Specification: definition and contents
By the ArchiMind teamUpdated on
The specification is the contract document that describes the works to execute: the administrative clauses, the technical clauses article by article, and the quantities tenderers price. In French it is the cahier des charges, in Dutch the bestek.
Definition
The specification is the contract document that describes the works to execute. It holds two parts: the administrative clauses, which govern the contract itself — deadlines, guarantees, payments, acceptance — and the technical clauses, which describe the work article by article, with the quantities to price.
It is the document tenderers read to set their price, and the one the contractor and the project author refer to during execution. What it does not say will be neither built nor paid for.
What the technical part follows
In Belgium the technical part almost always follows a reference text rather than free drafting. In Wallonia that is the CCTB for building works and QUALIROUTES for roads. In Flanders it is the VMSW standard specification: written for social housing, today the everyday building reference.
The benefit is twofold: contractors read a text they know, and the measurement clauses avoid settlement disputes. The project specification then cites articles by their index and title, and states the edition of the reference it follows.
What it contains
A technical article describes the material, the execution, the tolerances and the way of measuring. Beside it, the bill of quantities gives the quantity, the unit and the measurement type. The choices the reference text leaves open — a finish, a thickness, an equivalent brand — are made by the project, article by article.
What the specification does not say, the contractor fills in as they see fit, or does not build at all. Hence the weight of the equivalence clause and of clear tolerances: they mark where the builder’s freedom ends.
In ArchiMind
ArchiMind assembles the specification from the reference text: the AI proposes the articles to include and names the one in your template each proposal applies to, and the bill of quantities is built in the same place. Document and quantities stay consistent because they come from one tree.
Related terms
- CCTB — the Walloon reference text for building works
- Special specification — the project version
- Bill of quantities — the quantities beside the text
Sources and references
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the specification and the bill of quantities?
The specification describes what must be executed, article by article. The bill of quantities lists what must be priced, item by item, with a quantity and a unit. The two answer each other: every item refers to an article, and the measurement clauses say how the quantity is counted.
Is it a cahier des charges, a bestek or a lastenboek?
All three name the same document. In Wallonia and Brussels it is written cahier des charges; in Flanders it is a bestek, and lastenboek in everyday speech. A practice working on both sides of the language border meets all three words in the documents of a single contract.