specific project
· Must be written separately for each project.

SUPPLEMENTARY CONDITIONS
· Modify the General Conditions, thus are an inherent part of the Contract for Construction
· Modify the constants for a specific region or project by accommodating the legal, physical, or climatic conditions of the specific project.
· take precedence over general conditions
· must be written separately for each project
· Format is follows the General Conditions.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS
· Extends anything not included or modified in the Supplementary Conditions, thus are an inherent part of the Contract for Construction
· Extend the Conditions for a specific region, or project, or owner/organization.
· Is likely a standard document issued by the owner (usually a public agency) to be attached to the general and supplementary conditions.
· Are new items, and do not follow the format of General Conditions.